freedom fair

When I met "Star" in Thailand, she was 16 years old and full of laughter. But when you got to know her a little bit more, you soon could sense her great self-doubt, emotional scars and vulnerability that she carried as a result of being sold when she was 2 years old, and starting at the age of 12, was forced to be a sex slave for multiple men, multiple times a night. And you heard about the terrible nightmares that she now suffers from... She was rescued at 15 and put in a safehouse. She was lucky. She has an uphill battle to climb, but now she has hope; a hope for her future and a hope that comes from above.

That is what we want for every child, woman and man that is caught in the bonds of slavery: hope. There are 27 MILLION of them worldwide forced to work as prostitutes, toiling in the fields or factories, as a child soldier, in someone's home or as a bride. Most of those slaves are under the age of 18. That is why we are having the Freedom Fair.

THIS Saturday (on the same day as Allendale Day), we will host an ALL DAY event to raise awareness about modern-day slavery because we CAN do something. And slavery does not just exist "over there". It also could exist down the street from you... I've personally known about 3 separate trafficking incidences in north Jersey in the past 6 months.

MAIN EVENT at Holy Grounds Cafe 6PM - Midnight: Live music by Thomas Torrey, Grant Reitzel, Blue Was a Bear, Dan Harney, FLEECE and more! Special guest speakers from Restore NYC (www.restorenyc.org) and LOVE 146 (www.love146.org)

ALL DAY from 10am-midnight: Jewelry and Handicrafts on sale made by human trafficking survivors, Art Exhibit, Info on human trafficking, representatives from organizations fighting injustice: Polaris Project, World Vision, The Emancipation Network and more!

Raise Your Voice! Take Action! Come Learn!

JOIN THE MOVEMENT

Isaiah 58

perseverence and perspective

I am reminded just now of how little I know about perseverence. A client of mine from West Africa told me that she received word last week that her sister passed away in childbirth...and so did the twins that she was carrying. And yet my client says that she will eventually be ok. She is miles and miles away from home after suffering torture, imprisonment and rape, escaping to the US, going through the dark night of depression and becoming completely dependent on others and now is in the long process of seeking asylum, but she tells me that she will be ok.

For so much of the world (even for some in the US), life is just about survival. Perseverence means simply moving forward through great hardship so you do not die. I hardly think that I have come across much in my life that requires that kind of perseverence; and yet I can still easily complain.

God did not intend this type of world, and yet that is the world that we live in; a world full of brokeness. As I heard in a sermon last week, I am convinced that this world and this life do not make sense outside of the view of eternity. It is only in eternity that things are put in perspective. Without the view of eternity, what is the point of all of this struggle and where is the hope? Even though things in this life will never "be fixed", we can live with present hope that we can choose to be saved and restored into a relationship with a loving God and spend an eternity in His presence, and know that He is present with us now and that He suffered for the brokeness of this world more than we ever could know. Not only that, but He has given us the Holy Spirit to dwell with us and in us (as believers) to be able to be used by God to bring hope and healing into the world now. This is a mystery and a paradox that I do not fully understand, but by God's grace, there is redemption happening in the world that we are just getting glimpses of now, that won't be fully revealed to us until Christ returns and brings true justice and wholeness.

Come, Lord Jesus, Come...

"I was sure by now
That You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
But once again, I say 'Amen', and it's still raining

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear Your whisper through the rain 'I'm with you'
And as You mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives, And takes away

I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
Every tear I've criedYou hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm"

-Casting Crowns-

"what would you say to the church in the US?"

I was looking through some old college stuff the other night and ran across a bunch of essays and assignments of mine and my classmates who did the HNGR program (6 month internship with a non-profit in the developing world) at the same time as I did. One of our assignments was to interview a local pastor using prescribed personal and theological questions. The question asked that stuck out to me the most upon rereading some of them was "What would you say to the church in the US?"

