DREAM Gals

I have 4 super great gals working on the level 2 photography/injustice class Tuesday nights.  We are 1/2 way through now, taking pictures for our final art auction on May 24 (more details to follow, so stay tuned!).  This week's photo theme is 'peace' (the past 2 weeks have been 'beauty' and 'family').  Injustice-wise, we've watched "The Great Debaters", "God Grew Tired of Us" and "Invictus".

"We're really not that different from each other."

The Girls, Giggles & Goals reunion that I blogged about a few days ago hit the local newspaper.  Check out the article at:  www.altonaecho.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3091003

Manitoba Prayer Breakfast

Head to www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/prayer-breakfast-hears-horror-of-sexual-slavery-in-cambodia-120562869.html for more details on yesterday's Manitoba Prayer Breakfast.

Procrastinating

The task (though that seems too 'little' a word) of scrapbooking my YWAM travels of 2009 is still on my to-do list.  It actually calls my name, harassing me to get to it already (I did start, but haven't made much progress).  I wish I could say that the actual job of putting it all together was the reason for my procrastination of the project but it's not.  In order to do the quality of work that I want for the scrapbook, it involves me going through my journal and putting a balanced perspective to the pictures I use and the words I write.  I'm even having a hard time deciding what to write here right now - there's just so much emotion.

I've been going through a lot of my 2009 pictures as I been preparing for my Focus photography/injustice class.  Sometimes I have to pinch myself - did I really experience all the stuff that I did that year?  Some pictures surprise me - I look happier than what I really felt at the time.  I met such amazing people and my words feel as though they fall so short towards people who changed my life so much.  It's not something that I can just tie a nice bow around and push to the back of my mind. . .so I'm procrastinating.

Traffick Jam

I just heard about this event yesterday and it's happening tomorrow:  Traffick Jam - The Canada Fights Human Trafficking Walkathon.  More information at www.traffickjam.cfht.net.  In Winnipeg, it starts at the Forks at 10:30 a.m.

Oh My God by Jars of Clay

Oh my God, look around this place,
Your fingers reach around the bone,
you set the break and set the tone
For flights of grace, and future falls
In present pain all fools say, "Oh my God."

Oh my God, why are we so afraid?
we make it worse when we don't bleed,
there is no cure for our disease.
Turn a phrase and rise again,
or fake your death and only tell your closest friends,
Oh My God.

Oh my God, can I complain?
You take away my firm belief and graft my soul upon your grief.
Weddings, boats, and alibis,
All drift away, and a mother cries...

Liars and fools, sons and failures, thieves will always say..
Lost and found, ailing wanderers, healers always say..
Whores and angels, men with problems, leavers always say..
Broken hearted, separated, orphans always say..
War creators, racial haters, preachers always say..
Distant fathers, fallen warriors, givers always say..
Pilgrim saints, lonely widows, users always say..
Fearful mothers, watchful doubters, Saviors always say..

Sometimes I can not forgive
and these days mercy cuts so deep,
If the world was how it should be, maybe I could get some sleep.
While I lay, I'd dream we're better, scales were gone and faces lighter,
When we wake we hate our brother, we still move to hurt each other,
Sometimes I can close my eyes and all the fear the keeps me silent,
Falls below my heavy breathing, what makes me so badly bent?
We all have a chance to murder, we all have the need for wonder.
We still want to be reminded that the pain is worth the plunder.

Sometimes when I lose my grip, I wonder what to make of heaven,
All the times I thought to reach up, all the times I had to give up.
Babies underneath their beds, in hospitals that cannot treat them.
All the wounds that money causes, all the comforts of cathedrals,
All the cries of thirsty children, this is our inheritance,
All the rage of watching mothers, this is our greatest offense
Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God.

Justice for the Poor

For the next 6 Sundays, I'll be leading an adult Sunday school class at my church (something I've never done before) called Justice for the Poor (more at www.sojo.net).  I hope to be able to share some of the insights and discussions that come up between now and the end of May.

