A Sin Against Humanity

IJM - Introduction Video from International Justice Mission on Vimeo.

In a Single Word

All the great things are simple,
and many can be expressed
in a single word:

Freedom

Justice

Honor

Duty

Mercy

Hope.

~Winston Churchill

Eli

invisiblepeople.tv/blog

Compassion asks. . .

Compassion asks us to go where it hurts,

and to enter into the places of pain,

to share in the brokenness, fear,
confusion & anguish.

Compassion means full immersion
in the condition of being human.

~Henri J. M. Nouwen

Whatever You're Doing ~ Sanctus Real

It's time for healing time to move on

It's time to fix what's been broken too long

Time make right what has been wrong

It's time to find my way to where I belong

There's a wave that's crashing over me

All I can do is surrender

(Chorus)

Whatever you're doing inside of me

It feels like chaos somehow there's peace

It's hard to surrender to what I can't see

but I'm giving in to something heavenly

Time for a milestone

Time to begin again

Revaluate who I really am

Am I doing everything to follow your will

or just climbing aimlessly over these hills

So show me what it is you want from me

I give everything I surrender...

To...

(Chorus)

Time to face up

Clean this old house

Time to breathe in and let everything out

That I've wanted to say for so many years

Time to release all my held back tears

Whatever you're doing inside of me

It feels like chaos but I believe

You're up to something bigger than me

Larger than life something heavenly

Whatever you're doing inside of me

It feels like chaos but now I can see

This something bigger than me

Larger than life something heavenly

Something heavenly

It's time to face up

Clean this old house

Time breathe in and let everything out

Isaiah 9:6

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God,

Everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace.

Healing Begins ~ Tenth Avenue North

So you thought you had to keep this up
All the work that you do
So we think that you're good
And you can't believe it's not enough
All the walls you built up
Are just glass on the outside

So let 'em fall down
There's freedom waiting in the sound
When you let your walls fall to the ground
We're here now

This is where the healing begins, oh
This is where the healing starts
When you come to where you're broken within
The light meets the dark
The light meets the dark

Afraid to let your secrets out
Everything that you hide
Can come crashing through the door now
But too scared to face all your fear
So you hide but you find
That the shame won't disappear

Sparks will fly as grace collides
With the dark inside of us
So please don't fight
This coming light
Let this blood come cover us
His blood can cover us

Hope

I want to blog about Partners Relief & Development and their work with the Burmese people (I highlighted one of their videos a few days ago).  I just ordered their calendar and it includes amazing photography and touching quotes - a perfect combination in my eyes.  Of course, I love their book Displaced Reflections and I'm anxiously awaiting their second book, which I'm sure will not disappoint.  Check out their website and see how you might consider getting involved:

www.partnersworld.ca

"All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word:

Freedom, Justice, Honor, Duty, Mercy, Hope."

~Winston Churchill

Reporter - A film with Nicholas D. Kristof

I blogged about the preview of this film in August and I finally got my hands on a copy and watched it.  It's an amazing film - definitely worth watching!  One of the central themes is about what's called 'physic numbing'.  Basically the idea is that our brains can't handle large scale suffering.  We can grasp the idea of 1 victim, but when that number increases (even just to 2), we become less compassionate (there's a whole area of study on compassion - I'm not making this up).  Hopefully I've peaked your interest and you'll watch the film Reporter for yourself!

"If I look at the mass, I will never act.

If I look at the one, I will."

~Mother Teresa

www.reporterfilm.com

It takes a village to build a village

Check out the following article from this week's Red River Valley Echo.  It includes some of the pictures I took from the spring when I worked with the refugees and the Hopes & Dreams club.

www.altonaecho.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3406590

CNN: China Busts Child Trafficking Ring

 

thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com

Displaced Childhoods

Displaced Childhoods from partners Relief & Development Ca on Vimeo.

My Heart

It's been quite a while since I've blogged about myself and my life - I've been covering other links and features from various websites, so I thought it was about time to blog a bit about myself again.  I want to share some of the things on my heart currently (those of who you know me best, know my heart is a vast ocean, so this will be but a drop!).

At the end of 2009 when I was in South Africa, I experienced, for the very first time in my life, a true desire to go to church and worship.  It was not an obligation and as soon as the Sunday service ended, all I could think about was 'when is the next service?'.  When I moved this past August, I had no idea how long I would be in the area.  I was just on term work and didn't know how much I should connect with the community.  I was also working nights during the week and so when the weekend rolled around, I slept a lot of time sleeping, trying to recover from the past week and preparing for the lack of sleep for the next week.

