Thailand Missions 2008

Something my team and I put together to share about our trip!

Enjoy!!!

Good Morning

With a lot of time on my hands, I have the luxury of waking up in this manner each and ever morning. I know right now I'm forming a habit....so that when life starts to get more busy than it is right now and God continues to put more responsibility on my plate, I will still remember to wake to each and every morning with this manner.

A perfect start to the day.

I admire...

I dividuals who can understand and digest
N ever ending, complicated emotions, concepts, issues
S o well that they, with
P rowess and power compose
I ntricate, yet comprehensible
R are pieces of
A rt
T hat are timeless, profound, impacting yet delicate enough to
I nspire and awaken similar feelings deep within the
O n looker, passerby, everyday person who happens to see, hear, read, or touch and will
N ever be the same again.


Inspiration

Frozen in Time...for 5 minutes...Try Bondage for a Lifetime

This past weekend 120 others and I participated in The Freeze Project (hosted by Charles Lee of JustOne & Derrick Engoy) and it was was an awesome success!

Basically what we did is select a location at the Santa Monica Promonade and freeze for 5 minutes in an "interesting" position. Upon freezing, we had tons of people walking/sitting around the promenade wondering what was goin' on. After the freeze people were very curious and asked tons of questions and we passed out lots of flyers. It was a very effective way to inform people about human trafficking.



Keep your eyes open for the next Freeze Project here http://thefreezeproject.com/.

If you aren't familiar with human trafficking it is modern-day slavery. It involves victims who are trafficked to and from various countries and locations and are forced, defrauded or coerced into labor or sexual exploitation. Annually, about 600,000 to 800,000 people -- mostly women and children -- are trafficked across national borders which does not count millions trafficked within their own countries. People are snared into trafficking by many means. In some cases, physical force is used. In other cases, false promises are made regarding job opportunities or marriages in foreign countries to entrap victims.

For more information or to connect with others who are actively working to end human trafficking visit:

Human Trafficking.org
JustOne
Stop the Traffik
International Justice Mission
Loose Change to Loosen Chains
Amnesty International

IN SHA'A ALLAH

If God wills it I will be heading to Thailand this summer for a short term missions trip with a few of the hilltribes in Northern Thailand.



During this trip we will spend a day in Bangkok at World Base Thailand and then some time at a local orphange and then carry out a medical missions operation to a few different hilltribes. I'm very excited about what God has in store!



I've been dealing with a few pressures or stressors if you may that have made it difficult for me to readily make the decision to go to Thailand.



1) I'm out of work and while I have the money to go...I feel guilty for doing so because I don't have an income.



2) My father has always been a wise counselor in my life and he really doesn't understand the vision behind this trip. He thinks I'm going for the opportunity to add another travel log to my life's tales. He thinks a short term missions trip like this really isn't worth the investment of time and money.



3) I'm not sure what's next for me in this current episode of my life and for a while even considered whether or not I was going because God put it on my heart to go, or if I was going because my loved ones were going and I wanted to tag along.



All things considered, God has been doing a work in me.



Even outside of this trip, God has really given me a burden to help those that cannot help themselves. I'm learning to love more and more every day. While it hurts at times, knowing how to love like Jesus did, really does make life more fulfilling and meaningful.



In a past more personal journal September 9, 2007 I wrote:



"Lord you bring a Divine focus and so much encouragement. Lord as I was just praying now and thinking about how much knowledge and experience you've allowed me to be exposed to...I still can't help but ask WHY?



What am I supposed to do? Lord as your vessel, how are these contents that you've filled me with thus far to be spilled out? Surely these things are not for my benefit. I have always understood that they are only for furthering others in whatever they strive for and where ever they need to get to.



Competition has never excited me. Shear knowledge has never been fulfilling. Numbers and statistics don't bring me satisfaction. It's always ever been the process...getting from A to B and bringing others there along the way.



So what's next? I don't want to forget ALL that I've learned...the tensions of society and the things that alleviate those tensions.



But how do I know what's next?



