Along the Paths of Justice

One of the links from our blog is for our Chab Dai team blog. The members of the international team take turns writing about issues having to do with human trafficking or human rights. It's sometimes program-related, but mostly it's a space where we can share our thoughts as counter-trafficking practitioners and researchers.

From time to time, I will share the same post on both this blog and the Chab Dai blog, but in case you want to read some of my old posts on Along the Paths of Justice, you can do that here.

Also check back in the next week as I will have a post published on my recent encounter with Professor Yunus of Bangladesh's Grameen Bank!

Lenten Reflections

At home group this week, our friends led a beautiful reflection and discussion about the desert and the [living] water. They showed two videos, which we discussed afterward, and both were so touching to me I wanted to share.

If you have 15 minutes or so, these two videos are great for reflecting on Lent and Easter. The first video is about Jesus' 40 days in the desert; it really struck me and got me thinking about just how long Jesus spent in the wilderness, how he was at his weakest when he faced his temptation, and how he still found the strength to repel evil. I have often read this passage (Matthew 4:1-11) but didn't really stop to think about the desperation, pain, fear, hunger, and even boredom Jesus must have felt throughout these 40 days. He must have also attained moments of perfect peace, calm, and joy during this time.

Here's the video, enjoy!

Pretty cool, eh?

The next video is shorter and from BBC Earth's series on Africa, and this clip is about the "Resurrection Plant," which I had not heard of before. It reminded me of how my faith journey is not linear; after a period of "being in the desert," so to speak, I don't start over at the beginning. And when I learn a lesson I feel I've learned before, I am learning as a different person than I was when I learned it before.

If nothing else, it's just a beautiful video!

 

Oui, allo?

A word that a lot of Christians use, and I try to use well and meaningfully, is "calling." I am often keenly aware of why and how I use it, mainly because it may not mean much to those outside a Christian (and perhaps a narrow segment of Christian, at that) culture.

What is calling? What is calling to me?

I recently responded to an online survey for humanitarian aid workers and one of the questions really got me thinking.

[Sidenote: Are you a humanitarian aid worker? Take the survey here! It takes about 30 minutes.]

The question was:

Which statement below *best* describes your primary reason for becoming an aid worker?

• Ended up as an aid worker by accident or "unintentionally"
• I felt called by God or a higher power
• I was following my dream to provide aid for those less fortunate than myself
• I needed an adventure in my life and being an aid worker sounded like a good idea
• I could not find any other employment
• I followed a friend or significant other into the field of aid work
• None of the above even comes close to articulating my reason for becoming an aid worker.

As I read "I felt called by God" I thought, "Of course, that's the one." Until I read the next line, and then I had a mini brain explosion. I stared at the two options for a good couple of minutes, talked to Charlie, stared a little longer. And came to the conclusion that both answers are the same for me, and that one doesn't even follow the other, but they are weirdly and beautifully intertwined.

I believe that God uses what I am passionate about to call me, while also being the source of that passion. I think calling is about using my God-given gifts (which I have tried to steward by developing into usable skills), resources, and passion to live a life that is other-centered. 

God is love. Jesus was all about loving and serving others, especially the vulnerable and marginalised. This doesn't mean everyone, or even every Christian, needs to work in some form of humanitarian aid, but it sure does mean we need to treat the vulnerable and marginalised with dignity and respect, as Jesus did. 

Working in development and human rights is how I live out this "calling."

As always, still haven't figure it all out. Does anyone? How do you see your "calling"? Do you have issues with the idea of "calling" in the first place?

We're Back!!

To Blogger, that is.

We've been blogging from Love Global for the past year and a bit, and you can go there to read our last posts. We've decided to start posting more on our personal blog. I've struggled with what I should write for our re-inaugural post, but finally decided, just do it! So we'll ease in, first with some recent family photos!

Family pic from last November by my lovely and talented cousin, Meghan

Another beautiful pic by Meg

It's a new year (I'm sorry, is it really 2014? Does that question make me sound old? Oh my gosh, I'm turning 30 next month!), we are well into our second year in Cambodia, and, no, we are definitely not resting on our laurels! New challenges lie ahead. In spite of having been here for almost 18 months, I still feel I am only scratching the surface of Cambodian culture and language, although the language is coming along. One of my goals this year is to become "conversationally at ease" in Khmer, on a basic level at least. Suffice it to say I want to do more than have a three sentence conversation with someone that covers my name, where I'm from, and how old my toddler is!

Why is it so important to me that I learn Khmer? So many reasons! Here are some of them:

1. So I can get to know my colleagues and others better by increasing communication options. Even if we can't get very far into deep conversations in Khmer, the mere fact that I am trying is (usually) appreciated.
2. Respect for the country that I currently call home. I should not expect everyone here to just speak English (or French) just because I do. I want to engage deeply with Cambodian culture and people, and language is probably the most straightforward way to do that.
3. To get around easier. This is just plain practical.

I believe learning Khmer is part of my calling here. I'm not just here to work or live or spend a few years, I want to BE here in every sense of the word. I still don't know all the ways that God will use me in Cambodia. I do know that I 100% believe in contextual ministry, and because Khmer is a huge part of the context God has placed me in, Khmer I will learn. 

Easier said than done, so back to my lesson book I go...