Part 2: A Refugee Camp in Athens

The refugee issue is connected to the issue of trafficking in many ways. First of all, these refugees are actually trafficked persons in many cases. They have been financially exploited to illegally cross borders. The refugee issue relates more specifically to sex-trafficking in that this is a population vulnerable to sex-traffickers. We heard stories of sex-traffickers volunteering in the camps in order to identify those who would be most vulnerable to sexual exploitation. These issues of exploitation are closely linked. 

The camp we volunteered in looked nothing like what I'd seen in the news. The camps reflected in the news stories I'd seen were primarily on the islands where traffickers who have sold a vision of a large, safe ship to cross the sea to Greece for exorbitant amounts of money disgorge their passengers dozens of miles from the intake camps. Cold, wet, hungry and potentially devastated from the loss of family members in the sea voyage, the refugees must then traverse many miles to then wait in lines at the intake camps. 

In contrast, the camp we worked at was an overflow camp outside of Athens that was located in a massive and eerily-abandoned complex that was part of the 2004 Olympics. We drove for several minutes past the old, abandoned airport and several empty stadiums and desolate parking lots to arrive at the former field-hockey venue. Every few days hundreds of refugees are dropped off there. This is not a popular camp. The refugees would much rather be at one of the more centrally located camps with easier transportation and access to government services. 

We were there on a Wednesday and already the 500-600 refugees that had arrived on Sunday evening had dwindled to less than a hundred. The refugees remaining at our camp were generally not Syrian. The Syrian refugees tend to arrive in Greece with money. They have the funds to pay for the next leg of the journey, so they are only in each camp long enough to secure transportation to get one step closer to northern Europe. The Afghan and Pakistani refugees are lacking in funds which means they have to remain in each camp longer before finding a means to move on. Our camp was an open camp, so refugees could come and go at will. 

Our team's main responsibility at the camp was sorting through hundreds of bags of donated clothing. We divided out summer clothes from winter clothes and then broke those down into types of clothing and age and gender appropriateness. The summer clothes were boxed up for storage. The winter clothes were moved immediately into the press box (behind us in the photo) for distribution. You can see some of the line of refugees along the front of the box. Any toys were pulled out and taken to the entrance of the stadium so that children could have something comforting immediately upon arrival.

The refugees sleep in the empty inside of the building on the right of the photo. There are no beds, just pallets they make on the floor. Meals are provided through the concession stand windows. One bit of silver lining to this refugee shelter is that there's a big, open field for the kids to run around on and where they can play soccer.

Two women came up to me as I was boxing up a batch of clothing odds and ends before we left for the day. They started digging through the box I was attempting to transfer to the press box where it would be ready for distribution. That kind of thing is frustrating for a task-oriented, rule follower like me. I really wanted to finish up this task before we had to leave, and the refugees had been told multiple times that they should go to the window where they would be provided with clothes that matched their needs. It was easy for me to lose sight of the compassion that should be driving this venture, and my distracted and diverted heart was brought into sharp focus as I realized what these two ladies were looking for. They were looking at the handful of bras we had come across from dozens and dozens of bags of clothing. And that's when their situation struck me in a more personal way. I can't really fathom what they've been through in crossing war-torn continents. And I was at a place that was providing them food, and shelter (such as it was), and warm clothes for the impending cold weather, but fleeing your home with just a few items means that you most likely don't have much in the way of clean underwear. Watching them dig through a box of someone else's donated underwear brought home the reality of what it means to have nothing and to be entirely dependent on the generosity of strangers in order for basic needs to be met. And this is precisely where the church needs to be, standing in the gap to offer kindness and generosity to strangers.

The local church we partnered with in Greece has volunteers at this camp almost every day doing everything from serving meals to cleaning bathrooms. Please pray for them as they're invested in ministering there for as long as needed.

