A Flashback to the Fall of a "Foodie"

This was bedtime. Yep I wore my coat, gloves, and hat to bed. ;)

Flashback...

South Africa, July 2011

I was bundled up in my winter coat with my hat and scarf fitted snugly around my head because honestly there is no heat in these buildings and the temp is a lovely 40 degrees F and continuing to plunge. I quickly tucked my gloves into my pockets as I grabbed my mess kit for dinner and headed down the stairs to get in line with about 60 other hungry people.

The Lovely Miss Winnie

The Fabulous Miss Nisie

 I never quite knew what we might be eating, but Miss Winnie and Miss Nisie never disappointed us, even on those nights when I had no clue what I was consuming. All that really mattered was that it tasted fantastic and it was always served hot from the fire. Why ask questions? 

Tonight I was ecstatic to discover we would be eating some delicious curry. Score! I love curry, but this would be followed by jelly and custard? Jelly being jello with hot custard poured all over it.

 Hmmm…Okay I am slightly confused about this part, but I was up for trying something new.

 I excitedly brought my steaming hot plate of delicious looking curry over to the wood picnic table style seating. Gratefully I sat down next to one of my new South African friends and we quickly began chatting about our day out on the mission site.

 I remember watching as one of my teens finished up his plate and headed back for seconds...or maybe it was thirds? (Oh how the cooks just adored him!)  He was a 6 foot tall, 15 yr old, and he seemed to burn those calories as fast as he could shovel them in.

Do you see how tall he is?!

As he left to procure another mounding plate of the steamy curry I remember glancing down at her plate and finding myself a bit shocked at what looked like fairly small portions on it. In my unending curiosity I asked her about it. (Oh goodness! Now that I think about it, maybe that was rude?)

“D” was so patient with me, as she shared her views on food. (It went something along the lines of how we should eat just the amount each of us needs to fuel our body.)  She, then, very politely shared how she was a bit confounded by the large amounts of food we eat. (“We,” being the Americans.) 

She then pointed out that perhaps we view food differently between our two cultures. There was nothing offensive in her tone. She was by no means calling any of us "fat", but her point was made and it has never left me. Ever since then I have asked myself the self professed, "Foodie" can I get to the point where food is more about fuel for my body and less about my momentary cravings.

Fast forward to right now..

I am 2 days shy of completing my first month in the "Seven. A Mutiny Against Excess" fast and in my next post I will be sharing how God used the book Seven, and this last month to rock my little foodie world and so much more.

Wonder Woman, Wonder Bras, and the Fight for Justice!

Oh the wonders of Wonder Woman! Between the ages of 5-7 years old, she was who I wanted to grow up to be. She was absolutely amazing with her flashy indestructible bracelets that deflected bullets with a quick flick of her wrists and her magical lasso of truth.

I giggle now as I recall leaping around the yard, swinging from the monkey bars or tree branches in my wonder woman underoos! (Yes! I wore them outside.) 

Even when my mother caught me and I was forced to cover my fantastic Underoos with normal everyday clothing, I still felt this spark of confidence and a responsibility to fight for justice while secretly wearing those bold red, blue and gold colors. My little eyes were watchful and ready for any forms of injustice to appear, for danger to be lurking around the corner or behind a suspicious tree. I had super powers, I just knew it.

Fast forward to my teen years, my Underoos long since out grown, but this desire to fight for freedom and justice is still burning inside of me. I remember watching documentaries about the 60's and 70's, of women in the streets protesting for equality, and respect. 

I found it exhilarating thinking back on the stories I read about the suffragettes who fought for the right for women to vote. I even cried as I read accounts from former slaves that followed underground rail road to freedom from the slavery and oppression they were facing here in the U.S. Or later as African-Americans fought for the freedom to vote, and for the freedom from segregation laws. They fought to work, eat, attend school, and live where they chose.

Norman Rockwell's depiction of Ruby Bridges as she walked to school.

He called it, "The problem we all deal with."

