Celebrating The Birthday Of One Of Our Amazing Friends, Naomi Triggs

Last week Jamie and I arrived in Denver, CO and we have been privileged to connect with a wide array of Nuru supporters and friends in this beautiful state. In fact, last Thursday afternoon we were able to meet with a few of Nuru's most longstanding supporters during a short trip to Colorado Springs. In addition, we had a rare privilege of connecting with one of Nuru's first supporters on the continent of Europe and a long time friend Naomi Triggs, AND it was her birthday!

Her story is just incredible, so I wanted to take a minute to reflect and share. She's quite the heroic individual and a definite change agent for good in the world. Back in 2003, Naomi joined about 30 other Americans (mostly from CO and OH) to start a church in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. She traveled there as a student, worked as a nanny, and eventually went on staff with the church called Amsterdam50.

In 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2009, I had the privilege of visiting the church and bringing small teams from our church back in Morgantown to serve the community in Amsterdam. Jamie actually was on the last team with me in 2009. During each of those trips our teams were always blessed with the conversations we had with the community and staff of Amsterdam50 including Eric Asp, Patricia van Engelen, Sokol Hakrama, and Naomi Triggs. As I write this, I'm tempted to write about how each of these (and many others) have influenced and encouraged me by their examples of life and faith, but it's probably best that I focus on Naomi and her birthday. ;)

Naomi had been one of the key contacts for teams coming to the Netherlands, and during her years of living in Amsterdam, God had placed a deep burden within her for the hurting and the broken in the world. She found herself leading social justice initiatives in the church, in the city, and around the world. She spent time in India and Kenya working with orphans, she organized water walks through the city of Amsterdam, and in 2009, she set up an opportunity for me to share Nuru with a gathering of people from around the city.

Amsterdam is famous for many things, and not all of those things are good. One of those things is its Red Light District. While at the church, Naomi also got more involved in working to address the issues around prostitution, sex slavery,  and human trafficking as well aftercare for women who have been able to escape these traumatic experiences. And her work on these issues led her back to the US. She is considering attending a seminary and getting a counseling degree so she is better equipped for caring for women who have been trafficked when she returns to Amsterdam.

When we arrived we had the realization that Naomi was back in the US for a brief period, and thanks to Facebook, we also had the additional realization that we might be able to see her on her birthday--AND WE DID!!! It was wonderful catching up with Naomi, and at the same time it was a bit surreal. Jamie and I had never seen Naomi anywhere other than Amsterdam (and vise versa). Interestingly, Jamie and I are working to learn Dutch, so we were able to get in a little practice with Naomi. :)

We have been honored to know Naomi for quite some time, and seeing her on her birthday was extra cool, but more than that, being able to follow the trajectory of her life has been amazing. She has been faithfully living out her calling as God has nudged her increasingly toward compassionate care for those who have been downtrodden and abused. Although this post is a few days after her birthday, our prayer is that this year would be one of deep focus as she continues to pursue the vision God has given her.

And for the rest of us, may we each grow more keenly aware of the opportunities that are presented to us to grow in our care for our neighbors and to work toward being instruments of healing, restoration, and reconciliation in this beautiful and hurting world.

Another World Is Possible 2010

I’m a little bummed that I’m writing this post after the fact, but I’m really excited to be able to share this with you. Last week, for the third year in a row, a group of ministries, churches, and individuals on the campus of West Virginia University hosted a week of events called Another World Is Possible. You can read previous blog entries to find out more about the event if you like, but the essence of the event is this.
Each night features an issue that deals with brokenness, injustice, and the great needs of this world. We all agree that we live in a broken world, but this series of events seeks to mobilize people to make a difference and contribute to being part of the solution in some small way.
In the past organizations such as Invisible Children, Nuru International, One Voice To End Slavery, Eleho, and others have been part of the event. What’s really cool is that each event gives people not only exposure to issues in our world, but also opportunities to do something about it.
The blurry photo above (I think I just have a dirty lens) was taken at a screening of International Justice Mission’s new documentary film At The End of Slavery. If you have the opportunity, I would highly recommend watching this film. International Justice Mission works to rescue slaves, free trafficked individuals, and work toward justice on behalf of people being oppressed.
It’s cool to see so many people coming out to learn more about these issues. At the end of the event, people were given an opportunity to write a letter to their congressional representative to support a piece of legislation working toward the end of child slavery. Here’s a link to the letter.
I love the title of the series of events, and I love the thought of people being mobilized toward action. Another world IS Possible. And we have an opportunity to be a sign of that world to come. I believe there will come a day when every injustice in the world will be put to rights by the Creator of the universe, and I look forward to that day. In the meantime, I’m grateful for the opportunity to work toward being a sign of the time to come.
Wherever you are, I hope you will take time today to consider how to be part of the solution and maybe you will check out some of the organizations I listed above. Whatever you do, get involved. Life is too short to just be a spectator, and maybe there’s some unique contribution that only you can bring—so bring it!

Looking Back On The Week

Well, can I just take a moment to express my gratitude. Over the course of the last weeks, we coordinated and hosted six events at night and four outreach/promotional events during the day. That's a lot of time, effort, and energy from many people.

I have to say that the events were successful. This week, we get the privilege of following up on all of the contacts that were made during the week, and helping folks make next steps.

We started our week of events with a rally to get folks excited about what was coming up. We ended Saturday night with a celebration of all God had done during the week and prayers for more to happen as a result of the events and opportunities the campus was exposed to.

