Slavery today

FACT: The U.S. government abolished slavery in 1865, as a result of the Civil War.

FICTION: Slavery has ceased to exist.


FACT: Human Trafficking is modern slavery. According to the US Department of State, "An estimated 800,000 men, women, and children are trafficked across international borders each year. Millions more are trafficked within their own national borders for a variety of purposes, including forced labor, bonded labor, sexual servitude, and involuntary servitude."

FICTION: Slavery/trafficking does not occur in the U.S.

FACT: "Each year, an estimated 14,500 to 17,500 foreign nationals are trafficked into the United States. The number of U.S. citizens trafficked within the country each year is even higher, with an estimated 200,000 American children at risk for trafficking into the sex industry." (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/ncvrw/2005/pg5l.html)

FICTION: Only poor, ignorant, and non-educated people engage in trafficking/ labor & sexual exploitation.


FACT: A handful of U.S. trafficking victims have suffered abuses at the hands of diplomats.

"Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused..."

(Exodus 20:22-24)

"learn to do right!

Seek justice,

encourage the oppressed.

Defend the cause of the fatherless,

plead the case of the widow."

(Isaiah 1:17)

aint no mountain high enough

this picture was taken towards the end of a month-long mission trip to Tanzania (June 2007).

at this point, my team members and i had finally reached our destination (not the apex of the mountain, but still a good 2-3 hours woth of trail)...at a random waterfall somewhere on a mountain, in the middle of Tanzania. i've never experienced anything like it!...it was like one of those movie scenes...with our very own native tour guide, leading the way with a machete, chopping down unruly branches and paving a path along our way.

i remember how miserable i was throughout the whole hike up...and how i kept imagining myself back at the missionary's home, away from the heat, the discomfort, and the seeming unknown.

i also remember how shocked all my teammates were, seeing me, the most unathletic and "spoiled" of the bunch, trek so fast up AND down the mountain, w/o so much as a word. (they had no idea that the only reason why i was so focused & rushed, was because i just wanted to get the heck out of there. haha).

but as miserable as i felt at the time, i look back on this experienc with a sense of pride and fondness. it's funny, actually, because we all look so happy in this picture-- you'd have no idea that we'd all just been cursing under our breathes, just moments before.

....

i guess that's life for ya-- nothing worth waiting or striving for comes easy. (child-birth, for example. as painful as childbirth is, i heard that the moment the child is born, the mother releases a hormone that causes her to instantly forget all the pain and only focus on the joy-- hence, a woman's willingness to bear more than one child).

without the sweat, the pain, and the heartache...the end product would be worthless, rather than priceless.

i know it's easier said in restrospect, but i can't help but agree that...

every hurdle, every obstacle and every "mountain" in life is well-worth climbing. :)

preach it, Marvin Gaye!
haha!

justice = love

A call to LOVE:

"You can't LEAD the people, if you don't LOVE the people.

You can't SAVE the people, if you don't SERVE the people."

- Dr. Cornel West

Consider This (courtesy of Jefferson Lee):

girl interrupted in her music

Vermeer's Girl Interrupted In Her Music is the inspiration for this blog. I don't know why or how, but I somehow stumbled upon this painting ...and it struck a chord with me.

AN ENGIMA: you can't really tell if the girl is looking at a letter or a piece of music; or whether the man is her lover or her teacher. A GLIMPSE: i like that she's looking at you--makes you wonder what she's thinking about or doing for that matter; and with that, you get a "glimpse" into her eyes (thoughts), before she goes back to whatever she was doing. ON LOVE & PASSION: look behind her and you'll notice a painting of Cupid, which is of ocourse, symbolic of love/passion--and all that jazz.

As for this blog, I don't intend to share my "deepest, darkest" secrets, but thought that this might be a good way to get back into an old-past-time of mine (journaling/writing)...and perhaps share some whimsical +/or meaningful insights and anecdotes along the way :)

AN ENIGMA(?): I like to think that I have a mysterious and even mischevious side to me.  A GLIMPSE: so i suppose this blog, like the Vermeer painting, can act as a sort of "glimpse" into my life & thoughts--regardless of how nonsensical or inconsequentional they seem. (*aftert thought: ha! I'm reading this over, and I can't get over how cheesy I sound). ON LOVE & PASSION: lately, I've been thinking a lot more about my life's passion/purpose, and the faith/conviction that drive it. it's difficult to describe, but I think St. Augustine summaraizes it perfectly:

"For You, who love souls far more purely than we and feel a perfect pity for others, are wounded, yet without sorrow.

How can we be like You in this?"

happy reading! :)

p.s. comments are encouraged. don't be a stalker!