So far this blog has been about a desire to do something, and not a lot of doing it. That's been part of the journey. Yeah, it gets boring to read and boring to live it. Waiting. Yuck.
And then there was light! Like in the book of Genesis, suddenly things changed. I think I'll have to post the whole scripture here since it's so relevant. Here it is....
"3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day."
I saw the light and it was good.
I just started concentrating my time, with the help of a Life Coach (more on Life Coaching and Mentorship later), on research, new learning, new books. All my needs stuff was done. Office stuff ready. Camera ready. Did some surveillance, which gave me the creeps to do alone. Sponsored a team from Florida called Redeem The Shadows here in Houston. Went to a meeting at a local Christian School to talk about Human Trafficking and issue here in Houston. Got our video up Bad Day: Human Trafficking in Houston which you can see on Vimeo, became a board member for an Anti-Trafficking NGO in the US, volunteered to mentor an underage minor at risk of HT... the list goes on and on. THE LIGHT JUST TOOK OFF AND TURNED INTO A FIRE. It's been busy, busy, busy ever since.
Every little bit of work impacting this huge injustice of Trafficking, which I think of as a type of massive criminal cancer. Every crime imaginable, that can be done to a person, is done to people everyday during the crime of enslaving people. A real confluence of injustice.
So from February to July 2011, I've been doing a lot different anti-trafficking works...and have started to feel like a semi-automatic weapon. Sometimes firing one shot after another, and sometimes just 1 shot at a time.
There was light....and then the light turned into fire. Firing shots, and not just into the dark.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Checklists, Christmas and a Happy New Year
Opening note: I thought I had posted this before the Christmas rush, but now realize it didn't make it up! Still some good thoughts rolling around here...and am going to share them anyway! I didn't get much accomplished in the fight against slavery before Christmas, but I'm still here to fight and that counts.
Before you start a journey it's a good idea to make a list. A checklist.
It can be practical, like "pick up new suitcase for the trip" or it can be internal "think of new way to do things" or it can be completely silly... "go buy new jeans, 2 sizes too small in order to inspire diet".
My practical list is: Buy spy camera for car and lapel, buy outfit that can disguise what I do for a job, get p.o. box, get unlisted and untrack-able phone, get business cards, organize files for surveillance, do more surveillance, organize office and get camera to shoot photos and videos for files."
My internal list is: A lot more complicated and has to do with boundaries.
When you have a heart to help others, and a passion for a particular area of helping, it's easy to get sidetracked with the people in your life that need help at that very minute. Kids, relatives, close friends. It's a good thing to be there for them. Lately, however, I have begun to weigh crisis by bad, worse, or really devastatingly horrible. Devastatingly horrible would be Human Trafficking. Honestly, I'm having a hard time with this right now. You would think that Human Trafficking would be the easy numero uno! However, other things nearer and with names tend to sound louder.
Prioritizing needs. It's a toughie and I know I'm not alone in this dilemma.
So, I thought, I'll just wait till after Christmas and then do some more work on the Anti-Human Trafficking part of my life. And then, and then, I thought....
...what about those who wait for help and help does not arrive because people are taking a break for Christmas? Some are chained, some are locked in, and all of them are slaves. Some are only kids, 9 years old.
What will they be doing this Christmas? Serving you at the Chinese restaurant? Servicing some guy in a massage parlor?
So yeah, it's hard to know where to start, and it's important to be there for family and friends, but don't forget what Christmas is really all about. A Savior who came to seek and save the lost. He came not to be served, but to serve.
"For there is born to you this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” - Luke 2:11-12
To the girls waiting for rescue I want to say, and will someday say...I was thinking of you. I didn't know how to find you, but I was thinking and praying for you on Christmas 2010.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And so Christmas came and went, and then New Year and resolutions. I resolved not to make any resolutions, as I still have an outstanding list from last year playing like a broken record in my brain. However, this year there is something new that I resolve to do. I resolve, with all my heart, to find a way to help at least just one person to escape from slavery this year, 2011.
Before you start a journey it's a good idea to make a list. A checklist.
It can be practical, like "pick up new suitcase for the trip" or it can be internal "think of new way to do things" or it can be completely silly... "go buy new jeans, 2 sizes too small in order to inspire diet".
My practical list is: Buy spy camera for car and lapel, buy outfit that can disguise what I do for a job, get p.o. box, get unlisted and untrack-able phone, get business cards, organize files for surveillance, do more surveillance, organize office and get camera to shoot photos and videos for files."
My internal list is: A lot more complicated and has to do with boundaries.
When you have a heart to help others, and a passion for a particular area of helping, it's easy to get sidetracked with the people in your life that need help at that very minute. Kids, relatives, close friends. It's a good thing to be there for them. Lately, however, I have begun to weigh crisis by bad, worse, or really devastatingly horrible. Devastatingly horrible would be Human Trafficking. Honestly, I'm having a hard time with this right now. You would think that Human Trafficking would be the easy numero uno! However, other things nearer and with names tend to sound louder.
Prioritizing needs. It's a toughie and I know I'm not alone in this dilemma.
So, I thought, I'll just wait till after Christmas and then do some more work on the Anti-Human Trafficking part of my life. And then, and then, I thought....
...what about those who wait for help and help does not arrive because people are taking a break for Christmas? Some are chained, some are locked in, and all of them are slaves. Some are only kids, 9 years old.
What will they be doing this Christmas? Serving you at the Chinese restaurant? Servicing some guy in a massage parlor?
So yeah, it's hard to know where to start, and it's important to be there for family and friends, but don't forget what Christmas is really all about. A Savior who came to seek and save the lost. He came not to be served, but to serve.
"For there is born to you this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” - Luke 2:11-12
To the girls waiting for rescue I want to say, and will someday say...I was thinking of you. I didn't know how to find you, but I was thinking and praying for you on Christmas 2010.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And so Christmas came and went, and then New Year and resolutions. I resolved not to make any resolutions, as I still have an outstanding list from last year playing like a broken record in my brain. However, this year there is something new that I resolve to do. I resolve, with all my heart, to find a way to help at least just one person to escape from slavery this year, 2011.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)