Because of certain events, we won't be able to do the second phase of our roadtrip advocacy on the West Coast. We extended the East Coast trip an extra week to add in a couple more schools and the Love146 conference which depleted our resources. Also, a couple of pledges did not come through causing us to come up short. We had $400 extra after our East Coast trip and after the extra week and we will be donating that directly to Love146. We know this is a good investment of that money for they are starting to raise funds with the hopes of opening another safe home.
We appreciate all of your prayers and support on this venture. We were greatly pleased with the response from the East Coast trip and hope that through the awareness generated more college students will begin to align themselves under the abolitionist banner.
We are tentatively speaking for Love146 at DU in the Spring. We would ask for continued prayers, but mostly we ask that you would continue to be made aware of the issue, and that we would all seek to stave off complacency. There's a lot we can do.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Musings
by Micah
This is my life verse. I am discovering the power and truth that are behind this commandment. Our God is the God of Justice and He requires us to be a people of justice, mercy and humility.
We are coming to the end of our four week advocacy trip. I am currently sitting in the student commons area of Boston University. The response has been positive but minimal. As the crowds are dying down, students migrating back to classes and libraries, I am reflecting on how our time on the road, and the movement we have partnered in is all wrapped up in my life’s verse.
The collective “we” can not do justice in a God-honoring way without mercy; we can not be merciful in a righteous way without being humble; we can not be truly humble on our own accord. Where does this leave us? It leaves us needing a relationship with our God. And not just any relationship, we need a vital and dynamic and growing relationship with our God.
Love146 is a component in a much larger “movement.” There is a movement of abolitionist working to end modern-day slavery. “Movements” are human (they are not robotic, and they can be fickle). We are the people of this movement; we are the medium. Movements carry hopes and dreams. But true movements are NOT “spasms of passion.” Movement are for change.
Why the concentration on “movements”? Movements have been the agent of change behind each social upheaval in the past three-hundred years (both for good, and for bad): civil rights; women’s right to vote; gay rights; legalization of marijuana; the 1st abolition of slavery; freedom of religion; etc.
It has been clarified that movements are not created, but rather, they are unearthed. This states well our motivation for this current advocacy trip. There are people (potential mediums of change) who already harbor a heart for the oppressed and the marginalized. These individuals only need to be made aware of the truths so that they might join in the movement for abolition; we need only unearth these hearts.
(This fact has been the reasoning behind our specific approach to advocacy on university campuses; we have made the choice to allow individuals approach us, without the employment of solicitations such as “catch phrases” or “free candy.” The net response may be lower in quantity, but it is surely higher in quality.)
For anyone who has become a part of this movement, it is important to return to the “spark” in order to “keep the flame.”
The central issue, that which we fight for the abolition of, is a dark one - a very dark one. The enemy has sunk its teeth so far into those who are entrapped, true restoration and redemption is only possible through God’s mercy and justice; any other approach is futile.
This darkness is also, what I personally believe to be, the key to abolition. We can treat the symptoms; we can work to strangle the demand; we can use micro financing to greatly diminish the supply (something I am personally very excited to pursue/research); but if we fail to address the spiritual root of the issue, we will fail ultimately.
Mike Berry, a personal friend and pastor from Annapolis, MD has been doing work on the relationship between modern-day slavery, the African slave trade of the 18th and 19th centuries, and spiritually cursed land. In a nutshell: some enslaved Africans retaliated by cursing the slave-owners’ land with voo-doo practices brought over from their homeland, and we have been living with the consequences (social and possibly economical) ever since.
Mr. Berry concludes, and I am inclined to agree, that freedom will come only with reconciliation. He has evidence of this correlation in regards to the African slave-trade; I am excited to see lines drawn to modern-day slavery.
He has shown you o man what is good and what the Lord requires of you, to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8
This is my life verse. I am discovering the power and truth that are behind this commandment. Our God is the God of Justice and He requires us to be a people of justice, mercy and humility.
We are coming to the end of our four week advocacy trip. I am currently sitting in the student commons area of Boston University. The response has been positive but minimal. As the crowds are dying down, students migrating back to classes and libraries, I am reflecting on how our time on the road, and the movement we have partnered in is all wrapped up in my life’s verse.
The collective “we” can not do justice in a God-honoring way without mercy; we can not be merciful in a righteous way without being humble; we can not be truly humble on our own accord. Where does this leave us? It leaves us needing a relationship with our God. And not just any relationship, we need a vital and dynamic and growing relationship with our God.
Love146 is a component in a much larger “movement.” There is a movement of abolitionist working to end modern-day slavery. “Movements” are human (they are not robotic, and they can be fickle). We are the people of this movement; we are the medium. Movements carry hopes and dreams. But true movements are NOT “spasms of passion.” Movement are for change.
Why the concentration on “movements”? Movements have been the agent of change behind each social upheaval in the past three-hundred years (both for good, and for bad): civil rights; women’s right to vote; gay rights; legalization of marijuana; the 1st abolition of slavery; freedom of religion; etc.
