….is now at the top of the list
I have the most fun and exciting announcement. it’s official: I’m hiking up to the base camp of Mt Everest in November!
I am soooooooooo excited!
Now you might be thinking the same as my mother said, “You know, people have died doing that. Are you sure you want to go?”
And the answer I say is, “Thanks. People die from a lot of things. And yes, I’m sure I want to go.”
Now that we have that cleared up, let’s talk about how amazing this trip is going to be! It is going to be a LIFE CHANGER and I cannot wait to to see in what way it affects me. But guess what? It’s not just me who is going. My husband is also going, which makes me so happy that I would jump up and down if I was that kind of person who jumped up and down when excited. I’m not. Instead I tend to use an exclamation mark. !
Reason behind the reason
This trip is being organized by WE International, a ministry that works to end gender-based violence. I get excited every time I write or say that. It’s such a worthy, top cause right now. And being part of not only getting to do something that is once in a lifetime, seeig a place that I never would have imagined being able to organize to get to, but to also be able to give back or help a cause such as this at all, is mind blowing. I’m just in awe of what a wonderful opportunity it is. It couldn’t get any better than this.
The trip is called WE Trek to End Human Trafficking because the whole idea is to bring more attention to this devastating market of human trafficking. If we can get more attention on this horror, then perhaps people will want to do something about it. The hope is that people will want to educate themselves on what fuels trafficking or where trafficking is happening (right under our noses a lot of the time) and what trafficking involves. I’m looking forward to learning what each of us can learn about where to put our money and resources to fight the problem, where we should take our busines and what we can do to help in any way possible.
it’s so easy to get complacent in life, to get wrapped up in our own business and stuff. Sometimes we have some real stuff happening in our lives that requires our attention. Don’t get me wrong, we aren’t always able to look outward. But even when bad circumstances have happened in our own lives, giving back always feels good.
When we went to Thailand a long time ago (2006 already), what my husband and I were struck by the most was the generostity of the people, even when they had nothing compared to us. We went to a tiny little island in Thailand that just had what it had. There were no WalMarts, no Targets, there was one Starbucks in the main city, but the prices were far out of reach for most Thai people.
One day we took our motorbike through the neighborhood and were greeted with smiling, curious children (I had bleached-blond hair at the time and most were very curious about my hair), smiling women and friendly men. We found a family that kept an elephant with her baby elephant and asked for a ride on the elephant. They lived in a tiny little house in the middle of the jungle and were just the happiest people I had ever seen. The baby toddled around the yard while the older brother (probably 8) helped his father with the elephant.
On the last day on the island I entered a shop to do my souvenir shopping. I ended up spending about $100, to which the girl was so grateful that she ran out after me to give me a tiny little wooden car as a thank you. I proudly display that car in my house as a reminder.
A reminder that it doesn’t take much to affect people for the better. To touch their lives as a blessing rather than a curse. I was still a student at the time so $100 was a bit of money to me, but I realized right then that it was even more to her. It almost embarrssed me to take the wooden car because I knew I was going home to a lucrative waitressing job, but I grasped the car, bowed to her and said thank you. My husband and I both choked back tears as we walked away. We were just overblown by the realization of how blessed we were.
I’m so looking forward to hiking up that mountain and find myself in a place that I never even imagined I would be. I can’t wait to take hundreds of pictures and videos up there and on the way. But more than anything, I can’t wait to find a way to bless everyone I come into contact with. I can’t wait to see what this trip does for me from the inside out. I can’t wait to see what God has instore by bringing this tirp ot my husband and my attention right now. For such a season as this.