Lord lead me. Bring clarity. Give me very certain direction so that I know the right steps. "

So I continue to pray for clarity. I continue to pray for focus and direction. I continue to pray that those things that appear to be worthwhile and even take my heart captive are made evident for what they are...distractions...things that take away from what God has for me. Now I don't ever want to be a work horse...and I know that certain things are for our enjoyment as God has designed them....but there's a time for everything. Seasons.

Right now is my time to keep on working towards the plan God has for me. Thailand is very much a part of that plan...everything else around it has had strong influence...but God wants me to serve his people. That's what I'll do.

The Freeze Project--April 6, 2008. Join us!!!

My friends at Just One, One Voice to End Slavery, and Stop the Traffik will be hosting The Freeze Project at the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica, CA at 3pm on April 6, 2008.

The inspiration for The Freeze Project came about when Improv Everywhere did their version in Grand Central Station, New York.




Justice Twist to the Idea:

Our twist to this idea would be to use this creative method for drawing attention to social injustices around the world.

The Basic Concept:

For our Freeze Project moments, we would like to draw a couple of hundred people at a time to participate in drawing attention to some of the social injustices of the world. Instead of protesting, we would like to create an experience that is fun, non-intrusive (in your face activism), and inclusive. We believe that we could use “the Freeze” to draw attention in a crowd, which will then be followed up with a brief handout to people about a particular social injustice in the world.

How a Freeze Project Moment Looks:

• Participants will be asked to show up a designated time and place.
• Participants will then proceed to the “Freeze” space and blend themselves into a crowd as if they were regulars in that particular environments (e.g., malls, events, outdoor shopping areas, etc.).
• A cue will be given by the director of the Freeze moment.
• Participants will then stop what they were doing and stay frozen for the next 5 minutes until they receive another cue telling them that the freeze is over.
• Following the freeze, participants will handout a couple of print material each to people observing them (with or without conversation).
  
  
  That’s it! Enjoy the rest of the day at the venue where the Freeze takes place.
  We just ask that participants give us feedback after the experience by visiting our website/blog: http://www.thefreezeproject.com/.
  

Things they need:

• Freeze participants --RSVP
• People interested in video taping the Freeze moment
• donations of bottled water

So come join us!!!!

Give, Give, Give, Give!

Don't be Duped

I'm the eldest of three children, so growing up in the Ventura household meant that very few things really belonged to us. My parents bought everything and for the sake of not having to buy more than one thing (unless it was Christmas) toys, food, and sometimes clothes were meant to be shared.

Being raised in this way, I never really had a hard time sharing with others, because I hadn't really purchased any of the things I was giving away. Things are just things, anyways, and they can always be replaced.

At my small Christian school, Santa Fe Springs Christian, I was always the studious, reliable, kid who always wrote down every homework assignment and always had homework done by 8 or 9pm. I was also the kid whose friends called to get assignments and homework help...or if the situation was dire...the answers.

Now my classmates weren't slackers, they just had other things to worry about. My only concern in the world , aside from basketball, was ever homework. Seriously. And it wasn't really any problem helping them out...I'd already done the work anyways.

This common practice continued until one evening my father overheard me helping a friend with her homework. And when I got off the phone he gave me a lesson on the value of time. He proceeded to explain to me about people with character, and people with work ethic and responsibility and integrity. He showed me that I was one of those people and I deserved not to be used by those that weren't.


(The fact that he did this after I was off the phone was empowering because it allowed me time to process and think about all that he had shared with me and carry out my own application of what it all meant to me.)


As I grew up, I guarded these traits so well, that I ended up sucking out any life and joy that they really provide and lived in fear of being taken advantage of and worked very hard to avoid it.

And when I did do it, the temporal feeling of fulfillment was overwhelmed with feelings of guilt and frustration because, once again, I'd let myself be taken advantage of...I'd been duped.

I unlearned the very necessary gift of generosity.

"Generosity Encouraged"

More recently though, God's been showing me how He encourages generosity. I mean for crying out loud John 3:16 tells us that he GAVE his only son so that we (people that don't even really know the slightest thing about gratitude) could live in a intimate relationship with him.