So it wasn't until late October that I finally went to a local church.  The reason I picked this specific one was the fact that they take out full page ads in the newspaper to promote the various programs in the church which focus on the community at large.  One example is that they fix up vehicles and basically give away cars (there are some rules, but that's the basic premise) and the people receiving the vehicles don't have to go to the church - they don't even have to be Christians.

Life has been incredibly busy, especially since I started teaching again in mid-October.  I get to the end of the week exhausted, with a pile of marking and prepping that never seems to get smaller.  A few weeks I've made the decision to get a few more hours of sleep versus going to church.  But the weeks I've decided to go have been such a blessing.  It's amazing how different it feels when the pastor at the front speaks directly (doesn't talk around an issue), and is real, to the point of sharing the messiness of his own life.  It's been a really good church for me to worship in on Sundays and now I'm hoping that I can also connect with the people in other ways in the new year.

John (not his real name)

Normally when I blog about InvisiblePeople.tv, I include the video clip right here, but today I'm not going to do that.  I want you to click on the link below and I want you to read the write-up before watching the clip.  There's something severely wrong in a 'civilized' society that beats up on the vulnerable homeless.

invisiblepeople.tv/blog/2011/12/john-homeless-ottawa-canada

MP Joy Smith's Tireless Efforts Continue

Joy Smith continues on in her fight against human trafficking and exploitation of the most vulnerable - from yesterday's Winnipeg Free Press:

www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/punish-sex-buyers-not-providers-mp-135154378.html

CNN: This is Miguel's Story

I want you to remember Miguel's face. . .this is the reason - HE is the reason - why we need to be vigilant. He is the reason to buy fair trade; he is the reason NOT to participate in pornography and prostitution; he is the reason to be a conscious consumer (especially as westerners who not only want what we want, but we want it cheap).  Please don't forget Miguel. . .

 

thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/06/haitian-boy-buried-alive-by-traffickers

They Were Women

I ask you to take some time today to stop and reflect about the women who lost their lives on this day in 1989 in Montreal for the simple fact that they were women.  Then consider how you can improve the life of at least one woman or girl (locally or globally) because there are many on our globe who face violence today just because they are women.

Little Drummer Boy

Check this out:  Sean Quigley is a 16-year old from Winnipeg.  He not only sang the song, he played all 8 instruments, directed, and edited the video!  Way to go Sean!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrNcD34KFhM&feature=related

CNN: Common Dreams

You will need about half an hour to watch the CNN Freedom Project documentary Common Dreams, but it is definitely worth your time!

thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/01/watch-the-common-dreams-documentary

CNN: Your Cell Phone, Congo's Misery

We are all truly connected and not just by using your cell phone, but the materials that lie inside it:

edition.cnn.com/2011/11/28/opinion/wright-congo/index.html?hpt=op_t1

CNN: Violin Symbolizes Brush with Slavery

Check out the following article for a dark side of Canada's history.  I had no idea this happened in our country and I think our prime minister needs to make a formal apology, so I would ask you to write a letter to him in that regard (no postage required):

Stephen Harper

Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON

K1A 0A2

thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/22/violin-symbolizes-brush-with-slavery

CNN: Growing Up a Slave in the US

 

 thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com

Gift of Hope

This is one of Jolica's current Foundation projects (5% of all retail sales go to 1 of our 2 current projects):

www.youtube.com/user/JolicaCompany

Joining on Somaly Mam's Brothel Bust

I admire both Nicholas Kristof in his reporting of serious woman's issues and Somaly Mam in her fight against human trafficking in Cambodia (www.somaly.org) and it's wonderful when the 2 combine forces!  Head over to the following links to find out more:

kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/12/joining-on-somaly-mams-brothel-bust

www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/opinion/sunday/kristof-fighting-back-one-brothel-raid-at-a-time.html?_r=1

Won't You Be My Love ~ MercyMe

When you fall asleep tonight

In your warm and cozy room

Know that I'm awake

And I've got no shelter and no food

I am not alone

My friends are broke and lost

Looking for someone to lead them to my cross

I need your help, I need your help

Won't you be My voice calling

Won't you be My hands healing

Won't you be My feet walking into a broken world

Won't you be My chain-breaker

Won't you be My peacemaker

Won't you be My hope and joy

Won't you be My Love

The other side of the world

She is just a few days old

A helpless little girl

With no family of her own

She is not to blame for the journey she is on

Her life is no mistake

Won't you lead her to My cross?