I did a promo of the class in my church way back in January, but things were delayed.  I ordered the books, but they got lost in the mail and then another study series came up, so now we can finally start.  I don't doubt God's timing - I'm sure that the class is happening now for a specific reason, the least of which is to remind me once again of the mission that God has called me to.

G-rated

From the article "Can We Help to Break the Chains?" by Karen Stiller, FaithToday (March/April 2011):

"'We like to have a G-rated church, but as soon as you open the Bible, you realize Christianity is not always rated G,' says Cassells.  'The Church needs to engage in this issue, and become aware that out of the many prostitutes and the many, many buyers, we all know people personally involved in prostitution at some level.'

The church indeed welcomes the broken and attempts to usher in healing, while at the same time facing injustice that would be easier to ignore - and opposing it.  Prostitution is clearly such an injustice, where vulnerable women (and children and some men) are abused to meet the unrestrained appetites of people with whom we cross paths daily."

Freedom

"I am a Canadian, a Free Canadian,

Free to speak without fear,

Free to worship in my own way,

Free to oppose what I believe wrong,

Free to stand for what I think right,

Free to choose those who shall govern my country.

This heritage of Freedom I pledge to uphold for myself & all mankind."

Adapted from Prime Minister John Diefenbaker (July 1, 1960)

Respect Your Freedom.  Vote.

The Clock is Ticking

Continuing from yesterday:

Girls, Giggles & Goals

Last October I was part of a group that planned an event for young girls in our community called "Girls, Giggles & Goals".  We looked at various issues throughout the day including self esteem, dreams, local and global involvement.  I talked about my global experiences and showed the following video:

We met for a follow-up today.  Part of the experience in October included writing letters to girls in an Afghan orphanage and today they received reply letters, which was really neat.  The Afghan girls talked about what their favorite colors were, what they were learning in school, dreams of becoming doctors and lawyers.  Some of them provided email addresses, so hopefully our girls will be able to stay in touch.  It all starts with a girl. . .

Testify

Emmanuel Jal, in the movie War Child, used the word "testify" a number of times.  He would be talking about sharing the story of his life, referring to growing up amid the war in Sudan and becoming a child soldier, and his next statement would always use the word "testify" to reiterate his point.  It's not a word we use regularly.  You hear it more when people talk about going to court and being a witness, not general life.  Within a Christian context, you hear the word "testimony" (and people begin to squirm right away!).

Just before I left South Africa, I encountered 2 women, probably homeless, who asked me to take their picture.  I told them that I was leaving the country soon and wouldn't be able to get them a print, but they still wanted me to take the picture.  Why?  In many countries, especially those with less media than we are used to, having your picture taken puts them into history, as it were.  Someone, somewhere has evidence that they were alive at a specific point in time.

Emmanuel's life testifies to the war in Sudan - he was a witness - but more than that, it was his life - it's his testimony.

Representing God

 I received an update newsletter full of articles from the organization Partners Relief & Development last week.  Their mission:  "Through holistic action, we demonstrate God's love to children & communities made vulnerable by war in Burma".  In the article Beyond Fish, Pigs & Farms by Craig Garrison, he says:

"The Shan people are primarily Buddhist.  Does Jesus come into the equation?  Of course! I was recently talking with a Buddhist, Shan friend.  He said this to me in broken English, 'Three years ago when you first started working with us, I thought you only wanted us to be Christians.  Now I realize that you wanted to be God to us. . .'  What he meant was that his initial thinking about Partners' involvement was about religion; what he has found out is that we desire to represent God to him and the Shan people."