And so I give...and the most impactful form of giving in my heart is giving of my time and energy. And it's great! Not only do I have the privilege of spending time with beautiful amazing people, but I get to learn about life with them. And I learn about hurt and disappointment, because sometimes I'd like to receive a little something back from whoever I'm giving to...I mean...I am human. But mainly I learn more and more about grace and love.

God reminded me today in 2 Corinthians 8 that we need to be giving EVERYTHING as we can. Even the things we received in return for our giving. Yep...we need to give that too...that's giving. Paul is careful not to encourage reckless giving, but directs us to "give just as much as we are able" (v. 3). He even advocates egalitarianism when he says "our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality." (v. 13).

Even more he reminds us that really, there is no such thing as giving too much, because just as God provided for the Israelites when he instructed them to collect mana for 6 days of the week and to rest on the 7th, they were provided for..."He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little." (Ex. 16:18).

So I will continue to learn how to give...generously.
2 Corinthians 8:7-8 says "But just as you excel in everything --in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us --see that you also excel in this grace of giving. I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with with the earnestness of others. "

I Am Woman Hear Me Roar!

The following is a posting I lifted from author of Ruby Slippers, Jonalyn Grace Fincher's blog. Next week I will be attending a luncheon where she is the keynote speaker and so in preparation I wanted to see a little more into her mind and heart.

I found that in this posting below, she thoroughly addresses a lot of what I've ever wondered about gender roles and home economics from a biblical perspective and reassures women that there's more to the Proverbs 31 woman then we think.

A godly woman isn't defined by how well she can carry out her household duties and whether or not her household runs with efficiency, but it's about how well she truly knows her femine self as her heavenly Father intended her to be; without neglecting her giftings, passions, goals and soul cravings.

Biblical Womanhood?

When I sat down to write Ruby Slippers I got some excellent advice.

• Don't assume that you have THE model of womanhood.
• Take time to be freeing and flexible to your readers
• Before normalizing any experience you've had look around, does it fit all types of women?

And God pointed my gaze to women (my agent, my publisher, my grandmothers, Deborah, Ruth, Priscilla) who didn't fit my neat list of feminine traits. Eventually, I came to a place where I could honestly say, "I am not offering an exhaustive index on femininity or the only biblical model for womanhood" (Ruby Slippers 25). Read more about re-working my original narrow conceptions of femininity in Ruby Slippers' "Epilogue" pg 192-193.

There is a steady stream of work, however, that says there is one form of Biblical Womanhood. Much to my dismay, the L.A. Times has covered one such example at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where you can get a BA in their newly opened degree in Home Economics (hooray for the Home Ec revival). Sadly, it's only open to women.

The journalist interviewed Dorothy Patterson who appears to be certain that her flavor of homemaking is biblical.

So in no particular order, here are some of the problems with equating Biblical womanhood with the stay-at-home flavor of femininity (a great way to be feminine, but by no means the only way!).By the way, reading the article (free membership required) will give you some interesting perspective and background on my comments.

Problem 1: The college is equating God's purpose for women with being a helper suitable for man (Gen 2:18, Hebrew ezer = pronounced "ay'-zer", best translated ally). That's fine and mostly good, but to them, being an ezer means being good at home economics. So "helper" means sewing buttons, sustaining sparkling dinner conversations, and making a delicious meal. One woman who gave up her career when her husband wanted children is quoted as saying "If we love the Scripture, we must do it. We must fit into this role." Is this really what Scripture says? I find that the word most associated with ezer is the synonym warrior-protector, not homemaker. This idea leaves no room for the Proverbs 31 woman (a female often esteemed by Southern Baptists as the ideal woman) who is part organics farmer (v. 13), artist (v.13), international exports and imports monitor(v.14, 24), chef (v.15), food storage and distribution expert (v.15), administrator (v.15), public relations officer, (v.15),realtor (v.16), oenologist (v.16), pilates attender (v.17), accountant (v.18), textile operator (v. 19), defense attorney for the poor and oppressed (v.20), interior designer (v.22), fashion designer (v.13,21,24), high-achieving-up-at-the-crack- of-dawn-coffee-drunk -paper-read-off-to-work sort of woman (v.15, 18), and most of these positions bring her earning, i.e. real world money. She is a real provider and protector for her family, in both the public and private spheres. And it no where says she has a joint checking account with her husband. Though she may have. The point is not to be overwhelmed by her, the point is that we've got options ladies, real options.

