Traffick Jam recap-long overdue

Better than a rain dance, just plan a pool day with me...I'll roll into the parking lot and so will the storm clouds. We're 3 for 4 in swim dates cut short by thunder. Oh, well.

Soooooo....I never told you about the walk, did I? Well, because of your support I was able to donate over $300 to the cause. Whoa! Thanks to you!

Two sweet friends walked with me. Meeting up with the other walkers at a park, we arrived early (never happens...) and got situated with our fanny packs (no, not really.) After registering and meeting the walk organizers, we headed to the little girls room  (all three of us being bladder-challenged) and emerged to get our walk on. Armed with route maps, we walked towards the park entrance and came to the first leg of the  route, but we couldn't get a visual on the group that had begun before us, so we weren't sure which direction to start. Another pocket of people gathered a bit later and aimed us in the right direction. Whew.

A young high school student had organized the Columbus walk. On a mission the previous year, she was changed by the people she met in Cambodia. She felt compelled to do something in her part of the world to help those halfway around it. What a powerhouse and what an honor to meet her. She's the kind of person I want to be when I grow up. We walked for a bit with her mom.

Being bladder challenged made for an interesting walk through residential streets and others with office buildings closed for the weekend, but we made do...always do.

About mile 9, I started to feel a little hitch in my giddy-up and we declared that mile the "cool-down." Sweet friends were troopers...even the one with a bum knee...I didn't know it even bothered her until days after the walk.

We finished in about 3 1/2 hours with a half-time break at McD's. Not bad and the weather was just right, warm but a bit overcast.

I'm planning to go back year after year. And the intrepid HS student is communicating about other events...film showings that bring more awareness to our community, press releases. Human trafficking is a global issue, happening all over the world, including the states. Much work to be done.

Here are three more intrepid ladies beating back the darkness in Cambodia. They are the ones loving on the kids, offering safety, compassion, and help for the kids caught in it. The money you donated, in addition to that donated around the country supports the centers they run.

Thank you.

morning's light

This morning in my Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals, the prayer of contemplation is Even in the darkness, we will trust that our lives are still in Your hands.

Cool, huh?

I'm sending my laptop in for repairs again, I'll probably be off line for 10 days. {I know ridiculous.} I can still receive and send emails on my phone, or you can call.

Probably just the thing to do during Holy Week, slow down and think on my Savior.

Traffick Jam update:
A friend is joining me in the walk {I think} and I've heard from several sponsors {Thank you!!!!.} I'm not going to bug anyone...but if you would like to pledge $10 or more, that'd make walking all the more worthwhile. Just email, call, or stop me and sign my pledge sheet.

I'm going with the slumber party at my house {seems silly to raise money on a cause and then blow the same amount on a hotel room and eating out.} I can sleep 7 and already have 2 takers...so...let me know.

take two

I'm going to look outside myself for a bit...such a good idea...and get serious about this Traffick Jam walk coming up on May 7th. 

So, here it comes, the pitch. I need sponsors. In the next few weeks, I'll be asking everyone who stands still to consider sponsoring, including you. This is an opportunity for us to be Jesus to hurting children and to help rescue them  from the sex trade. Please click on the link and find out more for yourself. I'm so excited to do something I enjoy to help children on the other side of the world. And you can have a part in it, too.

Would you think about supporting me with $1 for each mile, 10 miles total...{or more, if you wanna?}

{And don't forget that I would like to have some kind of girls' getaway that night. I have a few ideas, but nothing planned yet. It may be as simple as coming to my house and having a slumber party with chocolate and wine, sans enfants. How can you say no to that? But I'm open to other inspirations, too.}

There are three ways you can be involved. If you would like to:

(1) walk with me {oh, i'd love that...walking and talking}

(2) sponsor me {i'd love that, too}

(3) join the girls' getaway {fun, fun and you can rub my feet!}

...please email me at gypsy{dot}amykate{at}gmail{dot}com and let me know how you want to take part....{replacing the parentheses with the actual symbols, of course.} I will be collecting your donations to turn in on the day of the walk. If you would rather donate directly {please tell me how much so I can include your gift in my total,} they can be mailed to:

Attn: Traffick Jam 2011
International Outreach Ministries
Administrative Offices
P.O. Box 2140
McComb, MS 39649

Or, you can donate money through PayPal using your credit card or bank. Click on the link and at the bottom of the page is a Paypal button.

I walked 5 miles on Saturday {yowza} and 4 on Sunday...gotta keep up that pace to make it 10 miles.

Thank you in advance!

twofer

I don't have words for the tragedies in Japan. I honestly don't know many details as we are now in a small apartment and I don't want to the kids seeing too much. On our drive Friday, we did hear some coverage on the radio and we talked about earthquakes and the big waves. Bean woke up the next morning and told me about a dream she had about an earthquake. Can't imagine what those in that region are experiencing.



I did receive this message tonight...more about the program benefiting from TraffickJam 2011.



Hope.

Traffick Jam 2011

Well, friends, my prayers for a girls' getaway have been answered, I think. {Love that God of mine.}

My cyber-friend, 

{ok, I have to be delicate here...she may not claim me...she has scads of real and cyber-friends...but we are legitimate facebook friends...

...and now, she's probably rethinking that}

...anyway...Marla {of Radical read-along fame} wrote about an opportunity last night and I'm jazzed. Maybe you will be, too. 

She is co-coordinating a local leg {she's in Central Ohio...as am I} of a national benefit walk: Traffick Jam 2011. The funds raised by the sponsored walkers {that's you and me} will be used to beat back the darkness of human trafficking in Cambodia. The evil these children endure breaks the heart of God. And it should break ours.

In one day, we can help bring child sex trafficking to a grinding halt.

{credit: Traffick Jam 2011}

Do you have goose bumps, yet?

Read her post, say a prayer, hug your babies, then let me know what you think.

I want to get a team of walkers together! May 7th...10 miles! Barring any unseen developments, I'm in and would love for you to join me. And if you can't walk, you can sponsor. My goal is to find 10 sponsors for $10 each. God can use us mightily!

 Are you up for the challenge?

{Post edit: I hope I don't sound too flippant in this post...I have been compelled in prayer for this very subject, wondering what I could do here on the ground in my cozy life. Truth is, human trafficking is not just a world away, but its victims are in our midst. Bottom line: I am truly touched by the gentle nudging and timing of God and want to be used by Him when and where I can. I think this is an opportunity for me to get on board with Him.}