Other posts in this series -
Part 1: Brothels and Safehouses

Part 1: Brothels and Safehouses

Our group stood huddled in an abandoned alcove that wreaked of urine. As we gingerly placed our feet on the concrete to avoid the abandoned hypodermic needles littering the ground, we received further information on the area we were about to prayer walk through - an area filled with legal brothels. Brothels are legal in Greece, but only one person at a time can work in the brothel. One woman in a room working an 8 -10 hour shift servicing whoever walks in and can pay or being forced to stand for the perusal of those who don't have the money. There are literally hundreds of these small brothels. The area we're in is one of the most desperate, where the clients are often the ones who've just discarded the needles that we're dancing around. Because the women are inside, the outreach team of Nea Zoi (New Life) Ministry goes into the brothels to build relationships. They come face to face with the men inside waiting their turn. They take tea with the madam who oversees the financial transactions. They hope to get a few minutes with the girl if she gets a break and can come into the kitchen. They bring with them a basket of goodies including reading material in a variety of languages, tea, and hopefully a special snack or candy from the home country of the girl being exploited. Please pray for these outreach teams as they faithfully pursue these relationships week after week. Pray for the girls, and even the madams and the men, to recognize the dignity and worth they have in Christ and to begin longing for something different than their current reality. 

I praise God that in both Bulgaria and Greece, safe house projects are underway which will provide long-term transitional housing, counseling, therapy, life skill training, job training, childcare, safety and love for women freed from trafficking. This is a huge development since we visited each of these countries two years ago. We were so excited to see that outreach has progressed to the point where women are trusting these ministry teams to help them pursue a better life. 

Here are links to the ministries we partnered with in each country.

Nea Zoi Ministry in Athens - http://neazoi.org/

Daughter of Bulgaria in Sofia - http://www.mtwbg.com/DOB.html

We also had an opportunity to go and work at one of the refugee camps in Athens for an afternoon, so I'll write more about that in another post. 

Return to Europe: Anti-Trafficking 2015

Hi Friends,

I just wanted to send out an update on how things are progressing for my upcoming trip to Bulgaria and Greece to work with anti-trafficking ministries. We leave in 12 days which is so exciting!! I'm very eager to go and visit again the ministries that we worked with two years ago on our first trip. There have been such amazing developments in the ministries, and I can't wait to see how God is pushing back the darkness of trafficking in these places. 

In Bulgaria, in addition to prayer walking, helping with outreach, and learning about sustainable livelihood projects, we'll also have an opportunity to go and visit a Roma village in the countryside. Bulgarian woman are trafficked outside of Bulgaria, generally to western Europe. Within Bulgaria, Roma (Gypsy) women are sent by their husbands/boyfriends into the city to earn money so that the men can sit around and gamble instead of work. We'll have the opportunity to do prevention work alongside our partners there. We're going to be able to work with the children in the village - to hopefully bring them joy and hope and acknowledge the worth that they have as children of God. Please pray that these little lives will never know what it is to be sold by those who should cherish them.

Artwork in the MTW Bulgaria Office to represent freedom

In Athens, we'll be able to do many of the same things as in Bulgaria such as prayer walk and learn about sustainable livelihood, but we'll also have the opportunity to do an Ikea trip to help outfit a brand new home that will serve as transitional housing for women who have been freed from slavery. Also, just today we learned of an exciting possibility, so would you please pray with us that it would come to fruition? We've been told there may be an opportunity to go and work in one of the refugee camps for an afternoon. Already, traffickers have started working and volunteering in these camps in order to identify the vulnerable and easily exploited. Please pray for the protection of the vulnerable in these camps. Prevention is so critical in this battle. 

Thank you so much for your support and encouragement along this journey. Your prayers are incredibly precious to me. A huge praise is that my financial goal has almost been met. I'm short of my target by just $110. Additionally, excess funds that are received can go towards things games and crafts for the Roma children or nail polish and lotion for outreach care packages for women in brothels. The information on financial contributions is below. 

Please let me know if you have any questions. And thank you so much for walking alongside me in this endeavor!

Blessings, 

Jen

Here are the options if you would like to give financially:

1.     Click this link  https://donations.mtw.org/donate/AddDesignation.aspx?No=14901 to donate online to account 14901.

2.     Send a check to the following address with 14901 in the memo line

Mission to the World

PO Box 2589

Suwanee, GA 30024-0982

Spring Reading List 2015

I'm quite delayed on posts, so here's the first in an attempt to catch up.

This summer I did a Bible study looking at the life of David, and reflecting on the books I read this summer, I'm reminded of 2 Samuel 11:1 - "In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war..."  I really feel like my spring reading was all about war which meant lots of tears. Here's a look at what I was reading:

Nightingale by Kristin Hannah - This was a gorgeous book written about two very different sisters during World War II. The atrocities of what they survived during that time period are incredible, and heartbreaking, and make me think how I would never, ever survive war. On the continuum of devastating to happy ending, this books lands somewhere in the middle - not quite as sad as All the Light We Cannot See (also about France in WWII), but also not quite as happy as the next book listed (for a change of pace, looking at France during WWI). The author employs dual narration with first person narrator in the present time (and you're not quite sure which sister's perspective it is until the end) and then omnipotent third person in the past. I'm not a huge fan of first person narration, but it was in limited batches here. This book was the first I've read by Kristin Hannah, and I'd like to try some more of hers. Any recommendations? You'll see from my summer reading list, that I'm taking a break from tragedy for a bit, though.