Problem 2: This view of "biblical homemaking" bars wives and mothers from taking co-dominion opportunities in the public market place: law, business, academy, church. Now don't hear me wrong, I don't mean to say that staying home with kids, or even being a homemaker without children is a poor decision, but let's not prescribe it as the only godly position. The minimal number of Christian wives and mothers modeling what it looks like to be professors, attorneys, public servants, itinerant speakers, corporate executives has hurt more than a few women in deciding on what options are open to them. Would that we really had more Prov 31 examples around!

Problem 3: Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, et al., have constructed an artificial realm of womanhood (i.e. home economics), and failed to dig deeper into the real unique things women offer. A man can iron, sew, cook, entertain just as well as a woman, so making women Masters of Home Economics pretends that this is a "woman's realm" when in reality it's a human realm. Further it actually robs men from the work (both satisfying and grueling) of caring for hearth and home. If a wife prefers to be the home economics master, well and good, but let's not assume that this means she is

• more feminine
• more godly
• more biblically feminine
• more ezer.
  

She is not. Femininity, godliness and helper are more demanding than home economics. You can do home economics well, and still be unfeminine and ungodly (i.e. frigid or invulnerable or calculating or controlling or demanding et cetera).

Problem 4: Home Economics is something men can do awfully well. Shouldn't we value men doing the dishes and loving through service? Shouldn't Eph. 5:25 "love your wives as Christ loved the church" invite men into home economics? We could empower and encourage men to find jobs that they do well around the house. If wives were submissive in all things, this would include letting men help us with the housework, right? In our home, Dale is the primary dish-washer, grocery-shopper and part-time vacuumer and does these tasks very well. I can do them well, too, but my femininity is not threatened by him doing keeping house anymore than his masculinity is threatened by scrubbing pots and pans.

Problem 5: The LA Times' journalist no doubt left this Seminary with the distinct impression that the Bible is the foundation for this narrow definition of womanhood. No wonder we're losing women to Wicca. Here's how I'd think if I were a non-believer reading this article, "If the Biblical god forces women into realms that do not fit their giftings, their passions, their goals, their soul, then perhaps this god isn't really God."

Problem 6: There appears a sort of sanctified Martha Stewart lifestyle in this training. With such a long list of home economics duties, the wealthy and middle class make out substantially better in fulfilling their God-given purpose than the women who are weak, sick, disabled, poor, divorced, abandoned, widowed. I don't think God would approve of that, since he's so big on helping the weak and oppressed. In fact, he's pretty angry with those who heap burdens on those who cannot lift them (Luke 11:46). And a well-managed household being a good testimony? Praising home economics too highly can begin to heap more responsibilities on women (who must be wealthy enough to stay home and manage all this) to perform well. Women already have a weakness here. For me, I don't need more spiritualizing of my home's cleanliness (for instance, do spiritual destinies really depend on how smoothly my home runs?) I already have enough tapes running in my head preventing me from taking my home less seriously.

Some of the women quoted by the L.A. Times said, "The whole point of taking college-level homemaking is to ensure that my husband won't ever feel that he has to darn a sock or do the laundry. Those are my jobs." and "I'm not one of those out to rebel, out-to-be-my-own-woman types." I want to say, "Do you believe it is automatically selfish, rebellious or unfeminine to follow Christ into unconventional places?" For a better read on Home Economics, I'd recommend Keeping House: The Litany of Everyday Life, where Margaret Kim Patterson dignifies the menial aspects of housework into one way of worshipping God. But she never equates a woman's value with this good work.One secular author gave these comforting words that to me, speak more truth into femininity. As we pursue God's thoughts on women, let's keep them in mind, "No need to hurry. No need to sparkle. No need to be anyone, but oneself." Virginia Woolf.

A Reflection...