Won't you be My voice calling

Won't you be My hands healing

Won't you be My feet walking into a broken world

Won't you be My chain-breaker

Won't you be My peacemaker

Won't you be My hope and joy

Won't you be My Love

To those I call My own

To those I've set aside

As spotless without blame

The chosen ones My bride

We will be Your voice calling

We will be Your hands healing

We will be Your feet walking into a broken world

We will be Your chain-breaker

We will be Your peacemaker

We will be Your hope and joy

We will be Your love

Your Hands ~ JJ Heller

I have unanswered prayers
I have trouble I wish wasn't there
And I have asked a thousand ways
That You would take my pain away
That You would take my pain away

I am trying to understand
How to walk this weary land
Make straight the paths that crookedly lie
Oh Lord, before these feet of mine
Oh Lord, before these feet of mine

When my world is shaking
Heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave Your hands

When You walked upon the Earth
You healed the broken, lost, and hurt
I know You hate to see me cry
One day You will set all things right
Yea, one day You will set all things right

When my world is shaking
Heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave Your hands

Your hands
Your hands that shape the world
Are holding me, they hold me still
Your hands that shape the world
Are holding me, they hold me still

When my world is shaking
Heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave You when...

When my world is shaking
Heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave...
I never leave Your hands

CNN: 'Death in the Desert'

The following link features the full documentary 'Death in the Desert' and sheds a new light on trafficking - organ trafficking.  They are longer videos, so you'd need a chunk of time; and they are graphic videos, so proceed with caution.

thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/08/death-in-the-desert

CNN: Busting a Nigerian Prostitution Ring

 

 thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/11/inside-a-nigerian-prostitution-bust

Lee Anne

invisiblepeople.tv

I love her 3 wishes and I hope that she's able to see them through!

Girls Just Want to Go to School

Sometimes I wonder if we have our priorities totally wrong in the west - actually, I know we do.  When my students complain about homework or having their iPod and cell phone taken away, I wonder what it would take to make them appreciate what they so freely have and that so many others around the world only dream of, longing for the opportunity of an education.  Or, as Nicholas Kristof's article below describes, taking the opportunity, even if it means getting up 3 a.m.

www.nytimes.com/2011/11/10/opinion/kristof-girls-just-want-to-go-to-school.html?_r=1

CNN: Ending Organ Trafficking

 

thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/03/refugees-face-organ-theft-in-the-sinai

CNN: Dozens Freed From Forced Prostitution

 

thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/05/police-raid-frees-30-from-alleged-forced-prostitution

How Many Slaves are Working for You?

My cousin sent me this link:

www.fastcompany.com/1781900/the-slavery-footprint-this-site-will-reveal-how-many-slaves-work-for-you

which talks about 2 other sites that you should check out:

Call + Response at www.callandresponse.com and
 
Slavery Footprint at www.slaveryfootprint.org


I have already featured some of the videos from Call + Response on my blog.  I went to Slavery Footprint to find out I have about 60 slaves working for me - check it out, it's an interesting set of questions that they ask to determine the number of slaves working for our food, clothing, etc.

Erin

invisiblepeople.tv

Not My Life

notmylife.org

CNN: We Can Change the World

This is a preview to tomorrow's blog about the film "Not My Life."  There are 3 videos to check out at:

thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/16/director-we-can-change-the-world

Richard

invisiblepeople.tv

Learning to Breathe ~ Switchfoot

Hello, good morning, how ya do?

What makes your rising sun so new?

I could use a fresh beginning too

All of my regrets are nothing new

So this is the way

that I say that I need You

This is the way

This is the way

That I'm learning to breathe

I'm learning to crawl

I'm finding that You and

You alone can break my fall

I'm living again, awake and alive

I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies

Hello, good morning, how ya been?

Yesterday left my head kicked in

I never thought I could fall like that

Never knew that I could hurt this bad

I'm learning to breathe

I'm learning to crawl

I'm finding that You and

You alone can break my fall

I'm living again, awake and alive

I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies

So this is the way

that I say that I need You

This is the way

That I say I love You

This is the way

That I say I'm Yours

This is the way

This is the way

Angels in the Dust ~ Do Ubuntu

Thanks to my friend Teresa, I found out about the Do Ubuntu bracelet campaign and the documentary Angels in the Dust.  You can find out more at www.angelsinthedust.org and if you are interested in getting involved, I have some of the bracelets so just let me know ASAP.  I have sold about 20 so far but they sent me 100 and I'd really like to send them money instead of having to return the bracelets.  They come in 3 different sizes and 2 different thicknesses:  extra-small, only in thin; small/medium in either thin or thick; large in either thin or thick.  They are $15 each and would make a great stocking stuffer!  I also have a copy of the documentary, so if you'd like to see it, again just let me know.

