stripped

Growing Pains

"Know you what it is to be a child? It is to be something very different from the man of today. It is to have a spirit yet streaming from the waters of baptism; it is to believe in love, to believe in loveliness, to believe in belief; it is to be so little that the elves can reach to whisper in your ear; it is to turn pumpkins into coaches, and mice into horses, lowness into loftiness, and nothing into everything, for each child has its fairy godmother in its own soul." - Francis Thompson


I find this little quote to be utterly and undeniably beautiful and so flooded with truth that it is heart wrenching.

Over the last week, I have been experiencing an odd and peculiar type of growing pains. I can remember when I was young and how I would feel the ache in my legs as I had a growth spurt. It never lasted long, but it always signaled my being one step closer to being a grown up.

But, now I am a grown up. I am far past the period of my life when I had to worry about my height and have dived headfirst into the period that prefers to be much more concerned about my width, for all hope of height alteration is long gone.

No, my growing pains are not my suddenly gaining an extra inch of height . . . it is mourning the loss of the past. I can recall my parents and family members and random adults always remarking as a child that I should treasure and value the time I have to be a kid, because one day I would miss it. Like most kids, I laughed it off and resumed my sulking about not being able to do grown up things.

Today, especially, I have been having nostalgia. I can recall such vivid memories from when I was kid, from family baseball fun in the front yard, to lake trips, to kindergarten show and tell . . . and I miss it. I explained to Shane tonight that while I do look forward to many of the things in the future, I will always miss the things I realize I took for granted. I will miss not being concerned or worried about health, or even fearing death. I miss the innocence of imagination, where a few toys alone in a room become a land and people. While working with some of the kids, I have watched them enter the place of imagination, and it was like looking at it from another world. It seemed foreign. Did I use to talk for dolls and make up stories that, for me, were real and valid, whereas now I never would think of it or would feel silly? I miss the life that has such little worry and so much faith. Faith in everyone around me, and such trust. Now, in this adult life, I know of ulterior motifs, of lies designed to hurt and deceive, and of manipulation. I know of anxiety over money, concerns about jobs. I know of politics, or religious debate, of controversy, and of division.

I miss the moments where I truly believe a fairy tale existed, that princes hid under the cover of frogs, that there were dragons stored in secret mountain tops yet to be discovered . . . it is such sadness that imagination and daydreams often suffer the consequence of maturity and adulthood.

But what I think I miss most . . . I miss the assurance of friendship. I think back to elementary school and my friends from there . . . we never worried that one day we would be separated and never see one another again. We just knew that if one did not come to school that day they were either sick or played hookey. In high school, I never thought of the possibility of losing my best friend. It simply did not exist as an option. I knew I would see everyone 5 days a week, and then those I was closest to up to 7 days a week. But now, and especially in light of the current wedding and baby craze, I am hit with good ol' reality . . . we grow up, and normally, we all move away. I am hit with the knowledge that my good friends (Bree, Liz, Lyn, Alisha, Beth, Craig, Jad, and so on) will likely one day be gone. That this is all temporary. My best friend of 9 years and I could live countries apart. And, it is heart breaking to think about. Already, I have seen the transition from seeing one another 5 days a week, to over other week, to once a month, and eventually it got to month-long separations. At times it has felt like I have lost friendships, that I was isolated. Late nights IMing and texting disappeared due to early morning work schedules and class times. It is odd to picture life without these amazing people. Perhaps I will just channel that childhood optimism and faith that we might all stay close.

But for now, all I know is that I truly miss my friends and getting to see them often. I miss getting to talk to them daily, and I horribly wish I could now with them.

I know adulthood has many wonderful things and perks and such, but just at the moment, I want to give it back and re-live just a mere handful of years ago when life was just more innocent and carefree.

My Own Little World

This week has been a trying week for me. Something in my heart has been off, and it felt like a piece of me was broken.

I think I realized what it was.

It was the realization that my passion for Africa had been stifled by what I had always feared . . . normalcy. It is incredible and crazy at how quickly life can knock on the door of reality and transform a person's mind and priorities. I have been juggling relationships, friends, and finding a job (and training) for the past two months. Prior to that, I was just focused on graduating. All of these priorities and expectations littered my life so that I had to wade through the debris just to find a place to sit and breathe for a moment.

But over the last two weeks, a comment has been haunting me. I was told, "I talk more about Africa than you do now."