While cleaning out my desk I found my Life's Reflection titled "Did I Answer My Calling" that I wrote my senior year of high school (2002) for my Death and Dying class at St. Joseph's High School. For the class I basically I had to plan my own funeral and write somewhat of a Eulogy. Here's what I wrote:

" Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you." (Romans 12:1-3)

Idealizing or envisioning one future self is a difficult task, because we constantly change and grow. Our passions fade or grow according ot the goals we pursue or the influences we have based on our individual experiences. But right now, I wish to be remembered as someone who was truly authentic. One who exhibited sincerity in everything I expressed to whomever I encountered. One who lived with integrity, never wavering from God's vision for my life. I want to be known as one who truly tried to be a disciple and a light unto this world. All things considered, I want to have lived by the given passage above.

Authenticiy is hard to come by in this present world. Standards are set according to what the world expects of people and sad to say, it doesn't expect much. We are only expected to live life for ourselves, however that may be. Selfishness keeps humanity from reaching its full potential. We are only expected to accept whatever the world puts in front of us. I do not want to have been a person who did this, no matter how politcally incorrect I may have been.

I want to have reached a point of selflessness. Not necessarily doing nothing to benefit myself or to further myself in life, but reachind for success with one goal in mind: to have used my talents to answer God's calling to be a living sacrifice. This would entail living according to God's word; knowing it, learning from it, and living by it. Knowing God's word would enable me to know God and by knowing him, I would have had the right mindset to catalyze change in this world and inspire people to reach beyond mediocracy. I would have known how to love unconditionally and to have compassion for everyone I encountered. I would have had faith that I expressed to all with whom I came in contact. I would have been the one who prayed whenever an immediate answer could not be found; always having unwavering faith in God's ability.

Our world has lost faith in God. Society is literally falling apart because while we succeed materialistically, our moral cloth detiriorates. I did not to fall into the gap of materialsm. I would have been the one who shared my whole self (and any extension of that) with all whome I came in contact; my wisdom, God's vision, my challenge to excellence, my heart for God's will and need for His word. A living sacrifice. "

Wow. The basic sentiment of my heart's desires haven't really changed after 6 years of exposure to "the real world". I still yearn to be authentic, to know how to really love people, to know how to honestly give of my every being out of selflessness, to know God's heart and His will for my life and the lifes of other, to encourage others to see past the things that keep them in bondage and see the excellence that God has for them, to be his living sacrifice.

God is MY Event Planner!

As I end my time with the Foursquare NextGen Ministries I've been doing a lot of thinking.

I've been thinking about the amazing one-year journey I will complete in just three days.

Beyond the challenge of pulling together a massive 3,500 person youth conference in just under11.5 months (I don't count my first two weeks on the project as very fruitful), was the challenge God put before me to really explore boundaries (or a lack thereof) with Him and learn to listen, trust, and obey.

In exploring these boundaries I've learned...whelp...when working with God...he does a really great job at not even really defining boundaries at all. We do that for ourselves just fine, but most times, they're not even the ones God even intended for us in the first place.

So now that I know this...I find it a really daunting task to identify just where, what, when, and how my next move will be...

But I think it has something to do with people and seeing them reach their fullest God-inspired potential.

...it's a start right???

Using My Strengths...

Back in April, I went through a book called Now Discover Your Strengths from which we learned my top five, natural, innate strength themes. Marcus Bukingham and the Gallup organization have begun a "strengths revolution" of sorts in postulating a theory that in order for individuals to really be effective and efficient with whatever they undertake, they must work with their strengths. The world tells us that we should work towards eliminating our weaknesses, so that we become well-rounded, equally contributing citizens. BUT Marcus says that we can contribute more, maximize our strengths and pull others around us whose strengths are our weaknesses and build strong teams.

My strengths are Harmony, Learner, Resorative, Input, and Responsibility.