Call + Response

www.callandresponse.com

Horror

www.callandresponse.com

CNN: Underage Prostitutes Rescued in Peru

thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/05/underage-prostitutes-rescued-in-peru

Also check out the following Winnipeg Free Press article:

www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/brothels-no-safe-haven-expert-132980858.html

Darryl

invisiblepeople.tv/blog

In This Rape Center, the Patient Was 3

WARNING:  This is a hard article to read.  Proceed with caution.  For those of you brave enough to continue, know that you can no longer claim ignorance.

www.nytimes.com/2011/10/09/opinion/sunday/kristof-In-This-Rape-Center-the-Patient-Was-3.html?_r=1

Thank you Nicholas Kristof for not being afraid to share the truth and making us aware of the stark realities in our world.

Brotha BlueStocking

invisiblepeople.tv/blog

When I first heard about the Invisible People blog (when they came through Winnipeg earlier this year), it stirred my interest because Mark was in Canada, so I thought I would see what the blog had to offer.  Today's video is not from Canada, but I can't seem to stop watching the clips (and also sharing them).  When homelessness - or any injustice issue for that matter - has a name and a voice, it becomes real and hopefully it's something we then can't forget about.

Healing Begins ~ Tenth Avenue North

So you thought you had to keep this up
All the work that you do
So we think that you're good
And you can't believe it's not enough
All the walls you built up
Are just glass on the outside

So let 'em fall down
There's freedom waiting in the sound
When you let your walls fall to the ground
We're here now

This is where the healing begins, oh
This is where the healing starts
When you come to where you're broken within
The light meets the dark
The light meets the dark

Afraid to let your secrets out
Everything that you hide
Can come crashing through the door now
But too scared to face all your fear
So you hide but you find
That the shame won't disappear

Sparks will fly as grace collides
With the dark inside of us
So please don't fight
This coming light
Let this blood come cover us
His blood can cover us

No Running Water

Canada is a great county to live in - one of the best in the world!  That being said, we are not without our problems.  Life is not perfect in our country and, though it's difficult, it's important to look at the tough issues that plague our citizens and work to make life better for all Canadians.  The Winnipeg Free Press has been reporting on the issue of running water - basic plumbing that most of us don't think about twice.  Check out this video:

bcove.me/0niyi57r

CNN: Follow Up to Dan Rivers' 3-Part Series

thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/07/u-s-human-trafficking-czar-on-how-consumers-can-combat-slavery

CNN: Following Slavery Across the Globe

thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/04/tracking-factory-slaves-across-asia

CNN: Modern Slaves Build High-Tech Components

thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/04/tracking-factory-slaves-across-asia

CNN: Tracking Factory 'Slaves' Across Asia

thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/04/tracking-factory-slaves-across-asia

Happy November!

Well I hope that you enjoyed my pictures throughout the month of October.  It was a good project to work on, but it's nice to be done and to be able to focus back on injustice.  I've got a lot of great information to share over the next few weeks (I've been saving it as it has crossed my desk).

It's interesting to look back at my pictures at the beginning of the month and note how warm it still was compared to the weather now (though it's still favorable, it feels like winter can't be too far off).  Another difference, on a much larger scale, is the fact that October officially welcomed our 7th billionth person to the planet.  Certainly that brings many questions to mind, starting with whether or not the earth can sustain that amount of life and, if so, for how long.

 

jafrianews.com/2011/09/13/world-population-to-reach-7-billion-next-month

Day 30: in motion

Cameras are too smart sometimes.  When I wanted to create motion on my point and shoot, I had to turn off the stabilizer, because my camera thought it was being so smart - the more I moved the camera to create motion, the faster the shutter would go, thereby creating no movement.  What in the world did I do to create these photos? - I got smart.  Not only was my stabilizer off, I put my timer on and used the camera strap to swing the camera around.  I think they turned out pretty cool!

Day 24: a smile

My heart smiles when I get mail - real mail, not bills but real mail.  You know, the kind where someone wrote your name on the envelope, bought a stamp and placed something special inside, just for you!  It always brings a smile to my face and my heart!

Day 29: purchased

I went to Ten Thousand Villages today to pick up a gift and I was so excited to find the their assortment of food and drink had greatly expanded!  The most exciting thing was the Camino juices (actually, the choice of Camino products grew exponentially considering it was basically just chocolate before).  These juices are fair trade as well as organic!

Here's what it says on the side of the juice box:

Join us in the joyful food revolution
Welcome to the path, or in Spanish, the camino.  Your purchase of a Camino product is a step forward on the path towards change.  Through the joy of drinking this refreshing beverage, you are contributing to building vibrant, sustainable communities here and throughout South America.

Taste of change.  Taste of Camino.

www.tasteofcamino.com

Day 16: what i ate

After a busy week of teaching, it was time to veg and what could be more perfect than pizza on a Friday night?!