I'm so proud of the leaders that stepped up from multiple organizations. I'm thankful for the speakers who traveled long distances to share messages about the brokenness of our world, and what normal people like you and I can do to bring healing to that brokenness, and hope where there is despair. I'm thankful for the businesses, organizations, and individuals who stepped up to support what we were trying to do on campus. Most of all, I'm thankful to the Grand-choreographer, the Creator of the Universe who held everything together and accomplished His greater purposes through our meager offering of loaves and fishes.

Another World Is Possible catalyzed many to action, and awoke others from the lethargy of apathy to a desire to bring healing. It's my hope that this shaking off of apathy would be contagious. Perhaps you, as you are sitting and reading this blog, will consider some way you can serve or volunteer or make some small contribution to being a sign of God's Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.

Have a great day!

Sex And Chocolate

If you choose to watch the video above, I have to warn you that it's content is EXTREMELY disturbing. And sadly, the story depicted in this video is not uncommon in the world today. I don't want to discourage you from watching the video, but I do want to warn you that it is not pleasant. I've never left this disclaimer on my blog before, but if you are under eighteen, you may want to ask your parent or guardian to watch the video first and then get their permission. At I'm trusting on your honor to do so. The content isn't crass or distasteful, but it is highly disturbing. The video is about 20 minutes long, and was nominated for an academy award. It was produced by Florida State University.

Friday night, this video was shown at sozo café in Morgantown as part of our series of events Another World Is Possible. It left people speechless, and caught up in trying to process what they had just seen. The speaker who showed the video told the group that he wished he could say that the story being told was uncommon to re-assure folks that this was not the norm, but unfortunately this story is all too common. The event was called "Sex and Chocolate" because both of these industries have strong ties to human trafficking and slavery.

Friday night was one of our most packed nights for an event. We had a speaker by the name of Charles Lee come and share with folks about the issues of slavery and human trafficking. The numbers are staggering. Over 27 million PEOPLE are ENSLAVED in the world today. This is more than at any other point in human history. 600,000-800,000 people are trafficked across international borders each year. Most of these are women and children who are forced into the sex industry. The numbers are staggering. And there is a very real possibility that there are slaves being held against their will EVEN IN YOUR TOWN! Charles Lee Created a website called One Voice To End Slavery. You should check it out and learn how you can spot potentially trafficked or enslaved individuals in the businesses around your town.

Of course the root cause of this issue is the darkness of the human heart. And the root solution is for individuals to be reconciled to God. But there are also some ways of making strides to reduce the frequency of slavery and trafficking. It starts by being aware of the issue. Once your eyes have been opened, there's really no turning back. Then you have to take action. You have to do something.

Here are some ways to fight it.

Learn how to protect yourself and others by educating yourself and others on the issue.
Contribute to organizations that are fighting slavery, trafficking, and extreme poverty.
Did you know that many children are sold by their parents because they don't have enough money to feed the rest of their family?
Research the products you buy. Charles shared that many well-knownchocolate companies are buying cocoa that was harvested by slaves. Maybe you could write letters to those companies to change their practices. Buy fairly traded products when you can.
Jump into the foray, and use your talents to enter the frontlines with a qualified non-profit who is doing excellent work.

Here are a few groups that might be of interest to you--I've blogged about them before, and I'll probably blog about them again.

International Justice Mission--they work to bring perpetrators to justice
One Voice To End Slavery--awareness group training folks to take action.
Nuru International--wholistic sustainable solutions to extreme poverty

Whatever you do, don't merely do nothing. Take action. Take a stand. Change the world.

Another World Is Possible

Last year, we started a series of events through the college ministry of my church and in conjunction with many other campus ministries at WVU that we called "Another World Is Possible." The idea behind the weeklong event was this. There are many problems that face our world, and it's just not right that these problems exist. We believe that people are called to do something about the hurt, the evil, and the injustice in the world, but part of the problem is that folks just don't know about the issue, or they just don't know where to start doing something.

Everybody knows that our world is broken. Everybody knows that things need to change. We often find ourselves asking what we can do to help it or if it even matters. But not many people get to the root question of why it is broken.

Our world is broken because of sin. Our world is broken because of the evil that runs through the hearts of humanity. At the thought of that some might scoff at the incredulity of it. Others might be encouraged to despair because of the way sin pervades our world. But Christ came that we might have life. Christ came that we might be signs of a different world.

Sometimes when I see the state of the world, I'm tempted to despair when I see the immensity of the problems. But other times I get hopeful. I get hopeful because I think that if the church of the West could be woken from it's slumber, many of these problems would find some answer.

You see, sin is the root issue. Sometimes sin is a sin of commission, and other times it is a matter of O-mission. I think we have the resources to solve many problems caused by sin. We have the Spirit of the living God inside us. And yet, we walk around defeated and despairing.

Tonight will be our first speaker for the week of events. Bryan Monzon of the group eleho will be speaking to folks tonight at sozo about the genocide that is happening in Burma right now. The government of burma is killing its own people. It is an ugly time and some of the stories that I have heard already would make you shudder when you hear them.

The human heart has such potential for both evil and for good. And while our world is broken . . . Another World Is Possible. Maybe I'll see you out for an event. And if I don't, maybe you will look to live beyond yourself to make a difference in this world of His wherever you are.