The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes - I was willing to take a second chance Jojo Moyes after the extremely anger-inducing Me Before You. (I'm not sure whether I'll be able to read the recently released sequel to that book, After You). The Girl You Left Behind was also about sisters during war in France. It also involved contemporary and historical story lines, although there was much more focus on the contemporary plot in this novel as compared to Nightingale. (Do you ever wondering if authors are given a writing prompt like "sisters in France during war with art involved? I swear they must be given how many books on similar topics come out at the same time). Anyway, even without Nazis, war in France is absolutely devastating. The choices characters are forced to make between something awful and something also equally but differently awful are heart wrenching. Of the three war-in-France books I've read this year, this one did end up at the closest end of the spectrum to happily ever after, though. It probably had the worst writing of the three, though. Not that it was bad writing, but it is being compared to the absolute gorgeous (yet tragic) prose of a Pulitzer Prize winner (All the Light...).

The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson - another Pulitzer Prize winner, and while this book maybe isn't strictly about war, it is about North Korea, so basically the same thing. This book was a totally fascinating look behind the curtain at one of the least know countries in the world. Even though it's fictional, it's so meticulously researched that it seems like non-fiction. Even having lived in a communist country that borders NK, some of the viewpoints on the West were simply fascinating (i.e. instead of the government providing food for its people, in America, citizens must work for pieces of paper that they then stand in line to exchange for food). Mostly, I think this is a book about a government that's declared war on it's own people. Fascinating, and fantastical in some of its creativity, this book also devastatingly showcases pain, horror, and the reality of life when there's no good choice to make.

Ok, that's spring reading. Stay tuned for summer reading which is going to look like complete fluff after this list. 

Reading on a Budget

Some events with my car in January precipitated a long, hard look at my monthly budget. While I've always had a budget, it's come to my attention that having a nicely categorized excel sheet is not so much the same as actually monitoring how much you spend in each of those categories. So my long, hard look is kind of more of an "actually stick to the budget you made" type thing. 

One of the revelations of this exercise (other than the fact that aggressively paying off car debt is addictive) is that I definitely didn't realize how much money I'd been spending on books. I LOVE reading and if it's a book I enjoy, then I love to own so that I can share it with others. Also seeing a lot of books lying around just makes me really happy. 

Anyway, $25 per month seemed like a reasonable amount for books. I usually don't buy books if they're more than $6-7, so that was enough to buy a few new books each month. Oh my gosh. This has been so hard. Every book gets looked at and evaluated and re-looked at and then the food budget and the gas budget get looked at to see if there's any give there. I think books were definitely a blindside in my previous spending habits. This little kindle sale here and that $2 on paperbackswap.com there add up quickly. And the whole instantaneous thing. It's really hard to have to WAIT for a book when I just would really like to have it now and start reading it immediately.

So here are some of my strategies for getting the most out of my book budget.

1. Overlooked books on Kindle - I previously mentioned the kindle habit, so that my Kindle is well-stocked even when I'm on purchasing freeze shouldn't be a surprise. It's been interesting to go back and discover some gems that were overlooked. Over a year ago I downloaded a book called Cinder by Marissa Meyer. I'd started it a couple of times and maybe gotten a total of 10 pages into it. Almost out of new book funds for the month, I decided to try it again. I started reading, and kept reading, and kept reading, and crawled out of the chair and onto the bed and then back again because the suspense and anticipation - I just couldn't sit still. It was soooo good. 

So what genre is this book? Well, ummm, I kept referring to it as my robot book, but really more accurately it's probably YA-sci-fi-re-imagined-fairy-tale with maybe a dash of steampunk. Not my typical cup of tea, but I think it might be my new 2nd fave YA series (Harry Potter #1, of course, but this might displace Hunger Games to #3).  The series is called the Lunar Chronicles (did I mention there are also moon princesses?) and the first is Cinder and hopefully it's obvious which fairy tale it's based on.