 I was in awe of this passionate and fierce breed of women and men who were so bold and daring as to fight the mainstream culture for freedom. I remember dreaming of what I could do someday for those in need of freedom. What would be my "cause" to fight for some day? 

Now here I am, a wife, a crazy homeschooling mother of three creative and beautiful children, and I am a christian. What does God want me to do? His cause should be mine as well.

 Today I am writing to you about two of the many ways we can get involved with a call God holds dear to His heart. He calls us to follow Him and to fight for the oppressed, and to bring justice to the hurting. You can see it in the following verses,

Isaiah 58:6-10

verse 6 especially where the Lord says, 

 Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?

Psalm 10:17-18

Psalm 9:9

Psalm 146:7-9

But...But...What can I do? Have you been there friends? Have you been longing to join an epic battle, to try and save the world from injustice, but to scared, or busy, or overwhelmed to even attempt it? Consider with me for just a moment that you just might be called to don your inner super hero clothes and to fight injustice here or across the world! 

(QUICK! Keep reading before you start listing to yourself all of the reasons for why you cannot possibly do this, I promise it is worth it!)

Today I want to share with you that slavery is still very much alive today. Actually there are more slaves now than in any other time in history. I shared with you last week that I would show you a variety of ways we could get involved in missions. 

Here are 2 avenues you could choose to get involved in that do not cost you a dime, only a little of your time, and you too can be a super hero in the fight for justice for those caught in the grips of Human trafficking.

Human/Sex Trafficking is the fastest growing industry in the world and is second only to the illegal drug industry. Sex trafficking is horrifying and devastating on every level. Sadly, sex trafficking is not a problem that is far away in distant lands, but right here, in our cities, towns, hotels, in our apartment buildings, and in our neighborhoods. (If you do not believe me click here, Trafficked in the US, ABC news, or Human Trafficking in Michigan, MLive)

Right now the International Justice Mission is launching a post card campaign to get the attention of our Federal Congress. Congress has been stalling legislation that would help to protect and defend those that have been forced into this industry.

This will cost you zero dollars, but a little of your time. IJM (The International Justice Mission) will even cover the costs of postage.

Take a moment and check it out. Please consider standing up for the women and children who are being kidnapped and forced into the sex trafficking world with little hope of escape in our very own nation.

http://www.ijm.org/100-postcard-challenge
****Update**** I received my post cards, I will need to cover the postage to mail them back, but that is it. So far it is an easy and powerful way to get the word out while getting signatures. :) **********

With the Free the Girls campaign, you can help provide job opportunities for women who have been rescued or escaped from sexual trafficking just by collecting used braziers.  (Yes, that's right... I just said, "used bras!") 

You can have a party with your friends, your church, or business and collect gently used bras for these women to sell in the used clothing markets of Mozambique. These braziers are a luxury item which means, you are helping these women to not only survive, but thrive! They make 3-5 times the amount of minimum wage doing this, allowing them to provide a safe home for their children, and so on. 

You can watch a video by CNN here, CNN coverage of Free the Girls

Click this link here to learn more about bringing freedom and opportunity to these woman, just by collecting bras.

http://www.freethegirls.com/why-bras/

So what about you? Will you join me in the fight for justice for the oppressed?

Here are a few statistics and facts on Human Trafficking. 

Human Trafficking Facts

$32 BILLION:

The total market value of illicit human trafficking is estimated to be in excess of $32 billion

27 million:

Currently 27 million men, women and children are being held as slaves—more today than in any other time in history

80% women and girls:

Women and girls comprise at least 80% of the world’s trafficking victims, and up to 50% are minors.  They are exploited in fields and brothels, in homes and conflicts, and in factories and fisheries. More women are being pushed out of developing countries due to economic, familial, and societal pressures – becoming ever more vulnerable to modern slavery.

Women continue to be enslaved in commercial sex around the world. They are often arrested for participating in a crime that victimizes them when they should instead be provided with services and benefit from a well-trained police force implementing proven and compassionate victim identification measures.