As I type, I just want to cry. Because . . . my passion for it has not died down. It is burning brighter than ever, but perhaps my hope and belief that it will become anything more than a passion has faded. I've never needed to go to this place that has my whole heart, that God has placed such a yearning and NEED for, more than I do now. My biggest fear is that I will become the American Christian content with a medium sized church, a medium sized house, 3 kids, a stable income, 2 dogs, a cat, and contentment.

I fear it, because in gaily talking of the future with my significant other . . . that is the picture we paint. And I want to tear it apart and scream, "NO!" That is not what I want, not really. Sure, it is nice, and pretty . . . and safe. Very safe. That is why it is so alluring. It is so utterly safe. It is a foolproof plan that leaves little room for much else.

I don't want any of that. I would rather spend the rest of my life single and without children than accept that life. I want an extraordinary life, a radical life. One that lives in passion and extremity on the front lines of ministry. I want to serve in the darkest of corners, to the areas of the world no one else is offering to go. My hearts begs and pleads, "Send me, I want to be there." Yet it also looks at myself with disappointment, because I have heard the command to go since the 4th grade, and I have found excuse after excuse to not go. Normally, it was because I chose a summer with a boyfriend over a summer serving overseas. I look back on these years and just want to redo them all. I wasted so much time.

I realized over the past two months I have been more agitated than normal. More distant. I am more easily angered and much more critical of people around me. I even got into my first fight with a dear best friend. I've been trying to figure out what is wrong with me. Now, I know. I'm angry with myself, with squandering so many opportunities and settling. I'm angry that I feel like I cannot achieve what I feel like I am suppose to. And my heart is broken over it. I'm stuck trying to discover what it is that I should do.

I want to be the hands that hold the dying Aids victim. I want to be the arms that hold a young prostitute. I want to be the feet that walks among the worst of sinners, and I want to be the heart that loves them all like Jesus. I just don't want to be the girl who hears the call so clearly, but stays. I think I would surely break apart if I just accepted the American dream and played it logically and safe instead of just throwing up my hands truly, TRULY letting God take control.

I was not born to live comfortably in this world. I was born to go out into it without becoming a part of it, to reach the broken and the lost. My heart breaks over and over for this world. Some days, I swear I can actually feel the hurt of people I don't even know. I am tired of not doing anything for that. I stopped talking about Africa so it would not hurt or be saddening to not be there, but for now, I obviously cannot.

I can do good here, starting with being more active in my church and volunteering. And then . . . I will be able to do good in working with my kiddos when training finishes. But eventually . . . I will be in Africa.

"Break my heart for what breaks Yours. Give me open hands and open doors. Close my eyes and let me see, that my own little world is not about me."

Resurrection Day

It has been quite a long time since I have actually sat down to write. Despite mentally writing a million entries and saying countless monologues during car rides throughout the last year, none have ever made it onto a computer or piece of paper.

I cannot say exactly what has caused me to stop writing, or what can cause a person to write nearly daily to suddenly disappear, but I can hypothesize that it was due to the transition in my life. A year ago, my life was torn between heartache and a sense of free abandon and carelessness. A sense of wanting to break out and seek adventure. It was a wild heart and desire.

Neither ended up being the path life beckoned me to follow. Instead, it took a surprising turn. My life is not how I envisioned it being a year ago, but I also cannot envision it being anything else. A year took me from college freedom to adulthood responsibilities. But . . . it has brought changes, and I am not quite sure how I feel about these new alterations.

I've found that passions have conflicted with reality, and that spiritual freshness is not always easy to maintain.

I cannot say for sure what caused me to be so quiet, but I know for certain what has returned me to this old blog space . . . my heart just yearns to write, and in the process of writing, I hope to regain some of that passions and all of that fresh vitality that has seemed to be placed on the back-burner in light of the stresses and hustle of a new stage in life. Maybe it is all about re-finding myself in this new period of life, combining bits of the old with the new. Whatever this little piece of "mine" ends up becoming, I do have to say that it feels absolutely fantastic to simply write again.

Until tomorrow,

Walk in Love

I've been in an interesting spot in my life. It feels a bit like a stalemate. A calm before the storm. I've reached the fork in the road . . . though, there are definitely more than just 2 choices.

I cannot even begin to explain the manner in which God has changed my heart in the last 5 months, and even now, I feel Him challenging me more than ever.

I'm not going to describe this change. I prefer to let it be shown. What I am going to share is what happened today.

For the last 5 months, I have been planning on doing a 2 month missions trip this summer. The process went as follows -

I was definite about going to Uganda.