It has been clarified that movements are not created, but rather, they are unearthed. This states well our motivation for this current advocacy trip. There are people (potential mediums of change) who already harbor a heart for the oppressed and the marginalized. These individuals only need to be made aware of the truths so that they might join in the movement for abolition; we need only unearth these hearts.
(This fact has been the reasoning behind our specific approach to advocacy on university campuses; we have made the choice to allow individuals approach us, without the employment of solicitations such as “catch phrases” or “free candy.” The net response may be lower in quantity, but it is surely higher in quality.)
For anyone who has become a part of this movement, it is important to return to the “spark” in order to “keep the flame.”
The central issue, that which we fight for the abolition of, is a dark one - a very dark one. The enemy has sunk its teeth so far into those who are entrapped, true restoration and redemption is only possible through God’s mercy and justice; any other approach is futile.
This darkness is also, what I personally believe to be, the key to abolition. We can treat the symptoms; we can work to strangle the demand; we can use micro financing to greatly diminish the supply (something I am personally very excited to pursue/research); but if we fail to address the spiritual root of the issue, we will fail ultimately.
Mike Berry, a personal friend and pastor from Annapolis, MD has been doing work on the relationship between modern-day slavery, the African slave trade of the 18th and 19th centuries, and spiritually cursed land. In a nutshell: some enslaved Africans retaliated by cursing the slave-owners’ land with voo-doo practices brought over from their homeland, and we have been living with the consequences (social and possibly economical) ever since.
Mr. Berry concludes, and I am inclined to agree, that freedom will come only with reconciliation. He has evidence of this correlation in regards to the African slave-trade; I am excited to see lines drawn to modern-day slavery.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Rutgers (State Univ. of NJ - who knew?)
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| Great Love146 product |
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| Steph, "manning" the table |
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| names and info blurred for privacy |
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
weekend in NYC!
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| Columbus Circle |
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| church chilly cook-off in Central Park |
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| Steph & Helen who let us stay with her while we were in the city! |
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| 5th Ave. Apple Store (the glass one) |
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| Steph in Times Square |
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| We had to go to Magnolia's for their "world famous" cupcakes. Not sure what all the fuss is about... |
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| Rockefeller Center - Did not pay to go to the top for the "view" |
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| Lookin' good in the City |
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| 'Nuff said |
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| You know this is for you D.R. Foley |
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| On the half shell - with a pint - for $9 (who says NYC is outrageously expensive?) |
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| NYU local pub - good eats! |
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| Harlem on a beautiful night |
Sunday, November 7, 2010
So Far...
by Steph
So far we've been to Vanderbilt, Univ of Tenn, Univ of Virginia, and Univ of Maryland. It was interesting to see the differences in campuses. At Vanderbilt it seemed there was much interest yet little knowledge on the subject. At Univ of Tenn we spoke at a Navs meeting and there was next to no involvement or inquiry. Univ of Virginia only a dozen or so stopped by, but two were very interested and may want to start a taskforce at their school. Then at Univ of Maryland we were only there two hours because they kicked us out (we were rained out the day before, but didn't think that going the next day would be a problem but it was). But within that two hours more people stopped by than at Univ of Virginia.
Originally we had wanted to focus on nav nights and speak there, but now we see that idea was not as beneficial as what we are doing now. At nav night they didn't expect such a weighty subject to come up during their fun social hour so they weren't prepared for it. But on the campuses, the only ones that stop by to talk are those that are actually interested. Most of these students had some idea that slavery still exists, but some were unaware that it persists here in America, the land of the free. I hope they remember to go the website, but at least they know about the problem and maybe it will start to pull on their hearts. So I'm glad that our first plan fell through cause God knew better.
Next stop, Rutgers.
So far we've been to Vanderbilt, Univ of Tenn, Univ of Virginia, and Univ of Maryland. It was interesting to see the differences in campuses. At Vanderbilt it seemed there was much interest yet little knowledge on the subject. At Univ of Tenn we spoke at a Navs meeting and there was next to no involvement or inquiry. Univ of Virginia only a dozen or so stopped by, but two were very interested and may want to start a taskforce at their school. Then at Univ of Maryland we were only there two hours because they kicked us out (we were rained out the day before, but didn't think that going the next day would be a problem but it was). But within that two hours more people stopped by than at Univ of Virginia.
Originally we had wanted to focus on nav nights and speak there, but now we see that idea was not as beneficial as what we are doing now. At nav night they didn't expect such a weighty subject to come up during their fun social hour so they weren't prepared for it. But on the campuses, the only ones that stop by to talk are those that are actually interested. Most of these students had some idea that slavery still exists, but some were unaware that it persists here in America, the land of the free. I hope they remember to go the website, but at least they know about the problem and maybe it will start to pull on their hearts. So I'm glad that our first plan fell through cause God knew better.
Next stop, Rutgers.
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