This is significant because I think that most often, "the Church" in the US (and by that I mean mostly Protestant and Evangelical churches and sometimes Catholic and Pentecostal churches) sees itself as a leader in Evangelizing, in teaching, in missionizing and in works of compassion. We have seminars, we have bookstores, we have formal networks and colleges and schools and social organizations and political organizations and clubs and retreat centers and radio stations and tv channels and coffee houses and music and I could go on and on...and then we proceed to spread those thing overseas so that other may have the type of resources and the "Christianity" that we have. We have all of these things at our disposal that we are freely and sometimes aggressively spreading all over the world, and yet I don't think that anyone would deny that we are really not a Christian nation. However, when other countries (especially in the developing world) look at the US, they see us as a "Christian nation".

But the ironic thing is that America is no longer the captain of the team (so to speak) insofar as leading the world in having a Christian following or being concerned with the Kingdom of God. Europe has already been "secularized" and much of America is already falling suit. The new Christian "epicenter" so to speak no longer resides in the global north but has (and is) shifting to the global south...to Africa and Asia and Latin America. So how ironic is it that we, with all of the resources, at times continue to send, send, send to other places that may just be stronger in terms of Christian leadership than we, and we don't do a whole lot of receiving?

More attention has to be paid to our fellow Christian brothers and sisters overseas in the developing world because they are the new and future leaders of Christianity and we need to listen to them. We just happen to still hold the microphone. We need to give them a mic on the world stage and not just show up in their countries armed with "Evangecubes". We need to receive from them as much as we give. We need to recognize that maybe the American church is not only no longer the "captain" of the team, but that we are also on the sidelines more than we realize.

Here are some snapshots of their answers to the question, "What would you say to the church in the US?"

Pastor Smucker (Prophet/Pastor) of Bethel World Outreach International – Buduburam in a refugee camp of Liberians in Ghana

"I would want to say personally to the West that it is time to help the church take responsibility, moral responsibility, for ourselves, and not be dependent upon the West…Like before we had to receive Bibles, we had to receive food, we had to receive clothes, but this word of God is able, the power of this word of God is able, to supply our need.
My own message to the West would be to get encouraged, get involved in the sending aspect, the sending aspect of missionaries where people have not been reached, where the Gospel has not reached. Get acquainted with Africans. Let them do the job and let them do the job themselves. Before they sent missionaries, and missionaries came and went back, and missionaries had to stay for 45 years, but rather train the Africans. Let Africans get trained and discipled to do the work themselves. Let them take responsibility, I believe that will be really meaningful to the church in Africa.”

Assistant Pastor of Kumi Pentecostal Assemblies of God Church in the Teso Region, Uganda

“There is so much happening in the West that doesn’t please God, and these things should not happen. Things like homosexuality, manufacturing weapons, sponsoring wars, the enormous drug trade, which is illegal, but began in the West. Let people focus instead on God’s Word: Why did Jesus die for us? What are the dos and don’ts of the kingdom? Instead, the West is promoting very bad things. Although they condemn many things, they also do them.”

Pastor Maow of TLC Church (Assemblies of God), Chiang Mai, Thailand

“I would tell them that we need to make a partnership. We need to support one another in prayer. It’s not about money, but networking.
I know what works in Thailand (in the church). I trust that people in other churches in other countries know their own way. Some ways of doing things we disagree on because the deeper way is not understood. Some believe (arrogantly) that they know what we should do. For example, Koreans bring to Thailand their own way of doing things. People here see that and say, ‘That is not our way, not our lifestyle.’
When this church was started, there were problems because an American missionary did things the American way. After some significant leadership problems between myself and him, he came to talk to me and apologized. Now there are a lot of things to fix in the church. The original people coming at that time saw everything being done the American way and didn’t look at me as the leader.

Things are better now as new people have come in. Before, the congregation did not listen to me. I felt like people in the church just came to have fun. (At this time, the church was heavily involved in YWAM English outreaches.) Now new people are coming and the church is growing."

Pastor Sameh Maguib of an Evangelical Church in Cairo, Egypt

“We are in need of the prayers and help of the Western church, in a variety of ways and methods. We appreciate their support. Pray also for us as we are seeking to address the social problems around us such as drug use. We also need more ministers and pastors. People these days don’t desire to become a pastor."