I began to feel less eagerness for it and was curious about other countries.

I researched other trips and made a list of options: Uganda, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Thailand, India, Morocco, or Israel.

I narrowed it back to Uganda and Sierra Leone.

It was here that the weight of it all burdened me. Both trips would only be 7 weeks in length. I began to wonder if I should go with a Christian organization or just do an independent trip for 12 weeks via a secular organization. I was so conflicted! I broke into tears a few times, especially as the New Year approached. What do I do?

I consulted my dearest friend time and again. I just did not know why it suddenly felt so off, so not right. What happened? Why was I still absolutely called to do this, yet why was it now feeling like it was not enough?

I watched video after video of Uganda and Sierra Leone. I wept, laughed, and smiled. It's funny how I can be in love with an entire people I have not met.

At this same time, I began looking at my near future, and all at once it hit me - Girl, college is ending . . . where are you going?

I had no idea. I always just contended myself saying I would go where God wanted me to go, but now I realized that I needed to listen to what He was saying.

Do I go into graduate school after a summer missions trip?

Do I do the Invisible Children roadie program next spring?

Do I do the IMB 2 year missions program?

Do I get a job out here and work with prostitutes and abused women like my heart desires?

God . . . where do I go from here?

It felt so far away not too long ago, but now the reality of the future has stomped up my doorstep and is banging on the door. Banging loudly.

About two weeks ago, as I was looking at summer missions, I came across something called The World Race. Curious . . . I began reading.

The World Race is an 11 month missions trip to 11 different countries. One month in each with a team of 6-8 people. I searched through the different itineraries. The first I saw included this: Ireland, Ukraine, Romania, Israel, Egypt, Kenya, Uganda, Unknown Location, Thailand, Cambodia, Unknown Location.

Suddenly . . . there was another option. Once more, I poured my heart over all the choices I had. God, where do You want me?! Where?

I made pro and con lists to both. Now . . . now I had a forked road.

I would either do a 2 month trip this summer, finish school, and do the roadie program, or I would work and finish school and in January leave for a year to travel the world.

I was lost. My parents were asking me what I was planning. My best friend told me that it was my decision, not something someone could make for me.

So, I decided to sit and to wait.

God's timing is remarkable. In the last week, I found a calm and peace come over me. I became a little recluse, spending most of my days with God. I dived into the Word and into other Christian works. I researched places and opportunities.

Today . . . as I sat in my Adolescent Psychology class . . . I got my answer. It was clear as a bell. So direct. Thankfully, I sat in the back of the class, because I broke into tears. I almost began laughing with unbridled joy.

Next January. . . January 2011, I will be leaving for a year. About one month of training and learning of my team, and then 11 months in 11 countries that I know not of at the moment.

This . . . this is huge. This is the biggest decision I've ever made. I need to raise at least $15,000 between now and then, which I am not worried about. I won't know where I am going. I won't know my team. This is total dependence on God. God just flat out told me, "I want you to give up everything."

For 11 months I will live with 6 strangers. I will live out of a backpack. I know it is a year away . . . but a year passes quickly. God knows that 2 months, while it would be a stretch, is not enough. He wants my whole, not a part, and He is going to teach me full dependence and trust.

I had so many objections. Petty ones.

God . . . a year is a long time away from home.

God . . . I won't get to talk to family and friend very much.

God . . . this kinda means that any relationship forming in the next 2 years is out the door . . . and right as everyone is getting engaged and married.

God . . . that is a long time to put off a career and grad school.

God's response: I want all of you. I want you a from now until your body no longer lives. I want to be enough. More then family. More then friends. More then any man. I want your eyes on me, your desire to be only for Me, and I want you to give up it all and watch Me take your world apart and show you My heart.

"I made her in such a way that she would need Me. I made her a little more lonesome than she would like to be ... only because I need her to depend on Me. I know her heart. I know if I had not made her like this, she would go her own way and forget me... her Creator."

I'm excited . . . a little nervous . . . but above all, I feel content and peaceful. This will be hard to do. I am just now seeing how selfish I am with what I want, and He is really telling me to let it all go.

So . . . I plan to make this next year radical. It is time to grow like never before.

My future:

http://www.theworldrace.org/

The World Race from Adventures In Missions on Vimeo.

Sugar and Spice vs Puppy Dog Tails

So, after having a short conversation with a friend, I started to really think about the issue of whether guys and girls can "just be friends." Up until a year ago, I never even knew this was a debatable topic.