Harmony

You look for areas of agreement. In your view there is little to be gained from conflict and friction, so you seek to hold them to a minimum. When you know that the people around you hold differing views, you try to find the common ground. You try to steer them away from confrontation and toward harmony. In fact, harmony is one of your guiding values. You can't quite believe how much time is wasted by people trying to impose their views on others. Wouldn't we all be more productive if we kept our opinions in check and instead looked for consensus and support? You believe we would, and you live by that belief. When others are sounding off about their goals, their claims, and their fervently held opinions, you hold your peace. When others strike out in a direction, you will willingly, in the service of harmony, modify your own objectives to merge with theirs (as long as their basic values do not clash with yours). When others start to argue about their pet theory or concept, you steer clear of the debate, preferring to talk about practical, down-to-earth matters on which you can all agree. In your view we are all in the same boat, and we need this boat to get where we are going. It is a good boat. There is no need to rock it just to show thatyou can.

Learner

You love to learn. The subject matter that interests you most will be determined by your other themes and experiences, but whatever the subject, you will always be drawn to the process of learning. The process, more than the content or the result, is especially exciting for you. You are energized by the steady and deliberate journey from ignorance to competence. The thrill of the first few facts, the early efforts to recite or practice what you have learned, the growing confidence of a skill mastered-this is the process that entices you. Your excitement leads you to engage in adult learning experiences-yoga or piano lessons or graduate classes. It enables you to thrive in dynamic work environments where you are asked to take on short project assignments and are expected to learn a lot about the new subject matter in a short period of time and then move on to the next one. This Learner theme does not necessarily mean that you seek to become the subject matter expert, or that you are striving for the respect that accompanies a professional or academic credential. The outcome of the learning is less significant than the "getting there."

Restorative

You love to solve problems. Whereas some are dismayed when they encounter yet another breakdown, you can be energized by it. You enjoy the challenge of analyzing the symptoms, identifying what is wrong, and finding the solution. You may prefer practical problems or conceptual ones or personal ones. You may seek out specific kinds of problems that you have met many times before and that you are confident you can fix. Or you may feel the greatest push when faced with complex and unfamiliar problems. Your exact preferences are determined by your other themes and experiences. But what is certain is that you enjoy bringing things back to life. It is a wonderful feeling to identify the undermining factor(s), eradicate them, and restore something to its true glory. Intuitively, you know that without your intervention, this thing-this machine, this technique, this person, this company-might have ceased to function. You fixed it, resuscitated it, rekindled its vitality. Phrasing it the way you might, you saved it.

Input

You are inquisitive. You collect things. You might collect information-words, facts, books, and quotations-or you might collect tangible objects such as butterflies, baseball cards, porcelain dolls, or sepia photographs. Whatever you collect, you collect it because it interests you. And yours is the kind of mind that finds so many things interesting. The world is exciting precisely because of its infinite variety and complexity. If you read a great deal, it is not necessarily to refine your theories but, rather, to add more information to your archives. If you like to travel, it is because each new location offers novel artifacts and facts. These can be acquired and then stored away. Why are they worth storing? At the time of storing it is often hard to say exactly when or why you might need them, but who knows when they might become useful? With all those possible uses in mind, you really don't feel comfortable throwing anything away. So you keep acquiring and compiling and filing stuff away. It's interesting. It keeps your mind fresh. And perhaps one day some of it will prove valuable.

Responsibility

Your Responsibility theme forces you to take psychological ownership for anything you commit to, and whether large or small, you feel emotionally bound to follow it through to completion. Your good name depends on it. If for some reason you cannot deliver, you automatically start to look for ways to make it up to the other person. Apologies are not enough. Excuses and rationalizations are totally unacceptable. You will not quite be able to live with yourself until you have made restitution. This conscientiousness, this near obsession for doing things right, and your impeccable ethics, combine to create your reputation: utterly dependable. When assigning new responsibilities, people will look to you first because they know it will get done. When people come to you for help-and they soon will-you must be selective. Your willingness to volunteer may sometimes lead you to take on more than you should.


Since I've just completed a year long project with The Foursquare Church (I'll post about it soon I'm sure) I'm currently trying to figure out "the next steps".

So I'm waiting on God for direction as to how, where, when, and with whom I'll put these strengths to work in the near future...

Onward!

I already have a blog at .http://profile.xanga.com/VEN2RAW But I can't do with it what I'd like to...so I'm moving over to blogger....