Christine Matemu (lay leader of congregation Charismatic movement) of Majengo Catholic Church in Arusha, Tanzania

“Repent of sins, share the gospel, and come be with us. Africa loves you and wants you to know the joy of Christ”

Santos Isidro Jejurge Acosta “Chiro” of a small church in El Naranjo, Honduras

He asks for prayer and aid/help for the Honduran church. He also expressed that he wants to thank the American church as it has been very helpful to Honduras.

Pastor Romilton of the church in Kalyanpuri, India

“Let people come from there, let them see and have more burden. Let them pray for North India and if God gives them a burden, let them support the church. We want their prayers.”

Pastor John Mastern of Capital City Baptist Church in Lilongwe, Malawi

“Churches in the west have to understand the African church in its context. Our churches came out of cultural background. Christianity came around the eighteen hundreds. People are being transformed to leave this culture to a new culture that is why it is a process. Roman Catholic couldn’t allow people to sing in their own cultural way, with drums and so forth, they believed it to be demonic. In this culture we have a chief, and so much reverence is given to the chief, you kneel down before him. And the message speaks of another one more powerful that the Chief. We kneel and give respect not just for sake of fear but reverence. And so you see when Americans come to church putting on shorts they are not giving respect because they see him as my Father. In western culture it is so easy to understand that. But in Malawi when a son addresses his Father he looks down—there is so much respect...
The media is somehow biased in their portrayal of Africa, especially in Malawi. They don’t believe that anyone can make it. When I was in the States people were so surprised to see me wearing nice clothes, preaching in a big church, and pursuing my Mastors. Misconceptions are there...
The Western Church has a lot of resources; some are just misusing them. When I was in the US I went to a church that had cost 65 million USD to build. It had a gym for the young people and for the old people. The carpet matched the ceiling. Capacity building of the local people is important. Because they are able to identify-when they see me a Malawian is equipped and trained they begin to believe they can do it too. Several of us should be equipped and empowered.”

Pastor Lester of El Shaddai Baptist Church in Granada, Nicaragua

“Two things: One, that they be praying for us, and, two, that they continue obeying the Lord.”

Pastor Nirand Dtamee (native of Burma) of Eternal Life Church (Bible Presbyterian) in Chiang Mai, Thailand

“Revive yourselves! As a church that was one of those that first brought Christianity to many parts of the world you need to continue to show a good example. The best and the worst come from America. There are good churches there and strong Christians but there are also strange things that come out of that country. Go back to the Bible and follow it. Come back to the right road. I do not really want to comment too much on specific issues but I want to say that as a former leader you have to set a good example for the many people who look to you. Even now, if people here want to further their Christian education most still have to go to the USA because we can only get primary Christian education in the East. So you have to continue to be grounded in the Bible so that those who need to learn from you can learn the kind of Christianity that honors God.”

time out

Tonight, I'm flying "across the pond" to Holland with my mom for a first ever extended mother/daughter trip and the first ever mother/daughter trip out of the country. While I have to admit that this trip is for my mom (if I had the money to spend on an overseas vacation -ha!- it would be to get back to Thailand), I am really really excited to just get away from everything for more than a three-day weekend.

I have found this year that while some people thrive on the commuter lifestyle, I don't. It's not for me. Yes, I like to be busy either getting things accomplished or investing in people, but to spend 15 hours a week just traveling and doing things en route, with your "life" with you in your bag or in your car, I'm giving that a big no. I already feel like I'm enough of an organized mess as is, but with the added always on the go save Sundays (I'm usually "commuting" to dance rehearsals on Saturdays) some days (mostly mornings) I feel like I'm less organized and more mess. Some important things have been slipping.

I guess that this post is a little bit more of a confession...not really a private one, but more of realization that I came to today. While I like to sit and think and write sometimes about ideas and interactions at work, I more rarely spend time to evaluate where I am, personally in life and in my relationships. (I used to do that a lot more and HAD to for part of my major in college.) Both in my relationships with God and with my family (and friends) I have kinda stopped thinking too hard where I would like those relationships to be and just kind of let them "be". I guess, in other words, I am guilty of sloth in the realm of intentionality in the most significant relationships in my life.

