Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Responding To Reality


Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy.
- Proverbs 31:8-9

It's been far too long since I've been in touch with many of you! I'm 2 quarters away from finishing my bachelor's degree in nursing with minors in biology and chemistry. I would love to cherish this Christmas vacation as I usually have alongside my beloved family. Instead, I'm leaving  November 27-December 27 for Quito, Ecuador with the non-profit organization, Advocate Ventures International, serving as the director. 


Good-bye, California skies....




I came to the realization that I am not okay with the condition of our world. I wrote once in my journal that "we forfeit the right to say that anything is wrong with the world if we are unwilling to sacrifice to try and change it." There is something desperately wrong with our world and I am not sure how much I can do to make a difference -  but I'm willing to try. Our basic goal in Ecuador is to assess key locations in need of relevant community resources we will provide through AVI and our affiliated members. We will be focusing on issues relating to though not limited to malnutrition, disease, conflict, environmental devastation, and abuse.






As much as possible, I am using as much of my own resources to fund my personal expenses (travel, food, lodging) as I believe that I have just as much responsibility to give being one who goes just as those who send. I am asking that people would pray, fast, and seek God on my behalf. I sincerely believe that the ones who go cannot do so without the full support of ones who send. Feel free to donate through our website if you want to support what we are doing. All donations are tax deductible. We currently have one other trip in the works for Spring 2012 to Guatemala and are speculating on Africa and SE Asia in mid and late 2012. Thank you very much and God bless!

www.advocateventures.org




Tuesday, November 15, 2011




Seriousness is not a virtue. It would be a heresy, but a much more sensible heresy, to say that seriousness is a vice. It is really a natural trend or lapse into taking one's self gravely, because it is the easiest thing to do. It is much easier to write a good Times leading article than a good joke in Punch. For solemnity flows out of men naturally, but laughter is a leap. It is easy to be heavy: hard to be light. Satan fell by the force of gravity.
-G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Don't Waste Your Life





Only one life,’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
-C.T. Studd

There was a time where my goal, my dream was to be a rock star. I don't know that I ever had the chance. My voice has never been particularly amazing nor my composing skills anything extraordinary. That dream has long since passed. I'm not really even sure what motivated the idea now looking back. Stuffed in a pea-coat reminding me of my latest success-transitioning-to-failure attempt to lose weight, I got out of my car this morning pondering abandoned dreams and aspirations. I wondered, if every dream and aspiration on my heart at this point in my life were to come true how the world would be effected. How much better would the world be? Would the world be worse off? Would the world outside of mine stay exactly the same? I came to the humbling realization this morning that my dreams are too small, my aspirations are too reasonable. In my dream world, I have a reasonable body mass index (BMI), a secure job, a beautiful wife, and a fuel efficient Japanese sports sedan. I think it's time to kick over the white picket fences for use as kindling to stoke this fire inside begging me to not waste my life.