Now, in all of my life, I have never met a single girl who declared that guys and girls cannot be just friends. In fact, it was not until the past year or so that I even met a guy who held the view that it is a rare case in which a boy and girl could be friends. I have still yet to find a girl who holds this view, but I have met a couple of guys who hold this perspective.

So, it got me to thinking - why? Do they have a point? Am I just naive?

Here is what I have come to conclude:

The guys who hold this view tend to be the ones who have had little to no experience with a female just being a friend (in reviewing each one who has told me their view on this, they all had this same exact thing in common - having no female friends beyond the ones they have dated). The ones who hold the view that members of the opposite sex cannot be friends are the ones who mistake the blame on the issue/topic - the problem does not rest in men and women being able to be friends, but in THEM not being able to have a woman as a friend (and for the female just like them, the one who cannot have a man as a friend).

These are the people who usually fall into one of two categories: "Easy," and "Player."

People who cannot have a nonsexual friendship with a member of the opposite sex only reveal a tragic flaw in themselves, and especially in the manner in which they perceive the opposite sex, as well as how they value themselves.

A girl who cannot manage to form a friendship with a man without having it turn into being "date buddies," "kissing buddies," "man of the week buddies," or even "boyfriend status," are girls who are themselves insecure. They are also the girls who objectify men and are likely ones who will struggle maintaining a relationship with a man and are also probably more likely to be ones who are easily dissatisfied and are quick to bounce from one man to another.

Similarly, men who can count on one hand (if that) the number of legitimate female friendships they have had tend to be the same men who loosely and casually do nothing but date girls. They hop from one to the other, often "dating" multiple girls at once. They are the ones who, as a result, tend to be the players. They objectify the women, even if they do not intend to do so. It is a reflection of their mentality in which they see girls through the lenses of "dateable" instead of "friendable."

You see, the error is with each individual, and the ones who cannot have guys and girls as nothing more then friends are in fact the minority! Looking all throughout high school, I see this idea being in the wrong, for most of my friends were all male, and they never pursued anything with me, nor I with them. Most of these guys I still count as friends and talk to, 4 years later. And at my university, I'm fairly certain that should one of these men tell one of the CBU guys that he did not think guys and girls could be "just friends," that he would be laughed off of the campus. Similarly, a girl who stated the same notion would likely be stared at in shock, for throughout CBU, you will find guys and girls being JUST FRIENDS! And yes, SINGLE guys and SINGLE girls. Let's not play semantics or state technicalities.

In fact, I say that it is a shame and is something to be pitied when a guy admits to not having had a female as just a good friend, and vice-versa. In my experience, the friendships I have had with my male friends have so shaped my personality and have overjoyed my heart that I cannot picture ever not having them in my life. Yes, male friends are different than female friends, but it is a vital difference that positively contribute to my life and has actually shaped my view of men and has contributed to the manner in which I am able to respect men and see them beyond appearances and "possibilities." They add such humor, warmth, and laughter. They have also been some of my greatest supporters, confidants, accountability partner, and advice-givers. To imagine a girl who has not been able to form a relationship with a guy as just a solid friendship instead as a potential boyfriend or hook-up is to imagine someone who is missing one of the purer blessings of life.

And, to guys who have not had a good female friend . . . is it any wonder these guys happen to also be the players and more unstable ones and ones who "hook-up?" Male and female friendships are VITAL in teaching men and women how to treat one another as more then sexual objects! It teaches respect. It broadens the mind beyond animalistic instincts. Guys who hve not had this are ones who will struggle being strong men, for they will likely be more prone to being unfaithful while in relationships simply because they have not learned how to look at a woman as anything more then a "potential." Compare a man who first sees a woman as just a woman with one who just knows how to see one as someone they could see themselves hooking up with . . . and you will likely note who has the army of male friends and who has a mixture of male and female friendships. Guys . . . I think those who have good female friends will tell you that there is something that is missing when you don't have a girl you can call a good friend.

This topic has also generated feelings of anger and frustration, for it it such an ignorant and sexist perspective from an overly sexualized society. Each time I have heard this view, I have to grit my teeth at seeing how this corrupted world has infected the minds of so many, including men and women who are strong Christians. What kind of world do we live in when people believe that a man and woman cannot be honest friends, but must always have alternative motifs? Are men and women really that disrespectful of one another? It is almost heart-breaking to think about what an insulting idea it is, and it is horrible that I live in a world in which I cannot grab coffee with a male friend without so many believing that there MUST be other motives, yet had I grabbed coffee with my best female friend, no one bats an eye.

