Whatever It Is You Do

Update time!
It’s been too long. I do miss writing about my passion. I do!
I’ve been all caught up with moving twice, two kids starting school, and was hip deep into a bible study on James until today. The weather of my life is calming – winds are dying down and the mind quieting, hopefully for long enough stints that I can bust out my mini laptop and get all caught up on the world of human trafficking around me (& once again, reassess where I fit into it)!
I feel like I’m getting further and further out. Further away from urban Portland culture and so I’m telling myself that’s ok. I can make mountains move from anywhere if I have faith (+ some availability. And the guts to put to action my convictions from week to week. Ok, and a Snickers Ice cream Bar would help, for the energy I’ll need to getterdone. I mean, mountains are heavy).

So I will do what I can and I charge you all to do the same. Like my husband says to me as he quotes some movie I’ve never seen, “You do…whatever it is… you do”. That’s all we’re responsible to do. We know the evil is rampant and will not let up. But we also know that wherever we live, whatever skill set we have, whoever God has placed us in connection with right now, we have to commit (and I’m speaking to myself here too) to KEEP FIGHTING.
Because there will always be the abused and vulnerable among us.
And because it is simply right and just to fight for them.

This month, if you’re anywhere near these areas, join me as I pick up my benevolent pace and attend these three pretty exciting events:

• This Friday: Family Life Church is hosting a Trafficking Awareness Night. Speakers will include a Portland DA who has taken on plenty of trafficking cases, Ms. Amanda Marshall.
6:30 dessert social, 7pm it starts!

• Sept.14: “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” 1 mi. walk to benefit SARC. On 5th and Hall in Beaverton. Free Voodoo Donuts and “Jim & Patty” (Coffee People) coffee, lots of games, prizes and men in very uncomfortable heels.

• Sept. 27-28: Good Shepherd Church in Gresham is hosting a 2-day “mentoring workshop”. The Portland Police & LIFEWORKS NW are actually working with the local church to partner up and provide some training for compassionate peeps who can mentor girls and teens – like those taken right off the streets from forced prostitution. So many of them desperately need a stable, trained person to talk to. We can be trained for this. We have a lot more to offer than we think. Consider becoming a mentor! There will be so many great speakers there, including Survivor Rebecca Bender.

So. Excited.