2. Library - When I finished Cinder, I went straight to Amazon to download the second book in the series called Scarlet (Red Riding Hood), but it was $10. Nooo!!!! I didn't have that much left in the book budget, although I did totally go ahead and buy the third book in the series Cress (based on Rapunzel) since it was only $3. And in my fixation with instant kindle downloads, I'd allowed my library membership to lapse. The next day I trudged off to the library first thing to get that set up again. However, my branch didn't have the book in stock, so I had to request it via interlibrary loan which means I would have to wait entire DAYS to get it. Ugh. And then there was that whole "snow" debacle and the library was closed and I couldn't go get my book when it came in. Sadness. 

While I was waiting for the book to be transferred to my library, I did jump on my library's digital collection site to see if Scarlet was available there by any chance (checked out) and to see if there was anything else that might be interesting. I scrolled through my Goodreads "to read" list to see if there is anything I might be able to instantly download. I've found that YA is a really good option with my country's digital collection, they tend to have more of those books available digitally then a lot of the adult literature. I've read Princess of the Midnight Ball and a Georgette Heyer novel (my first) called The Grand Sophy via digital books from the library. The first was Ok, and the Heyer book was pretty entertaining.

Sidenote: During the whole snow incident when I realized if I was going to potentially be stuck inside for a few days (wishful thinking maybe, but it could have happened), I asked myself what I thought would be a really hard question: If I could only have access to either books or chocolate (but not both) for the rest of my life which would it be? The answer of books came surprisingly quickly and adamantly. I mean I knew I loved books, but I didn't even have to think about the answer which is a big deal when it's up against chocolate. 

3. The final source I've found of reading material is the stack(s) of books on my bedside table. Not including the four different Bibles present, there are 29 books that I've started reading or set aside to read on that table. That's a lot. Even for me. So I'm committing to finishing some of those. Not necessarily all of them, because while I used to be wholeheartedly committed to finishing a book eventually, now I don't care so much. If it's not good, then I don't care if I read the whole thing. However, if I stopped reading it even though it was actually good because something flashier came along, then those are great books to pick up again and rediscover. Just last night I finally finished Carry On, Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton which I feel like I need to go back and start again so that I'll remember how to keep trying to be kind and brave and strong. 

A final note on book recommendations: my two most adamant recommendations recently have been The Martian (sooooo super good) and the Lunar Chronicles both of which are fairly sci fi which is not a genre I've explored much previously. I'm much more of a historical time period with some adventure and romance and maybe a hint of mystery type girl. But these have been really engrossing books. I will warn you so that you will not be deceived like I was - there are more than 3 books in The Lunar Chronicles series. Despite thorough research on Amazon (and even the author's own webpage for crying out loud), I really thought this was a three book serious which was great, I'm always glad to come across a series when it's already finished. However, there is a sneaky fourth book (and I don't even know if that's the last) lurking out there waiting for publication later this year. I have to say that it's the book I checked out from the library that made me aware of this fact since it was mentioned on the book flap. Without the physical book from the library informing me of a 4th book, I would have been majorly frustrated at the lack of resolution at the end of book 3. The 4th book is called Winter and I think it's going to be based on Snow White. 

Learn Something New: Hike Georgia

Since moving back to States 6 years ago (I really, really can't believe it's been that long. And this week I really, really miss all that long underwear I used to have), I've tried to make a conscientious effort to learn one new thing each year. 

This kind of started as a way to learn to knit since I was like the only person I knew who didn't know how and it seemed like a good way to redeem time spent watching TV. Of course, now I just doubly waste time by playing games on an idevice while listening to TV and occasionally rewinding because that bit seemed kind of important. 

Some years have been more tangible than others - knitting, gardening. Some have been born of the fact that I didn't have any money for a new hobby -learn about food, get passionate about a cause. And last year was supposed to be learn where to hike in Georgia, but turned into learn a new job. 

So yay, this year's LSN was already picked out which is really good because usually it's about September before I decide on something for the year. I'm using the book 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles of Atlanta as a guide, and my goal is 12 hikes during the course of the year. 

This month a friend and I headed out to Indian Seats for an afternoon hike. The book has helpful charts that divide the hikes up by location, intensity, length, and other things. We were looking for a 3-5 mile hike that was moderate. We wanted something more than a walk in the park, but it had also been awhile since either of us had done much hiking. 