Day 4: favorite color

 

My favorite color (thanks in part to my grade 7 teacher Mrs. Peters) is purple.  I also love brown and green.

day 1: self portrait

Good ol' school pictures!  Not bad for a self portrait - a picture of a picture!

Day 15: my shoes

How to pick just one pair. . .I decided on my new TOMS (check out www.tomsshoes.ca - one for one).  Yep, the journey is the destination. . .one foot in front of another. . .step by step.

Day 28: daily routine

 

For the past 3 months at the shelter, 6 a.m. used to be the hour that I had to push through to stay awake until 8, when my shift was over.  Now, it's the time that the alarm clock rings and announces the start of a new day. . .so off to school I go!

Day 17: on the shelf

 




What's
on my
shelves?
Books of
course!!

Day 19: where i slept

After spending a few nights in Winnipeg, it was great to come back home to my own bed tonight.  After working 3 months of nights at the shelter, this week I've realized just how little sleep I got then and just how sleep deprived I am.  Hoping to change that soon. . .don't know how successful I will be with all the work I have to do for school now!

Day 18: in my bag

everything except. . .

Days 26 & 7: something old, something new

 

I couldn't decide which day this picture belonged to, so it's both something old and something new.  I'm back teaching (old) in a school where I previously taught (old).  I'm teaching grade 9 & 10 science (thankfully old!) in the same classroom (old) but everything is different (new).  It feels kind of like coming home, but home (and its faces) has changed a lot in the 6 years since I was last there.

Day 2: what i wore

This is the best I could do with today's theme.  The outfit for my first day of teaching yesterday was rather cute, if I do say so myself!

Day 6: childhood memory

I'm heading back to school today and I don't think that I feel that much different from my very first day of school for kindergarten.  One childhood memory I have is my mom taking a picture of me (and then me & Lyndon, and then me, Lyndon & Lee) before heading off on the first day of the new year.

It may seem like a bit of an odd picture, but I've been following Dear Photograph (dearphotograph.com) and I wanted to make a submission - this picture works for my own photo challenge as well as theirs.  By the way, it's harder than it looks to take this type of picture!

Day 12: close-up

LOVING the macro (almost as much as this beautiful pink gerbera daisy)!!

I may not be able to go back to my SLR (not without a macro lens anyway!).

Day 13: from a distance

I know people have differing opinions about the windmills that were put up in southern Manitoba around St. Joseph, but I personally love them.  I think that they are a great renewable resource and they are quite a sight to behold.  If you haven't seen them yet, take a drive down and check them out.  You will definitely be able to see them from a distance!

Day 3: clouds

Amazing clouds. . .in front of an awesome sign!

Day 8: technology

As you can probably tell, I've been using my macro setting a lot while working on this project (and I've had a lot of fun with it!).  It took me a while to get this shot because my point-and-shoot was not focusing where I wanted it to.  I finally got the right angle so that I was happy with the place of focus.  My laptop is very literally my life and I am quite lost without it (and my internet connection)!  I wonder how many keystrokes I've logged on this keyboard since I got it at the beginning of 2009. . .

Day 10: something i made

I spend 3 hours stitching baby blankets for my family
& friends when they welcome a baby in their lives.

Day 14: flower(s)

Day 27: after dark

 

Only a few more nights left crossing Mountain & Main at around 11:45 p.m. for work.  Next week I'll be going to work in the light at a much earlier hour!

Day 23: sunset

Taken through the windshield of my car. . .while driving. . .don't try this at home!

Day 11: something fun

something fun. . .a giant cup of coffee with a friend

Day 20: what i read

Yikes, where do I even start with a theme like "what i read"? - I mean, I can't even fit all the books I've read in the last year in one picture that I'd be happy with. So I picked the one book that is the most important to me, the Bible. Some days it's hard to read - because of how busy I am or because of the content of the text. Other days I don't want to stop - because God speaks through it and it touches something deep within me. I photographed one of my favorite chapters, Isaiah 58.

Stay hungry. Stay foolish.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc&feature=player_embedded

Day 22: trees

I LOVE trees!  And at this time of the year, seeing them turn color from greens to reds and yellows and oranges is simply amazing.  It stirs something within me that I cannot describe in words.  The fall is upon us, even though the temperatures don't feel that way - to reach 30 in the summer is one thing, but at the beginning of October is unheard of!  Be sure to get out and enjoy the changing leaves and the beautiful weather!

Day 25: sunflare

 

  

Hope that you were able to get outside today

and enjoy the beautiful weather and vote!