Why? Why the double-standard?

It's ridiculous and only shows how society has been able to shape mens' minds into seeing women as things to date FIRST, instead of individuals that they can form a pure relationship with. It is a society that trains women to perceive men as pleasure objects to treat them to dinner and "complete them," instead of seeing men as individuals who have so much more to offer then a sushi date and movie.

And we truly wonder why infidelity in relationships is through the roof? We are amazed about divorce being so rampant?

Friendships between a man and woman are one of the biggest teachers outside of immediate family and church about how to view and treat a man and a woman.

The issue is not whether a man and woman can be friends and only friends (heck, this does not include ones that naturally, over time, lead to a relationship). The issue is with how the guy and girl views a guy and girl. If a guy has not had any female friends, the logical conclusion is not to say that these things are rare, but to look at himself. Same goes for the girl. Perhaps, just perhaps, the flaw comes because EVERY guy and girl the guy/girl becomes "friends" with are ones they already decided upon meeting they wanted to "date." In that case, there was never a real friendship, but the flaw is with that person, not the concept. In this case, the boy needs to grow up and become a man, and the girl needs to cut off the pigtails and act like a woman.

And, also . . . what is with this perpetual fear guys and girls have with being placed into the "friend" category?! Okay, all you Christian men and women, you should WANT to be in that category FIRST, before you are ever in the category that places you in a position to make another compromise. You see, EVERY relationship should begin with friendship, and it should evolve into best friends prior to evolving into a physical relationship of any form. It is so immature when a guy or girl refuses to get close enough to another for fear that this category eliminates potential for leading to dating. If anything, the healthiest of relationships seem to be the ones that began with mere friendship that naturally evolved into something more. I had a friend from church tell me that, regarding male and female relations, they fall into one of three categories: husband/wife, brother/sister in Christ, and a threat. The guys and girls who just pursue after guys/girls for relationships likely fall into the "threat" categories instead of taking the friendship phase that enable the maintaining of a healthy and Godly relationship.

Finally, even looking at it from a Biblical perspective shows just how silly and corrupted a view it is that guys and girls cannot be friends. It has nothing to do with gender, but with the mind and mentality of the person. Maybe it just takes a mature person to be able to have this type of relationship? Scripturally, what evidence is there that man and woman cannot be friends? Are we not told that we are all members of one body and are told to work in unity together? Perhaps God needs to be informed that only guys and girls who are in relationships that do this, because they cannot just be friends. Maybe there is a "female arm" and "male arm"? Forgive the sarcasm, but for Christians who hold this view, I have to wonder what Bible they are reading, for the view is not only an insult to the Biblical practice of friendship and agape, but it is also an insult to the individual and to God! God created us to be in fellowship! Man AND woman. To be friends! To work together! It is also a mental view that is sinful, for it insinuates that the mind is controlled by nothing but lust and desire. Surely a Godly man can control his urges and thoughts enough that he can be a true and sincere friend to a woman and not one who only has the goal to win her over. Surely a Godly woman can control her own selfish wants and develop a friendship with a man and see him as a brother in Christ before anything else.

I just think that this whole issue is only an issue because of how deprived this world is that it is succeeding in dividing the body of Christ by gender and foolishly teaching men and women that there cannot be one of the purest things this world still has left between them - friendship.

1 Corinthians 1:10

"I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought."

Their story...



...is as individual and personal as the children themselves. It’s the story of sons and daughters, their brothers and sisters, their families, their parents. It’s the story of the girl next door, and the one on the other side of the world. It’s about people just like us.

Their story is our story.

As most stories do, the beginnings have a hundred different roots. How a child becomes a commodity on the sex market is a complicated tale. It has many settings, diverse characters, varied locations and lasting repercussions.



Sometimes it begins with the making of an orphan. Left alone without the protection of a family, a 4 year old Ugandan boy can easily be exploited by pimps and pedophiles, brothel owners and con men.

Another story begins with the rape of a girl by a stranger, friend, or family member. In many cultures, there is considered to be no restoration from this tragic injustice. A Cambodian girl at age 6 would then be considered stained, only deemed useful as a sex object in the local karaoke bar.

A 15 year old Russian girl can be sold by her parents to a pimp unknowingly, thinking she is going to receive an education, training, a better life. They find out they’ve been deceived and she’s been trafficked, but it’s too late.