I am not sure if THAT has been intentional or not on my part. Sure I could blame part of that lack of intentionality on my outside circumstances such as draining schedule, difficult subject matter at work (as well as the fact that I label it "The Nebulous"- I have made it a noun), recovering from a particularly stressful period at IINJ when I was the only full time person in my dept. for 2+ months, the personal struggles that I see in my parents and divorce that I still mourn over and the conflicts that it still causes and the big transition ahead this coming year. I guess because of the these outside factors, I use the excuse that I don't usually have a wh0le lot of emotional energy left to be intentional in evaluating how my relationships with those most important to me are developing. I am content to just let them be and enjoy the good that's there. Sometimes that's good. All the time, it's not necessarily bad, but it's not growing and developing either. It lacks the commitment to speaking the truth in love and the "iron sharpens iron" bit.

I think that I can pin the start of this retreat from being intentional though to last summer, when, after HNGR, readjustment and going home, I didn't want to think hard anymore. (Though I did about "big issues".) At one point after I moved home from college, I decided that I was just tired of "rocking the boat" at home. I was tired of feeling like I'm on a tightrope in the middle, of being sad because of things of the past, of getting into arguements over what happened or didn't and implications for the future. It became much easier to just desire to move on, to think about something else that's more mindless, to not "rock the boat" if the boat is just going to capsize anyway. But I think that maybe that not wanting to "rock the boat" has invaded other areas of my life as well and not just with family conflicts anymore. It think recently it's been extending to many aspects of my relationships to my family and as well to my friends, coworkers and to my Father in Heaven.

I don't know. Maybe this commuter lifestyle has also given me more liscense to "zone out" instead of to be intentional with my time. It almost feels like when you spend 2 hours in the car everyday or 2.5 hours changing trains, time almost feels suspended. Though you can get in some reading or call someone on the phone, it's much easier to listen to music and just zone...and that's what I've been more inclined to do over the past couple months.

Maybe I do just need a vacation, but I'm also aware that I don't just want to coast in my relationships any more than I just want to float through life. Perhaps the Holy Spirit has convicted me recently about this lack of intentionality by bringing to mind good memories of very intentional communities and groups of people that I treasured in college. I hope that this vacation, besides just a good time in a different country with my mom will be a good time out for me, where I can think about some of these things, and mainly think to pray about them.

sanctuary

For the past 3 weeks, I have been working to try to find housing help for one asylum seeker in particular who has been living in a semi-isolated, not healthy situation, and starting tomorrow, she will have a room to live in but no funding or transportation to get food (and my organization doesn't have it's own food or housing resources.) She cannot legally work and is dependent on others (like most of our clients unless they live in Jersey City and work at gas stations under the table...) but has not been able to network to find someone else to take her in. I have been trying to establish possible connections for better housing for her, both in the small African community around here and my own church connections and a network called Sanctuary. In the meantime, we have to wait...

SANCTUARY: MINISTRY OPPORTUNITY TO "ADOPT" AN AFRICAN REFUGEE IN NEED OF A HOME IN NJ

"Claire" is a 25 year old woman from Cameroon. She is incredibly sweet, softspoken and intelligent. Until two years ago, she was pursuing her masters in human rights and had high hopes of one day being a lawyer. Those dreams were cut short after she was arrested, tortured and falsely accused of being a dissident and a rabble rouser after participating in student community organizing. After a narrow escape from those that were persecuting her, Claire had to go into hiding for several months before being able to obtain a visa to come to America as a summer student intern. If she were to return to Cameroon, she would be rearrested and killed.
She is now seeking asylum in the United States and has a pro bono attorney representing her case. However, Claire is in need of housing. After being in two precarious living situations since this past fall, Claire is living in a place where it is incredibly difficult for her to access transportation and now is dependent on food banks and soup kitchens. She does not have a permit for work and cannot legally support herself until she is granted asylum. Claire is receiving case management and support from a non-profit organization in Jersey City, but they are very limited in terms of how they can help her with food and shelter.