Day 21: pretty pattern

 

pretty pattern. . .enough said

Day 9: faceless self portrait

Since moving in August, my bike and I have trekked many miles together.  I have biked to work and to the pool, but there are also great biking trails in town that I've taken advantage of.  I've been lucky in biking to work - it's only rained a few times and when it did, it was just a light rain.  I guess I'll see what happens when the snow flies (maybe that won't happen this year?!?).  Here I had to stop at an intersection and wait for a few cars when I noticed the reflection in the water and my shadow, so this is my faceless self portrait of one of the new activities in my life.

Day 5: someone i love

My dog Sydney is definitely someone I love!  She greets me with unbounding love and admiration every time I see her!  Getting a picture of her is always a challenge since she doesn't sit still for very long (unless you're giving her a belly rub and then it's difficult to take a picture!).

My Unique Perspective

My cousin blogged about the 30 Day Photo Challenge a while ago (it originally took place in August) and I think I may finally have some time to participate in it myself.  Actually, I probably don't have the time, but I'm going to try and make some time.  My camera has been collecting a bit of dust lately and it's as good a reason as any to start snapping away again.

I've changed the rules a bit (other than the fact it was supposed to happen in August!) - I'm still going to use their themes, but I'm going to post them over the month of October in my own order.  Also, I can't for the life of me remember where I read this but, in an photography article, the teacher gave an assignment and had their students go out with point-and-shoot cameras instead of SLR's to work on their composition (instead of worrying about focus and white balance and ISO and aperture and shutter speed. . .) which is what I'm going to do as well.  Lately I have also felt that I need to "take a break" from injustice for a bit.  Of course, injustice never stops and it's a burden I carry in my heart all the time, but October's posts will be photographic in nature.  Enjoy My Unique Perspective (or don't and take a month's holiday from My Step by Step Journey)!

Heading Back to School

This year has been SO strange.  Most of the spring I just waited for work to come my way - subbing was slow, Jolica parties were not happening - and I felt like I had no direction at all.  Literally overnight, everything changed.  At the end of April I started tutoring at Sylvan in Winnipeg, which I really enjoyed.  And then 3 weeks after that job started, I got the manager position at Ten Thousand Villages.  My life went from boring to crazy in such a short time span.

I was only at Ten Thousand Villages for a month and a half because of the fact that I also sold Jolica (both Fair Trade companies).  I had run my butt off, driving to Winkler for Villages and then to Winnipeg for Sylvan (sometimes both in one day), and, at times, I wasn't sure which way was up because of the busyness.  A term position then opened up at Genesis House, the woman's shelter where I was a casual worker, and so I signed up for 4 months of nights (midnight to 8 a.m.).  Seriously, looking back at it all right now, I can't believe what I all signed up for this year!

Originally the nights term was to end on November 11, but then I got word that it would end 3 weeks sooner.  Since I didn't have anything else lined up once the term was finished, I got my paperwork together to substitute in Winkler.  And in the mean time, a science position opened up at the high school that I used to teach at 6 years ago and today I found out that I got the term!  It's only from mid-October until the end of January, but I'll take it!  So, I'm heading back to school!!

Carly

InvisiblePeople.tv revisits Winnipeg.  The reason I continue to check out these videos and post them is because the people all give homelessness a voice and a face.  You can choose to ignore it or walk away from it, but it's still there, right in front of us.

invisiblepeople.tv/blog

Trade

I am in the midst of enjoying my month of free Netflix movies online and my cousin recommended I watch "Trade".  As with "The Whistleblower", it's about human trafficking, though this movie brings it a little closer to home as it features Mexico and the U.S.A.  Both movies were hard to watch and I really do want to watch "The Whistleblower" again, but I think "Trade" will have to wait a long while before I even consider watching it again.  It was just SO hard to watch.  Depravity was the word that continued to come to my mind.  And I continued to wonder where our humanity has gone when people become commodities and are bought and sold without regard to the victim, only regard to the money that traffickers gain.

Breaking the Mold (to Smithereens!)

My 30's have been far from perfect, though I'm enjoying them so much more than my 20's.  In your 20's, you think you know everything but in your 30's (at least for me), it's been a realization that I don't know everything - I don't have to know everything - and that's ok.  I think a large part of it for myself has been coming to terms with the life I have lived, and will continue to live.  I have no idea who came up with the word 'normal', but it should be taken out of our vocabulary.  There is no such thing and comparing to what we believe is 'normal' just doesn't get us anywhere.

People will ask what I've been up and I talk about a job here and a job there; some travel here and some travel there.  I've heard the comment that it must be so nice to have so many adventures or the fact that I'm free to do what I choose having nothing to tie me down.  It's doesn't really feel that way - certainly not when you're in the midst of it.  Everything about my life, breaks the mold - there's been no stable job or career, no marriage, no kids, just me and the path that I've been journeying on.