I never really considered myself an outdoor person before moving to Georgia, but also I've always lived in Florida (where the beach is super conveniently located), a college campus (with green space and tracks), or a big city (where there's lots of time outside walking from one place to another even if it turns your snot black). Heck, I even went to summer camp where I lived in a screened-in cabin for 4-8 weeks every summer. So Atlanta is the first place I've lived where I had to really consciously think about where to go to be outside. It was also my first desk job and my first time with a car commute, so neither of those things were helping with spending time outside. 

There's lots of places in and around Atlanta to take advantage of in terms of being outside, so I'm hoping this year (and hopefully longer) of exerting some effort in learning cool hiking places not too far away will pay off for years to come. 

One thing that's different since the last time I did much hiking is smart phones. You can totally just take pictures of the guidebook before leaving the car, and have a compass on your phone, and be able to google or call if things get dire. So different!

And here are some pics from the first hike of the year -

My Favorite Things: Winter Edition

Here are some things that help make winter oh-so-delightful! (After the depressing end of the holidays).

Fingerless gloves - My favorite pair was knit for me by a friend in China 12 years ago. I really can't believe I've held on to a pair for that long. They were perfect for teaching in classrooms without heat, and they're perfect for windshield scraping and chilly steering wheels.

Aquaphor - This stuff has CHANGED MY LIFE! I've had dry lips since moving to GA despite good hydration and copious amounts of Burt's Bees. I asked my dermatologist what she recommended and she gave me a sample of this stuff. Amazing! I haven't had the slightest chapping since then and I only have to apply it a few times a day. Her bottom line was avoid anything wax based and avoid lip gloss (which apparently is awful for your lips).

Rabbit hair socks - These are another item that made the cut when packing to come back from China. My pairs are still all from there, but you can find them on Amazon and I'm sure other places, too. Toasty and soft and will make your feet so happy.

Ugg wool-lined slippers - And if you want your feet to be deliriously happy? So warm and toasty that you don't even particularly care how the rest of your body feels? These slippers are worth the splurge. They were a Christmas gift to me and I wear them as much as I possibly can. I can't tell you the number of times I'll stop and look at my feet and the door and my feet again and then sigh because I just really can't wear my slippers to work or church or Kroger or wherever. This link is to the style that I have. I normally wear a 6.5 but mine are a 7 and with the wool and my rabbit hair socks it can be a snug fit.

Creamer in hot cocoa - Did you guys know this was a thing? I had no clue! And then I heard a coworker talking about it and read it in a book in the same week, and thought that was definitely a sign I should try this. So far I've just done a basic creamer, but it's been deliciously yummy. Since I don't drink coffee, I'm a novice in the world of creamers, so let me know if you have a recommendation on a flavor I should try.

What helps you make it through winter?

Winter Reading List

Here's what I've been reading the past few months.

The Martian by Andy Weir
This is absolutely my top number 1 recommendation right now. If you read only one book on this list, I think this should be it. Even though there are likely some that are more eloquently written, this is my fave. A highly engaging, compulsive read about a parallel timeline where we're sending manned missions to Mars. One guy gets accidentally left behind (explained in the first few sentences of the book) and becomes The Martian - the one person from Mars. Most of the book is set up as a captain's log style journal about his efforts to survive on Mars. As crazy as it sounds, it really doesn't come off as that far-fetched in the book. (Soon to be a movie with a pretty awesome cast - with Matt Damon in the title role).

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
I read most of this book on Halloween in between trick or treaters and stayed up late, late, late to find out how it ended. I couldn't stop reading it. (Sidenote: I'm beginning to wonder if all of these books actually are compulsive reading or if maybe I'm just a compulsive reader). It's hard to talk about my thoughts on this book without potentially giving away the ending, but this book made me feel ALL OF THE FEELINGS at one point or another. It's basically about a quadropelegic who wants to end his life and his relationship with his care taker. I read it while the news was filled with the young women who had set the date that she was going to end her own life, so the novel rang with an eerie sense of reality. It definitely made me question what I think about physician-assisted suicide and whether or not as a Christian there's an ethical stance I need to take. Come talk to me if you read it so that we can debrief.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
The lives of a young, blind French girl and a genius of a teenage German radio engineer ultimately collide around D-Day in this exquisitely written book. The prose is absolutely gorgeous, and the characters (at least the good guys) are delightfully engaging. It's been a long time since I've read something this beautifully written. But, you know, it's World War II, so sad stuff happens along the way as well as things that are very hard to read about. However, it's well worth the read.