Women continue to toil in sweatshop factories without food or break, sewing garments, peeling shrimp, and weaving carpets under threat of violence. Bonded by debt and force, they pick cotton, mine conflict minerals, and harvest rice alongside their children. They toil in diplomatic households and suburban residences as domestic workers often without anyone knowing they are there let alone being abused.

2 million:

According to UNICEF, as many as two million children are subjected to prostitution in the global commercial sex trade. Sex trafficking has devastating consequences for minors, including long-lasting physical and psychological trauma, disease (including HIV/AIDS), drug addiction, unwanted pregnancy, malnutrition, social ostracism, and possible death.

(Sources: Trafficking In Persons Report 2010, Kevin Bales, Disposable People,  U.S. State Dept)

If you don't know where to start... Start with one.

She was drunk.

 I could see our breath like a mist in the cold winter’s night as we sat outside the church building. People passionately lifting up praises to the Lord echoed out of the churches open windows. My rear end was starting to move from sore to numb as the chill sank into my bones from sitting on the ground outside. She was anxiously glancing back and forth. She told me again she should not be here she was “drrrrunk”. She rolled her “R’s” as they do in the Afrikaans language. My heart went out to her.

We sat together there in the cold damp night, waiting for her to sober up or just gain the confidence to go inside the building. I was silently praying for her and she was feeling nervous about the church people’s reactions to her being drunk. I reassured her of our love for her. She repeated again that she should not be here, yet made no move to leave. 

She had followed me all the way up the winding dark streets from where she and her friends had been partying. All the while we kept chatting lightly as we walked.  She continually telling me that she should go back to the party, yet we continued walking together toward the church. God was propelling her. I smiled as I watched her keep pace next to me.

God had placed her on my heart from the first day she arrived at the park where our mission’s team was working.  I spotted her standing towards the back of the ever growing numbers of teenagers and children who were coming out to the site. With her arms crossed, her face cynical and smug, she would stand and observe us. If you got to close, she side stepped you. If you reached out to give her a friendly pat on the arm, she made fists and darted. She smirked when we spoke and made fun of my American accent, but God nudged me and said,

”This one, love and pray especially for this one.”

It’s always amazing how God can place a love inside of us for someone we do not yet know personally. Or when He places a love in our hearts for someone who does what they can to be rude or dodge us like the plague.

 We shared some of the horror stories from our lives on that chilly evening. She allowed me to share with her how God brought love and healing into mine. We prayed together. She still has an abundance of hardships to deal with in life, but I am confident of this.

God loves her. That she is beautiful and valued in God’s eyes whether or not she feels valued in her family. I pray for her protection and for God to guide her each week. I pray for healing for her heart and the strength to stand for what is true. I also pray that one day I can see her and give her a big hug again, I even long to hear her giggling as I try once again to pronounce her name correctly.

There are many of us who are in need of God’s love, forgiveness, grace and freedom, whether here in the States or halfway across the world. They are hiding behind tough exteriors, towering walls built from years of broken trust and open wounds, yet dying inside for someone who will care and be patient enough to love them out of from behind their walls.  

I have heard from quite a few people how they feel overwhelmed by the needs in our world. A friend of mine shared she did not know where to start and if she could truly make a difference.

This brings me to this week’s challenge. Consider this phrase,

“Do for one what you wish you could do for all.”  

Friends, if you relate to this then, could you please pray and ask for the Lord to help you to see the “one” in your life? Couldn’t we all start there? Start with just one person? Ask the lord to help you to see the ways you can encourage and bless them and then do it.  Maybe it is someone in your neighborhood, a co-worker, or a person you have met where you volunteer. Perhaps God is leading you to support a child through Compassion International or World Vision. I encourage you to take the first step today and ask the Lord, “Who is your one?”

Then remember the words Bob Goff so aptly coined, 

“Love Does”. 

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Matthew 22:37-40

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Later this week I will post links to websites where you can discover ways to get active with your faith. For those ready to jump in with both feet stay tuned. 

God can do the impossible through us if we are willing. Thinking out of our little box is next on the list. May the Lord bless you greatly friends.