My response to people about my life and its variability has changed as of late.  Don't get me wrong - I still hope to find a partner to journey with and to have a family with, but I'm finding peace, sitting in that pocket, in giving up expectations - my own first, and then those that other people have of me.  So not only do I need to break the mold - it must explode to smithereens!  No trace is left.  We're starting from scratch.  People can think what they want.  I have to live my life.  My journey is uniquely mine - no one else can lay claim to it.  I must embrace it.  Mold, what mold?

The Redeemer ~ Sanctus Real

Sometimes I just wanna start over
Cuz everything looks like a wreck
And I need the courage to carry on
Cuz I can’t see what’s ahead

And there are places I’ve wished I could be
Battles I’ve wanted to win
Dreams that have slipped through my hands
I may never be back again

But I’m still a dreamer
A believer
Oh, I lost my faith in so many things
But I still believe in You
Cuz You can make anything new

Sometimes I just wish we could say
All the things that are easy to hear
Ignore the injustice we see
And explain every unanswered prayer
But I’d rather speak honestly
And wear a tattered heart on my sleeve
Cuz in the middle of my broken dreams
Redemption is here

And I’m still a dreamer
A believer
Oh, I lost my faith in so many things
But I still believe in You
Cuz You are the answer
The Redeemer
Oh, I’ve given up on too many things
But I’m not giving up on You
Cuz You can make anything new

I don’t have every answer in life
But I’m trusting You one day at a time
Cuz You can make a weak heart stay alive
Forever
And this is where heaven and earth collide
I lift my hands, I give my life
This is how my weary heart stays alive

Oh, I’m still a dreamer
Still a believer
And You are the answer
The Redeemer
Cuz You can make anything new
Yeah, You can make anything new

'Progress isn't Enough'

CNN is hitting the chocolate issue hard this week (it being the 10th anniversary of the Harkin-Engel Protocol, signed by major chocolate companies).  I LOVE this interview - Max Foster keeps asking the hard questions and does not accept fluffy answers!

 

thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com

At Arm's Length

I was reading an article in Sojourners (August 2011) a while ago and I made note of this quote:

"'Being willing to sit with another person in their pain is something we Americans seem to fear.  This type of intimacy requires a lot of our "self"; it requires that we not hold another person at arm's length, but walk side by side through life.'"

It's so much easier to live life at arm's length, isn't it?  We don't want to get involved and don't want things to get too messy.  But then one day, you wake up and wonder why it feels as though you haven't lived life or why you're all alone.  It's hard to take the risk to share - not only in another's pain, but sharing our own pain with another.  And yet as hard as that is, I have found that there is no other place I'd rather be.  There is nothing easy about it; but there is also nothing as rewarding.  Your heart breaks and heals - all at the very same time.  It requires truth. . .trust. . .and time (all qualities in short supply today).  Some days you want to run the other way as fast as you can; other days, the pain is your only comfort in life and you cling to it as if it were the very thing keeping you alive.  If I'm honest, it's probably the thing that scares me out of my mind, while being the thing I long for the most.

I've heard a lot of movie quotes lately and I want to share one from my VERY FAVORITE movie (of all time - check it out if you haven't seen it yet) Martian Child:

"But right now, you and me here, put together entirely from Adam, sitting on this round rock with a core of liquid iron, held down by this force that so troubles you called gravity, all the while spinning around the sun at 67,000 miles an hour and whizzing through the Milky Way at 600,000 miles an hour in a universe that very well may be chasing its' own tail at the speed of light, and, amidst all this frantic activity, fully cognizant of our own imminent demise, which is a very pretty way of saying we all know we're going to die, we reach out to one another.  Sometimes for the sake of vanity, sometime for reasons you're not old enough to understand yet, but a lot of time we just reach out and expect nothing in return."

I don't want to live at arm's length - I want to reach out instead.

Chocolate's Dark Side

thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/19/the-human-cost-of-chocolate

Introducing Freedom

One amazing year together and here's to many more!  Introducing Freedom:

Freedom is Her Name

Freedom is her name.  We've spent a lot of time together in the last year.  Journeying through good times and bad.  I mean, I really don't know where I would be - literally - without her in my life.  She's a great listener and I can always count on her to be there for me.  The road has lead us in many different directions, but we continue venturing on in the path laid out for us.  More about her tomorrow. . .

A Simple Meal for East Africa

Just because today is the deadline that our government is matching donations for the East African Famine does not mean that these people and their plight should escape our thoughts and prayers.  PLEASE DONATE RIGHT NOW - click on the picture to the right and connect with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.  While you are there, check out "A Simple Meal for East Africa" and take some time to consider making this meal as you stand in solidarity with all the children, women and men of East Africa who long for such a meal.

www.foodgrainsbank.ca/ration_meal.aspx

Quick Reminder

Just a quick reminder to get your donations in towards the East African Famine - the government is matching funds until tomorrow (Friday, September 16).  If you don't know which organization to support, you can always click on the picture to the right.  It will link you to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank where you can donate.  Just because the story is not headline news, let's not forget about those who are still suffering.