"Claire" is just one of many people fleeing for their lives from oppressive governments on account of their beliefs, ethnicity and political views. Right now, in Jersey City, Newark and even New Brunswick and Montclair, there are more than 100 people seeking help from the International Institute of NJ as they are waiting to put their lives back together in a process that can take many months or even years. Some of them, like Claire, have had to bounce from bad living situation to bad living situation, unable to legally work and support herself. If you would like to consider being a part of the Sanctuary network of churches and temples in Bergen and Passaic counties and receive email alerts and updates for when there is a refugee like Claire in need of an adoptive home or if you would like more information, please contact...

"You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat..." Isaiah 25:4

"'He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?' declares the LORD." Jer. 22:16

Luke 10: 22-37

the giving of meaning

I interact with a lot of the psycho-analyst types...which is probably rational given that I work in a program that is under the Cross-Cultural Counseling Center at IINJ. Currently, most of our counseling grad-student interns are leaving as their semesters are coming to a close, and thus they have to say goodbye to their clients that they have been see for therapy for the past several months.

Last week, I had a conversation with one of those interns who has been counseling the same (survivor of torture) client for almost 2 years. She shared with me how hard it is for both her and her client that she now must make a clean break in ties with him. She also told me about the next phase of her program and how she has a different internship as a clinician at a mental institution, working with patients with severe mental disturbance. I asked her (so far) which has been more challenging for her; working with asylee survivors of torture or working with mentally ill patients.

She paused and acknowledged that both groups of people are severely marginalized, making neither job easy to emotionally shoulder. However, she said that it has been a lot easier for her to find and give meaning to working with asylum seekers, who, if they can heal from their past trauma and get through the asylum process, will have a shot at achieving "The American Dream" and building a new and potentially fulfilling life for themselves. Working with patients with incurable mental disorders however, doesn't give the therapist a lot to assign meaning to. She went on to tell me about one of her current patients who spends most of his days locked in a padded room because in the past he has hurt both himself and has harmed his caretakers. He is suffering from advanced schizophrenia. Many of those patients in that institution need to be monitored carefully when they are out of their rooms so they literally do not escape and attempt to jump off the Staten Island Bridge. She said that in situations like that, it is difficult to assign meaning to the relationship or to the purpose of the therapy.

"Assign Meaning"… I have heard that phrase many times this year. Usually, this has been in the context of the grad-student intern meetings that I sat in on with the supervisor of the counseling department. It has come up in conversation over working with clients to get ready for court, working with clients to sift through past trauma, working with clients as they try to literally start their lives over here, working through our own "issues" of how we try to assign our own personal meanings to the client's experience, realizing that to mentally cope we have private ways of assigning meaning to what we do and acknowledging that each culture and each religion has it's own way of "assigning meaning" to life's events and life's problems and then learning to listen to and accept others' "assigned meaning" of life. Anotherwords, humans have this drive, no matter what their background or culture, to “assign meaning” to the events of life…especially to the hard events.Each time I hear “assign meaning”, something inside me cringes slightly. Somehow, it seems that this rhetoric of "assigning meaning" is one nicely labeled semantic game of what humanity has been playing since the beginning of history. Or, perhaps it’s more of a dilemma.

As an anthropology major, I studied this concept from the macro/community context level. Every culture has different ways of assigning meaning to the things of life. Different symbols, concepts, events, material things and language have culturally assigned meanings. However, I think that this talk in my office of “assigning meaning” hits at a much more fundamental and universal concept that wants to answer the purpose to the meaning of life, and if there is a purpose to our existence and the relationships that we form. It’s almost asking, what is my philosophy of life in the face of this tragedy or seemingly pointless interaction with this person who seems to be leading a life that will only continue to be tragic?