A boy from El Salvador can be given over to a life of prostitution at 10 years of age by an uncle. The reasoning: a life of emotional and mental pain is better than starvation and homelessness.

An American teenager, with lonely days and empty pockets, takes a stranger at the mall up on his offer...and the cycle of slavery begins.

Whatever the reason, wherever the path, the end is the same. A childhood is destroyed. A child is destroyed. Dreams for a bright future are taken away and pain becomes their companion. With no one to speak for them...they become silent.


Facts:

This is a true story. And it becomes the biography of 2 children every minute (JFCI); approximately 10 million children worldwide every year (ECPAT).

They’re absorbed into an illegal network which generates $28 billion a year from commercial sexual exploitation (ILO).

Human trafficking is the second most profitable crime in the world.

It is a global emergency.

To redeem their stories, there must be a reaction to this injustice.

------

Our reaction...

...is to respond to God’s heart for this injustice. A reaction, not a movement, will sustain long-term change with this issue. A movement fades and loses momentum, but God’s heart of compassion never ceases. Therefore, we must always react to His heart.

Being a voice -

If we don’t act on behalf of the silent, who will?

The brothel owner won’t...he’s making too much money from the sale of his fresh new commodity.

The mourning aunt won’t...her husband has the final word and his blows are shattering when he is questioned.

The police won’t... the bribe is too sweet and the money so desired.

The deceived parents will weep over the lack of justice in their nation and never raise their voice. It would be futile.

The tourist will look the other way...he’s just here for a vacation, not to get involved.

We must speak!


As Christians, it is our duty to confront the injustices in this world, yet in a nation that blazes bright red as a hot spot for human trafficking, we are deathly silent. Perhaps it is denial. Perhaps it is ignorance. But neither are excuses, and it is our silence that silences the cries of a child in pain and chains. Our silence aides the captors and abusers. Our silence is the greatest weapon used by Darkness to shun the Light . Our silence places the money in the hands of a pimp at the expense of the purity and childhood of an innocent.

Maybe we believe that because we live in America that it is far away from us. That we are worlds apart. What do I have in common with a Cambodian boy? How can I relate to an Ecuadorian girl? But we are wrong. The United States of America is principally a transit and destination country for trafficking in persons. It is estimated that 14,500 to 17,500 people, primarily women and children (50%), are trafficked to the U.S. annually.

It is so simple as individuals to become distracted - we have school, friends, jobs, significant others, and families. I know that by the end of a semester, I struggle to see beyond the stack of looming papers and finals glaring squarely at me, and when looking around, I see that I am not alone.

I believe we have our priorities horribly skewed. We see from the broad scope narrowed to the individual - to us. A giant magnifying glass focused upon ourselves. Perhaps, as believers and as fellow human beings, we need to take the focus from ourselves and place it upon the world - place the microscope upon the enslaved, upon the abused, upon the sick, upon the destitute . . . upon the lost. To place the pressure and focus upon the perpetrators of these crimes in an outcry of protest. Perhaps it is time for us to join together and empty ourselves and pour the light throbbing in our souls upon a world clouded in the darkness of apathy and inaction . . . silence . . . the greatest weapon of mass destruction.

Perhaps we are silent because it makes us uncomfortable. Perhaps it brings reality to our doorstep, but like an unwanted salesman, we shoo it away or pretend not to be home. But . . . maybe we need to be uncomfortable. After all, when you are sitting in a chair and become bothered by an ache or itch, you shift and adjust to remove the problem. . . well, maybe we, as Christians, as humans, need to stop ignoring the pricking uncomfortability and begin to act. To move. To stop pretending, ignoring . . . to speak.

They can't speak. They can't call to you. I've never met them - these silent. But I imagine that if they were given one word to say, they would beg, "Help."


In order to be a beautiful voice for these children, there must be many voices raised. We have not been able to have a say in their beginning, but we can have a say in how their story will end.

"We are only asked to love, to offer hope to the many hopeless. We don't get to choose all the endings, but we are asked to play the rescuers. We won't solve all mysteries and our hearts will certainly break in such a vulnerable life, but it is the best way. We were made to be lovers bold in broken places, pouring ourselves out again and again until we're called Home." (TWLOHA)


There must be involvement.

Your involvement.

What will be her ending?
What will be his ending?


They're waiting for our answer . . . to be a voice for the silent.


“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those who are perishing. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.”
–Proverbs 31:8-9