My Turkish Family

This past week the 5th anniversary of the tragedy at Montreal's Dawson College hit the news and it finally occurred to me why that was significant to me - it means that it's been 5 years since I went to Turkey!  I left home on September 11 and once in Ottawa, I met the 3 other teachers who would become family for the next few months.  We completed our paperwork and on September 13th, while waiting to fly to Istanbul,  we heard about Dawson College just before leaving Canada.

Five years ago today, we landed in Istanbul, Turkey.  I remember arriving late in the day and the drive to our apartments was a bit disappointing since we couldn't really see the city under the darkness of night.  So here's my shout-out to my Turkish family!  Thanks for all the memories!  I miss you guys!

"No road is long with good company."

~Turkish Proverb

Beautiful ~ MercyMe

Days will come when you don’t have the strength.
When all you hear is, you’re not worth anything.
Wondering if you ever could be loved.
And if they truly saw your heart, they’d see too much.

You’re beautiful.

You’re beautiful.

You are made for so much

more than all of this.

You’re beautiful.

You’re beautiful.

You are treasured.

You are sacred.

You are His.

You’re beautiful.

Pray that you have the heart to fight.
‘Cause you are more than what is hurting you tonight.
For all the lies you’ve held inside so long.
They are nothing in the shadow of the cross.

You’re beautiful.

You’re beautiful.

You are made for so much

more than all of this.

You’re beautiful.

You’re beautiful.

You are treasured.

You are sacred.

You are His.

You’re beautiful.

Before you ever took a breath.
Long before the world began.
Of all the wonders He possessed,
there was one more precious.
Of all the earth and skies above,
you’re the one He madly loves enough to die.

You’re beautiful.

You’re beautiful.

In His eyes.

You are His.

I know I posted this a few months ago, but the song has been on my heart and I wanted to share it again.  My head knows the truth it contains, but not my heart and so I pray that God would reveal His perspective of me to my heart.

War Refugee

War Refugee from Partners Relief & Development on Vimeo.

A Decade

Moments in history. . .when time stood still. . .forever etched in our memory.

I am not old enough to have witnessed man's first steps on the moon or the assassinations of notable people like Martin Luther King Jr. or John F. Kennedy.  I do remember where I was the night Princess Diana died (and it's almost a miracle that we got the news because we were staying at a remote cabin with 1 TV channel!).  Of course, I remember where I was a decade ago today.

I had somehow just survived my first year of teaching and I think I spent the entire summer trying to catch up on sleep.  I was certainly re-evaluating if I even wanted to teach any more, given how horrible the year had gone, and I was wondering if I had wasted 4 years of my life in university for nothing.  I lacked direction and purpose.  I was 22.


The morning of September 11, 2001, I remember getting up and then heading to town to pick up the mail.  I was frustrated that the radio station was not playing their regular programming and so I started to try various stations, only to find out that all of them were reporting on the same thing - airplanes flying into buildings. . .chaos. . .horror.  From that point on, I couldn't turn off the radio or TV and it took me a number of days to finally say that my life had to go on, even though so many other people lost theirs - either because they died that day or lost someone special in their life and it was as though their own life had ceased.

It feels like yesterday and forever ago, all at the same time.  I cannot have even begun to imagine the life I've lived in the 10 years since that day.  I did go back to teaching - a few times over in fact.  But here I am again, trying to figure out if the classroom is where I'm supposed to be.  I don't question that I'm qualified (not like a decade ago) or that I lack the passion to teach, I just don't know if that's where God desires me to be His hands and feet.

I no longer wonder about wasted years.  I've had so many good and bad experiences since 2001 and if I've ready to take the good, then I must be willing to also take the bad.  Both make me who I am today.  I certainly would never have guessed that I would travel on 3 major trips in that time, visiting 5 different countries around the world.  I don't have quite the direction in life that I'd like, but I am confident that I personally know the One who holds my life and my future.  I am 32.


When we stop to reflect on this day in history in 1 year, 5 years or in 10 years to commemorate the 20th anniversary, what will our world look like then?  When we stop to reflect and think back on that day in 2001, will we see change - in ourselves, in our world?  So much can change in a decade, and even in our world, so much can stay the same.  I can't imagine what the next 10 years will look like for me.  What adventures are around the corner.  The people who I'll meet.  I'll be 42.