For my fellow co-workers (many of whom are openly non-religious or only religious in terms of culture), personally "assigning meaning" to life and death seems to be a normal psychological process, just like assigning words to objects and concepts so that we can think about them and communicate about them clearly. But like words and language, most of them seem to believe that each culture and each person's ideas about the use of meaning can be different. Somehow, this then allows us to then move on once we process it (by labeling it with our meaning).Yes, I acknowledge that we all want to find tangible, personal meaning for things that happen in life, especially if they do not happen the way that we plan or the way that we think they ought to happen. Everyone wants to find meaning in the seemingly meaningless things of life. Even Christians often fall into the trap of using trite phrases to assign meaning to things that are tragic. Romans 8:28 is sure thrown around a lot when we are faced with major loss. So is that verse about "I know the plans I have for you..." in Isaiah. But are quoting those verses just the Christian version of stamping a personal meaning onto something like a shattered dream? Can we take those stamps and apply them to the man in the padded cell that will probably never lead a normal life or have people that deeply love him?

As a Christian, I do believe that all human life does have purpose (no matter how insignificant or pathetic that life is) and that meaning is not subject to how people might try to assign it. All are created in the image of God. Part of our purpose is relationship, not just to God, but also to each other. But when I think about all the senseless tragedy in this world, I do want to tack something on to it that will give it a more tangible reason for existing, for something that seems so utterly purposeless, so that it can be more palatable to me. It's almost become tempting for me to accept a secular psycho-analyst view that this as a normal human response and perhaps an evolutionary, adaptive way of coping with the cold facts of life that allows us to keep living so that we don't just die of despair.

But is this just a very natural, very human thing to do: assign meaning so that we can just cope? Is life all about assigning personal meaning? And does this just come from our culture, background and personality? It just seems to be so ultimately pointless; that we believe that each culture and each person assigns it's own meaning to life's triumphs and failures, pleasures and pain, and ultimately, death…but in the end, it REALLY doesn't mean anything because it's a just an adaptive human response so that we can continue on with life and reproducing life. In the end, doesn't THAT seem meaningless?

We can find personal meaning when we see the results of something, but how does that theory hold up when we don’t see the results? What’s the meaning then? Was there still a purpose in our interacting with the man in the padded cell? Is there a purpose to that person’s existence?

I think that God would say that there is always meaning to interacting with our fellow man, and therefore I can say so too, even if I can’t tangibly see the purpose. God is the one that gives meaning to all life. However, it could be that the psycho-analyst’s response to that would be that’s just my way of coping with reality…

(I feel like I need a good Ravi Zacharius quote here…when I finish reading “Can Man Live without God?” I’ll pick one out and post it.)

heart of the conflict in Darfur

Over 300 people fasted and prayed for Darfur yesterday.

I spoke with a co-worker about the fast that so many people are participating in and I wanted to ask her what the root is of why genocide is taking place in Darfur. She is a refugee from Sudan (not from the region of Darfur, but all intellectuals are persecuted in that country in general). She and her husband spent a few years in Egypt before being able to come here. They had to leave because her husband was a journalist and politician that displeased the authorities. (Most of the intellectuals not connected to the power of the government have left actually.)
She said that at the heart of the conflict in Sudan is an identity crisis. Basically, the government for the past few decades has tried to either brainwash or force everyone to think they are Arab or to accept Arabic culture. All who oppose that are not under the totalitarian reign of the government and therefore are a direct threat to "The New Sudan". The Arab group in power in the government is forcing the identity of the country to be Arab, but they are not Arab; they are African. So underneath all the complexities of the conflict over there is really a fight for power over ethnic and national identity. The Janjaweed militias are just a violent tool towards that end.

She told me that since coming here to America, she and her husband have given up their dreams for the future of Sudan.

Habakkuk. 3:17-19

nebulous

I have decided officially. I work for a nebulous.

In all my idealistic visions of doing humanitarian work in a way that is God honoring despite the circumstances, I think that this is probably one of the most dysfunctional non-profit organizations ever and I think that I will be ready to move on come end of summer.

And I do realize (as one friend already pointed out to me) that nebulous is NOT a noun. However, I believe that to use it as such, just furthers the unformulated, hazy, sometimes random and ill-defined way of doing things of the program at IINJ that I work for. And I think it's catching...I can feel myself becoming a bit more "nebulous" in the way that I live. Dear Lord...

Perhaps my next goal in life should be to become some rich guy's trophy wife.

Just kidding...most probably.