Paris in Love by Eloisa James
This memoir is by a sometimes Shakespeare prof and sometimes romance author writing outside of either genre and yet still touching on both. She took her family on sabbatical in Paris for a year and the result was this deft, clever memoir put together from facebook and twitter posts along with a few longer essays. It may sound weird to assemble a book in that manner, but it works here. Each little blurb is like a perfect of picture of exactly what was going on at the moment. And she portrays with biting humor what living in the City of Lights is like with an American teen and tween in tow. Bonus: It's the perfect book to read when interruptions are likely.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
I purchased this book last summer in preparation for a fall schedule with several international trips. This is a big, thick big (at least it has a lot of dots next to it on my Kindle) and seemed like it would be conducive to helping me ignore the fact that I was trapped in a metal tube flinging around the earth for 16 hours at a time. Some people rabidly recommended this book to me. And others were like "meh." Romance? Adventure? Kilts? And it's on sale! What's not to love about this book (is what I thought to myself). Except then I started reading it, and made it about 2/3rds of the way through, and am kind of like "meh." So maybe I'll finish it one day, but also, I'm OK with not finishing it. If you're interested it's on sale for even more now (which is always annoying).

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
I actually haven't started this book, but I went ahead and purchased it when the Kindle version was on sale for $3. It's on several book club lists, so I thought I'd give it a try. It's apparently based on the true story of a female Southern abolitionist and the slave she was given as a child. It's supposed to be epic, and sweeping, and empowering, and lots of other good things. I do hope to read it soon.

Serial
If you're one of the seemingly few people left in America who haven't listened to this podcast yet, then I encourage you to hop online and start downloading it without delay. It's great for listening to on a long drive, or on the treadmill, or commute, or while doing dishes, or folding laundry, or going to get the mail. Listening to this podcast is the first time I've ever wished for a longer commute. It's the true story of a high school senior who was murdered in 1999 and the ex-boyfriend who was convicted of the murder. But was he wrongfully convicted? Sarah Koenig sifts through evidence both old and new to try and answer this question. While it's technically not a book recommendation, it's certainly proved to be a good conversation starter. Make sure you know someone else who has listened to the series so that you can trade theories. There's lots of additional podcasts and online articles on the topic as well.

What are your reading recommendations?

Update on Trip to Asia

Hi Friends,

So one of the big lessons I learned from this trip is not to plan future trips during the latter half of November. To put it mildly, there was a lot to dive back into after we returned from Asia - the last 6 weeks have seen three major holidays, three family birthdays, two bridal showers, one wedding, two trips to FL, one to TN, a new boss, end of year financial processes, and 4 days with my car in the shop. And the last 6 weeks have NOT seen me send out an update to those who faithfully supported and prayed for this trip, but that's about to change. 

This trip to Asia was harder than the previous trip to Europe for so many reasons. Asia is REALLY far away which seems obvious, but that travel time takes a serious toll when you're going back and forth in a week.  There were little things that added up to just make this trip more complicated in ways that the previous trip wasn't. 

The good news is that your prayers sustained us and we saw what mighty things the Lord is doing in Asia. We were able to meet with so many different ministries that are doing amazing things to reach out to the women, children, and men who are victims of the sex industry in Cambodia and Thailand. 

We helped provide meals to those who've traded work on the streets for shame-free employment. We visited centers that provide childcare and medical care and counseling to those who have left prostitution. 

We prayed for those who go on outreach in the bars and clubs where they seek to reach both the women who are sold and the men who buy.

We listened to the tear-streaked testimonies of women whose own families pressured them into selling themselves so that hale and healthy fathers and brothers don't have to work. 

We learned that just as I saw in Europe, the marginalized, the state-less, the poor, and the immigrants are those most easily swept into the trafficking machine. 

One of the most eye-opening things I learned on this trip was the role of Thai Buddhism in the perpetuation of the sex industry. This particular brand of Buddhism is such that sons, teenage boys, are the ones who can earn merit for their parents to have a better situation in their next life. So young men aren't sent to work. They're sent to the temple to serve the monks and earn their parents favor for their future lives. The financial responsibility for the whole family falls on the eldest daughter. She's responsible for earning money for the family, and when you're from the village, that usually means heading to Bangkok for barely-scraping-by jobs in construction or more lucrative but shame-filled jobs in the sex trade. 

A director of one of the ministries that we met with, New Beginnings, shared a story about a family with three sons. They had no daughters to earn money for their family. Not knowing what to do they went to the Buddhist temple and sought advice from their local religious leader. The advice they received? Choose one of your sons to turn into a lady-boy (transvestite) - start him on hormone therapy and treat him as a daughter so that he can go to the city and earn money for your family. 

In both Europe and Asia I've seen the complicity of families and culture in perpetuating the sex industry on both sides of the equation. parents or boyfriends who sell their women in order to gain a more comfortable life for themselves. And fathers in culture where taking your teenage son to the brothel is an acceptable way to introduce him to sex. 

How do we fight against this? How do fight thousands of years of culture and family and even religion? And can we really call it "rescue" if rescue means you have to leave behind your family and culture and everything that you've ever known? How do you convince women that they have more worth and value than they've been told for generations? 

I believe the answer to this is the gospel. The good news of Jesus Christ is the only thing powerful enough to fight an onslaught of culture and heritage and family pressure and generational sin. And I am so proud to work for organization that believes in bringing the gospel to people by living among them and planting churches with a long-term view to transform communities - not through moralism or good works or "just stop doing this already", but by love and grace and forgiveness and freedom from shame. And I am so thankful for my co-laborers who are on the ground in Phnom Penh and Bangkok and are continuing to labor towards communities that are no longer ravaged by lust and greed and shame but communities that are instead ravished by the Holy Spirit. 

Thank you again (and again and again and again) for being part of what God is doing to bring light into the darkness and an end to injustice. My gratitude for you and your partnership in this endeavor is boundless. Thank you.

Please let me know if you have any questions. I've included some resources below if you're interested in learning more on this topic or learning more about some of the ministries and NGOs with whom we worked. 

Love,

J

Setting Goals: The 2015 Edition

Since moving back to the States 5 years ago, I've tried to start each new year with a fairly extensive list of goals for each year. 

The list is headlined by an overarching vision or theme for the year and is then expanded in various categories which include the following:
Spiritual
Work
Medical Health
Food/Exercise
Finances
Relationships
Hobbies/Skills
Writing
Learn Something New (part of a special goal to learn a new skill each year)
Social 
Home Improvement

Ok, I know this looks like a lot of categories, and IT IS! The full list of goals takes up two typed pages. However, some of the goals are reminders, some include detailed information to make the goal as specific as possible, some linger on the list from year to year in hopes that this will be the year that goal gets met, and some aren't necessarily meant to be met in a hurry, but it's a good place to keep track of even longer-term goals that I have.

Once I have the list, I format it to fit in two columns situated landscape-wise on a printed document - like pages from a book. And then that page gets trimmed along the edges to be easily inserted into my goal journal. This is a specific journal I have that I try to look at every few weeks just to see how things are going. Have I made any progress? What steps have I taken? How do I feel about any progress or lack thereof? The journal is a great way to make these goals interactive throughout the year. The first page of each year's journal section also includes a list of overarching prayers for the year. 

And look! You can see one of the home improvement goals in the background - clear up piles of papers that form on all stationary items. 

The exercise of working on defining the goals each year is a really great way for me to bring into focus ideas that might be floating around. It was through this practice that the Year of No New Clothes developed (which maybe isn't building a strong case for those who might be considering a goal-setting habit). 

It's also amazing every year to look at the lists, both of goals and prayers, and to see that someone got met without any further conscious effort on my part. That's always awesome!!

Of course, the opposite is also true. When I went to work on this year's list, I opened the document from 2014 (Ok, and I did a total crap job with this in 2014, and it's something I felt as a loss throughout the year, kind of like I was rudderless). Anyway, I opened last year's goals to see what I had written, and at the beginning of last year I was starting a new position at work that I was nervous about and wanted to do well, and my work goals reflect that - they were so sincere and earnest and just desiring to be really good at my job. And while there's good in that, I have to admit that a year into the job those goals just made me let out a snort of derisive laughter. All this end of the year reflecting has made me realize that my job was incredibly stressful last year and that work kind of consumed all of my energy so that there wasn't much left over to work on other goals. And that's fine - for a year. Not forever. Taking a year to learn a new job in a year where there's a crazy amount of transition going on around that job - that's just what 2014 took. 

However, that's not an ongoing theme I want to develop. So my work goals for 2015 are VERY different. They're more along the lines of set up good ongoing practices, focus well, and look for ways to minimize workload. Basically, work on the things I can control to make it less stressful. 

Here's a little behind the scenes look at some of the categories - 
My Learn Something New this year is going to be hiking GA. My goal is one hike/month or 12 hikes this year, because let's be honest, there might not be a whole lot of hiking going on in a cold, wet January. 