Micah 6:8

"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?"  (ESV)

"He has showed you, O man, what is good.  And what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."  (NIV)

"The Lord God has told us what is right and what he demands:  'See that justice is done, let mercy be your first concern, and humbly obey your God.'"  (CEV)

"He's already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women.  It's quite simple:  Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, and don't take yourself too seriously - take God seriously."  (The Message)

Petition to End Trafficking of Children and Youth

I got this email in my inbox the other day:

WE NEED YOUR HELP TO END SEX TRAFFICKING OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH
Goal of 1.5 million petition signatures close at hand

In partnership with ECPAT International, The Body Shop launched the Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Youth Campaign to raise awareness and funds for this issue. It also launched a petition to urge governments worldwide to develop a national plan of action ensuring a coordinated response for prevention and protection of young victims.

We are coming near to the end of the petition portion of the campaign. We have amassed more 1.3 million signatures in North America.  Over the next several weeks we are urging anyone who has not signed the petition to do so. Our goal is to reach 1.5 million signatures. Beyond Borders, in partnership with The Body Shop, will be presenting the petition to government officials. We will keep you posted on when and where that will take place.

Please help us by passing this message on to friends and family. This small, easy action will send a big message to our government that we want to see action on this issue now.


Please click on the link below to add your name to the petition:
www.thebodyshop.com/_en/_ww/values-campaigns/stop-trafficking-select-country.aspx

Green Day

Today is "Green Day - Jolica Open House" and you can get involved by heading to my website to place your order:  www.jolica.com/ladawn.siemens

Come & Celebrate Earth Day (April 22) & Fair Trage

Every Order will receive a Small Thank You Gift

Beyond the 5% going to the Jolica Foundation,
I'll be donating 5% of sales to support Fair Trade workers through a World Vision Project.

If you make a $50 order, your name will be entered to win a green glass necklace from Chile ($20 value).

If you make a $100 order, your name will be entered in 2 draws:  one to win a green glass necklace from Chile ($20 value) & the other to win a green leather purse from India ($89 value, discontinued & no longer available for purchase).

Living Without Money

a rather interesting idea. . .

Living Without Money - trailer from Without Money on Vimeo.

free Winnipeg showing - Thursday, April 14, 7 p.m. @ University of Winnipeg, 4M47

War Child

I've been reading a lot about child soldiers lately and I want to recommend both the book and movie War Child to you.  A heart-wrenching story of Emmanuel Jal, originally from Sudan.  His story is unique in the fact that he spent some time in an Ethiopian refugee camp and since he had a great aptitude for talking, he connected with the UN personnel on the ground.  The movie shows some of the footage from that time and certainly ties in a lot that you read in the book.  His story is also powerful because the faith that his mother had became his own as God literally saved his life by providing a bird to eat (there are more details to the story, but I'll let you read about them).  Head to www.warchildmovie.com.

War Child- Emmanuel Jal (Trailer) from Dal LaMagna on Vimeo.

Ready to DREAM!

I started another photography/injustice class at the high school tonight.  Last year's 2 classes were level 1 and the students came together for the new level 2 course.  Five students came tonight and I hope to have a few more join us - I am planning to end with an art auction where the proceeds from the auction of the students' pictures will go to a local charity.  The more students, the more pictures, the more money for charity!

I've done a lot of different things in the last 15 months at home that I never imagined myself doing but this class at the high school on Tuesday nights has been by far my favorite.  It is SO exciting to see them get excited as I am about injustice issues (really, the photography is the hook but the injustice is the heart!).  We are ready to DREAM (dream is our overall theme for the art auction)!

Too Early for Spring

Spring is a precarious time on the prairies.  There's the hope that the snow will all disappear - with no more to take its place until next winter.  It's been a beautiful Spring Break this past week.  Each morning, the hills of snow looked less than the previous day while the puddles grew.  Sitting around the 0 mark, hoping that precipitation would pass us.  Even though the grass is brown, it's a relief to see more of it uncovered - until this morning, that is!  The precipitation no longer could overlook us and big white flakes of snow have once again covered the lawn.  We get our hopes up, but in the back of our minds we know - it's too early for spring to really be here.

Blessings by Laura Story

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home,
It's not our home

‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise