Filed under: Ywam Newsletters
It’s way past time for me to give you an update about what’s happening with me. I’ve got a lot to cover from our crazy sprint to the airplane in Heathrow on our way to Hong Kong to wading in an ice cold waterfall in Wales. So with so much to talk about and so little time I’ll try and hit some highlights. When I come home in December we’ll be able to catch up properly.
September 15th was the beginning of our time in the Far East. It all began with a miracle, which is a pretty good way to start a trip, when one of my team mates got half the team stranded in York while the rest of us were waiting at the airport in London for them. We have a diesel van and she put petrol in by accident. Long story short the five of them ended up having to get a train and lug all of our hiking backpacks (that’s 8 full size backpacks and their hand luggage) through the underground as quick as possible trying to catch the tube. While this was happening I was sitting in the Heathrow airport with three of my team mates watching the clock tick and listening to the airline workers tell us that there’s no possible way they can get here before the check in closes for our flight. Their train would arrive at the airport 10 minutes AFTER it closed and our tickets were non-refundable. We met them at the station and ran through the airport to the desks to be told that we had 7 minutes until they closed our flight. We checked in and got through security just in time. God proved the computers wrong!! Now of course all this couldn’t happen without an embarrassing moment. As we were running to meet the train I was pushing a luggage trolley and my drawstring got really loose on my shorts. When I reached to fix it I lost control of my trolley and ran into the wall at full speed with many on lookers wondering what was wrong with me.
We spent 7 weeks total in Asia. Two weeks in Hong Kong doing some inner city ministries whilst living in the oldest village in Hong Kong about an hour from the center by bus and subway. We worked with Nepalese children whose parents aren’t involved in their lives because they’re busy at work, homeless people, drug addicts and asylum seekers. We then crossed the border into China and took a 26 hour train ride to Kunming. We spent three weeks there going to different villages such as a leprosy village which broke my heart and a minority group village which has never had western visitors before. Then we went to Guangzhou in east China for one week and then back to Hong Kong for a week.
November saw us back in a wet and freezing Great Britain. We went for a hike in the Dales (a national park) and of course it rained straight for 3 hours as we walked the hills and climbed over stones. All of my clothes somehow got wet (even my underwear) even though I was wearing waterproofs.
Now I am preparing for a holiday in the states and for a new year here in York. I am getting ready for my last year on this leadership school (and hoping to lead a team to Brazil for 3 months next year to work with street kids, prostitutes and homeless people) and exploring options for what happens next and long-term plans as a missionary.I am in the process of making a new format for my newsletter which will hopefully be a bit more interesting so be looking forward to a few new things! Thanks for being so faithful and reading this to the end!
Filed under: My Life
I really enjoyed my time in Amsterdam. It’s such a beautiful city. It has this lure, this sparkle that draws people to it. “Freedom”. “Liberty”. That’s what some people I met there have told me. “It’s Amsterdam, that’s what we do here!” People view the legal prostitution and drugs as freedom to express yourself and totally normal. It’s warped. A warped illusion of what Freedom is. Freedom is not addiction to sex and drugs. Freedom is not a human being a slave to prostitution to make it in life. It’s a poison apple, not what it seems. People are taking huge bites thinking it’s good when in reality they don’t see what it really is. Bondage. Slavery. Darkness.
Many times I would be in the red light district and would see families walking around. Small children with their parents. Why? Warped. It’s not what it seems. This is a very interesting article about a “family day” in the red light district that our YWAM Amsterdam friends wrote about. One time my friend and I were walking to the place where our team mate was doing a piece of art about “innocence” in the red light district and a man standing at a door of a sex show shouted to us that there’s a family discount. Warped.
Snow White didn’t realise that the apple was poisonous and neither does this world. These things that seem so good and so normal are detrimental and desensitizing. What are we going to do about it? There has to be a loving way.
This picture is of a church in the red light district. It’s surrounded by narrow alley ways. When you’re walking down those alley ways it’s a bit cool and damp because the sun doesn’t get down there. On your right hand side is the church and on your left are brothels. Women in windows. I’ve been thinking about them recently. I almost didn’t write anything about them because it’s so tender but I had a revelation that I think others need to have. It’s a simple one but true. These women are just like me. They giggle. They cry. They want a steady love in their lives. They want children or have children. They watch movies. They have the same fears and desires I have. I want to be their friend. To cry with them, hug them, laugh with them. eat with them, share life with them. That’s what my heart is burning for.
So this poison apple. What to do? We’ve eaten from it and now we need to be redeemed. In the story Prince Charming had to kiss Snow White to bring her back. Well, my theory is our Father’s gonna be the one to redeem it. He wants to. He is. He’s there. In the heart of it. He’s in the red light district. He’s watching. His heart breaks. He’s crying. He can’t wait for his princess, his bride to wake up and be restored. To be who she was made to be. Listen to his heart beat and you’ll hear it. You’ll hear it break for them. The ones he loves. The prostitutes, the pimps, the addicts, the tourists.
Filed under: My Life
Interesting question. Amsterdamite? Amsterdamer? Amsterdame? Amsterdamsel? Hmm.
I’ve been in Amsterdam since Tuesday. It’s been hot and sunny! I love this city. The culture is confusing because it feels like Asia and Europe combined (especially with the hot weather recently). I really like this city. It’s beautiful and relaxing but also so broken and dark at the same time. A city of oxymoron’s. I can’t really make a judgement now or even begin to understand the people here. I’ve barely scraped the surface. I would still get lost several times if Dave didn’t know where we were going.
The YWAM base here has some amazing ministries and some that really excite me. One of them is building relationships with the women in the windows. I’ve heard some stories about this ministry and it’s amazing! They go and chat with the women while they’re working in the windows and the prostitutes are so happy to see them. They’re friends. That’s what I want to do. Share life with them, love them.
So I searched the web and couldn’t find the answer to my question. SO if you figure it out let me know!!
Filed under: My Life
I find it very interesting that American money is all the same color and size. All other currencies that I know of have different sizes and colors and also have those cool raised things that make it look special. I read a news article that said America is going to have to change their currency soon because blind people can’t tell which note is which since they are all the same size and have no raised bits. I can’t imagine America without the standard green currency.
Anyways, the point of this entry is to let you know that I am praying and trusting God for quite a lot of money for some mission trips that I’m going on and I am asking if you would stand with me in prayer. I need money for our 2 week trip to Amsterdam, our 2 month trip to the far east, travel insurance, injections and for flights for the Asia trip. That all comes to about 1,200 pounds (2,400 dollars). I need this really soon, by the end of August. I’m looking forward to the day when I get to tell you that I have it all. I believe that it’ll happen because He’s provided so much before. 
This is a photo that Dave took of me. It’s a bit random but I thought it looked kinda like I was praying so it relates.
Filed under: 1
So I was walking into the city one evening and I took the route by the river because it’s more scenic. As I was walking I saw this straight line of geese. 12 baby geese and one mother goose. The mother was in the front and the 12 babies were behind. They were walking slowly and all at the same pace using the same foot and the same time. I giggled to myself and grinned because it was so cute. As I passed the mother she stopped and bent her head to the left staring me down, watching and listening to me. Behind her all the babies stopped too and were still. I was thinking about them again today and it hit me. That’s what we should look like with God. Mirroring him. What He does we do. The way he moves we move.
Filed under: My Life
That’s a difficult choice. I think I would prefer a see-saw because spinning in circles makes me sick.
For the past couple of hours I’ve been trying to decide what to write in my blog because I haven’t written in a while and I have a lot to say. I think I’ve finally decided upon a couple of snapshots to share.
My friend Hari and I met an Australian guy at a store in York and while we were talking to him he told us that he’s so pale now that his skin is see through. I was just looking at my hands and I can see my veins and my skin is see through. Whoa. Weird.
And just so you know, nutes are not a tadpole about to turn frog as one of my friends thought.
I met a woman who is one of millions. She was sitting by herself and I sat with her. The whole left of her face was black and blue accompanied by a cut above her eyes. Her back and belly (which looked swollen with baby to me) also had huge round bruises. She covered her face with her coat and with her hands. Then she began to cry and say “please, please don’t look at my face. Just don’t look at my face.” At that moment my heart broke. Hard bits that were surrounding a fleshy inside broke off and the warm beating part was exposed to the harsh reality that she is only one and there are millions more. Millions. She told me the man standing by the tent was her partner and he did it to her. But he’s the best man in the world and it was an accident. They’re soul mates they are. He just dropped her. It was an accident. When he returned to the table she did something to annoy him and he said do you want it to happen again? Are you asking for it? She left upset. Going back to her homeless hostel. As she leaves he tells me she’s pathetic then puts down his second can of beer. That day my heart broke for good. I cried and cried. God’s always crying. He loves them Images of her being beaten flashed through my mind. That’s my imagination but God sees the real thing. His heart broke a long time ago. I know for sure now that I want to love these women for my whole life. Her name is Tammy just as her partner has her name tatooed on his neck her name is seared on my heart.
Filed under: 1
So I was reading the news and came across this very interesting story of a millionaire who had slaves. It happens today. (http://edition.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/06/26/sabhnani.sentence.ap/index.html) So many people don’t know that it’s true. I was on the airplane coming back to England and this lady asked me what I do and I told her that I’m in missions and am passionate about raising awareness about Human trafficking and the sex-slave trade and that I’m in the process of trying to pioneer some ministry that tackles that problem even if it only reaches a few. You see she didn’t know that human slavery was real, that it happens in America, England, the West. She was shocked when I began telling her about cases I’ve heard of in the news and of how they’re lured in and captured. One time someone told me that I would never make a difference. That I’m just one person. It’s useless and I shouldn’t even try. But look…I am one person and I told one person. Now 2 people know. Now what if we both tell 2 people? It’s a chain. It’s a movement. That what we need. A movement. We need to raise up and take responsibility and take action. We can’t be ignorant and silent anymore. Once you hear what goes on in the dark we have a responsibility to “shout it from the rooftops for all to hear” (Matthew 10:27). That’s what my life is about. Shouting for the ones trapped in the darkness. It’s not about making money or having a well padded, comfortable life. It’s about them. The ones who are alone in the dark with no one who cares. What about them? They’re everywhere. On sugar and coffee plantations in South America, on farms in Africa, in retail factories in India, in homes in America, in brothels in Amsterdam, in massage parlors in England, in escort services in France, in Cuba, in China, in Russia. Everywhere. In your state or county. So what are we going to do? What are you going to do?
So yeah…on a totally different note I have some long awaited photos to share with you. I am having some problems uploading so make sure to check back soon. I may add them to my flikr so they will be on the left hand panel.
Filed under: My Life
So I think that sometimes when you leave a place for short term you are able to leave behind things that you’ve been thinking about and wrestling with temporarily. But when you return everything somehow rushes back in at an alarming pace. That’s a bit bitter-sweet from my perspective. I am experiencing this right now. Going to America somehow allowed me to drop a couple of the things that have been occupying my mind but upon returning I was bombarded with them once again. While I was in America I was aware of the lack of all these thoughts and would occasionally think to myself that I should sit down and thrash some of them through with God. I know that when you go on Holiday you don’t take a holiday from God but I think it was a bit of grace from him. Allowing me to free my mind to enjoy my friends and family and take a break form the very difficult past 6 months.
So now as I sit here I think. All the thoughts are swirling like an angry tornado and I can see it coming. I can sense the tension, apprehension and fear but I know once it passes and everything settles I’ll be able to clean it up and put all the pieces where they belong. So this entry isn’t a depressing one it’s a light at the end of the tunnel. This time I can actually see the blue sky in the distance behind the tornado. So come on tornado, I’m ready.
(Plus…my house mates are AMAZING!! I love them so much and missed them so much! Ahhh…friends.)