I started setting Social goals when I lived in China because I worked from my apartment. If there was a day where I wasn't teaching, then I could spend all day inside lesson planning and grading. So I started setting goals for a minimum amount of human contact each day. It was really helpful, and so I tweaked it a bit when I moved to a new city and was challenging myself to get out of my comfort zone and get to know new people. That's one that I don't really have to consciously think about anymore, but it's still helpful to check in with that one now and then - have I fallen into a rut? Am I spending more time with books than people? Being an introvert I find social goals very helpful!

Home Improvement - yeah, while I hate actually doing stuff like painting and decorating, I enjoy the results. So this had to be a category so that I would make some forward progress (no lie - paint samples on my wall for a year before I actually painted). 

And finally, this year one of my big goals is to focus on writing. I really want to spend time developing this skill and in order to challenge myself I'm going to be launching a series of posts that I've been thinking about for awhile. This year my goal is to write about 50 Things Every Single Women Should Do (or Should Know). So that's roughly one post a week. Or more likely in my case - regular posting for the first 6 weeks, and then 44 posts in a 2-week period of December. 

More to come soon!

Reflections on 2014

1. What did you do in 2014 that you’d never done before?


New position at work
2 new countries (Singapore and Cambodia), plus return visits to some favorites (Australia and Thailand)

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? 
Being out of the country at the beginning of 2014 really threw off all of my goal setting for the whole year, so I didn't really set goals like usual. I have a resolution to learn something new every year and 2014 was going to be Hiking in Georgia, but instead it got to be Learn Overwhelming New Job. So yeah, 2015's target is already picked out. 

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? 


Yes, several coworkers and some sweet friends. It's been awhile since I've been to see brand new babies in the hospital, so that was fun. 

4. Did anyone close to you die?


No, thankfully.

5. What countries did you visit?

Australia, Singapore, Cambodia, and Thailand (twice!). And I got to revisit the Hong Kong airport as well as multiple trips through the Seoul airport. 

6. What would you like to have in 2015 that you lacked in 2014?

2014 was rich in stress, so I would very much like 2015 to lack that, so that's kind of the opposite of the question. But however I need to word it, my answer is less stress!

7. What dates from 2015 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?


Jan 1 - New Years in Sydney
Jan 4 - Best Friend's Wedding in Sydney
Jan 8 - Birthday in Sydney
And then the rest of the year happened... :)

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?


Work stuff

9. What was your biggest failure?


Other work stuff (I would also like 2015 to be less about work)

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?


I was sick several times at the beginning of the year and out of work for several days which is unusual. Guess what I'm blaming? Work! Well, and maybe all the travel as well. :)

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Tickets! All the kinds

12. Where did most of your money go?




Travel, car repair, and medical expenses

13. What did you get really excited about? 

Travel!!!


14. What song will always remind you of 2014?


Taylor Swift 1989 album

15. Compared to this time last year, are you: 
– happier or sadder?
 

– thinner or fatter?


– richer or poorer? 
I think happier. I'm definitely looking forward to 2015 and being able to start a fresh page, though. 
Pleading the 5th (and blaming the stress)
Ummm...the same-ish

16. What do you wish you’d done more of? 


Hiking, going to concerts or live music

17. What do you wish you’d done less of?




Complaining, Eating

18. How did you spend Christmas?


In the traditional way with the Merry Parade of Parental Homes and lots of Christmases along the way

19. What was your favorite TV program?


Parks and Rec
Brooklyn 99

20. What were your favorite books of the year?


The Martian (oh my gosh, go read this now!)
Hyperbole and a Half (same as above)

21. What was your favorite music from this year? 


Well, my favorite thing I listened to was probably Serial, and we're already established that my music tastes match those of a 14-year old girl

22. What were your favorite films of the year?


Umm...I can't remember which is weird. I don't think there were any that totally blew me away. I have higher hopes for 2015

23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?


I had an awesome day turning 30-something in Sydney - brunch, a massage, friends, a great city, dinner out = fabulous

24. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?




Hmm...not sure

25. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2014?


Try new things

26. What kept you sane?


Reading, Eating, and my Bible Study group

27. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2014. 
 

Not all the areas of my life are going to go well at the same - work isn't going to be fantastic at the same time eating and exercise is perfect and my daily quiet times are incredible. Some of the things are going to suffer from lack of attention some of the time. And it's OK.