27 Million: Matt Redman & LZ7

Matt Redman and LZ7 released a song called ’27 Million’ with the specific purpose to raise awareness for human trafficking and modern day slavery.

You can watch the official video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K69NdzPvwj0

You can watch a video with lyrics & animation here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0L7NH48BWE

Please share these videos online via email and social media. You can also download it from iTunes to support the work that these artists are doing.

Blessings!

Ronell x

Porn = Human Trafficking

Today we watched and discussed a clip from a broadcast through Joyce Meyer Ministries where Joyce Meyers interviews Christine Caine, founder of the A21 Campaign. The A21 Campaign is a Christian organization that is set on abolishing slavery in the 21^st century.

We discussed what we as Christians can do to help to stop the demand for modern day slavery, especially in the sex industry. Christine discussed the story of the good Samaritan in the Bible. Her take on this story really challenged me! We were challenged to ask ourselves: ‘Have you ever been like the priest and the Levite and ‘passed by’ on the other side of the road?’ (Read Luke 10, 25-37 for The Parable of the Good Samaritan).

Christine said that God told her, ‘My Church has confused compassion for emotion.’

And challenged us that we need to ensure that we aren’t just emotionally moved when it comes to the issue of human trafficking, but are truly compassionate. She spoke about the difference between emotion and compassion being action. 

The thing that shocked me the most was (because I had never made the connection before) was just how great an effect the porn industry has on modern day slavery and human trafficking! The presenter kept talking about how people sitting in their homes don’t make the connection between the demand they create by consuming any kind of pornographic material and the horrors of the sex trafficking industry. Supply and demand. Basics, but it just doesn’t seem real until you see it.

As a Christian, I don’t believe it is right to engage in watching any type of porn (films, pictures, magazines, prostitution, etc) and this gives yet another facet to my argument against it. You may not agree with this stance, but next time you are about to view any kind of porn, remember this: often these girls are forced through threat of death, lack of other options, or through being kidnapped to perform these explicit acts. They are someone’s daughter, sister, or friend and YOU are fuelling the industry in which they are slaves and keeping them captive by looking at this pornographic material.

To watch the clip online, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9mbJW2VBNs 

Please fight for those who are unable to fight for themselves by supporting the work of The A21 Campaign or Hand of Hope (Joyce Meyer Ministries).

Blessings!

Ronell x

“None of us can do everything but we can all do something.” {Christine Caine}

Sevenly: Supporting the Humane Society

Sevenly chooses one charity/cause per week and sells t-shirts/hoodies/etc with incredible artwork to raise awareness and money for their chosen cause. Their slogan is “One Week. One Cause.” and they are aiming to create a culture of intentional giving, love and generosity towards others.

This week, your purchase helps rescue a dog from life-threatening abuse and cruelty. Each purchase made this week will contribute to the work of The Humane Society. 

The story behind this weeks art: The illustrations this week are snapshots of those four legged family members that bring love, loyalty, and comfort to many of our lives.

So help Sevenly to reach their $7,000 target by buying a t-shirt or hoodie this week. You can also help by spreading the word on facebook (target: 2,000 shares) and twitter (target: 300 tweets).

Blessings!

Ronell x

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." {Margaret Mead}

Oxfam & Comic Relief: Red Nose Day!

15 March is Red Nose Day. Oxfam shops have sold Red Noses to support Comic Relief right from the beginning, in 1985.

It’s been 25 years since Red Nose Day first burst onto our screens and this year, once again, the nation is gearing up to put on their Noses, pull out all the stops, and get fundraising!

Whether it’s at work, at school or at home, the money you raise is used to transform the lives of countless people, both here at home in the UK and across Africa.

Oxfam is one of the many charities to receive grants from Comic Relief, to support some of their projects in Africa. So, like in all the very best partnerships, they help one another in ways that really count.

In 2013 there are three "Dinoseaurs" to choose from instead of classic red noses! Each of these "Noses with Toes" costs £1 - with at least 60p going to Comic Relief. Deely boppers, wristbands and pin badges are also on sale, all at your local Oxfam shop.

In 2012, Comic Relief awarded Oxfam £2.2m to fund a programme in Ethiopia. There, they were providing training and equipment to honey farmers, particularly women. With their support, honey production had already increased by 400%. That meant a greater income for the families, so they could become self sufficient.

The grant from Comic Relief will help Oxfam repeat this success many more times in Ethiopia over the next five years. Oxfam will help women farmers improve the quality and quantity of the honey produced, gain access to export markets and improve their families' incomes.

You can help raise money for this cause by fundraising, sponsoring or donating. You can also order Red Nose Day accessories from the online shop, including the schools shop (including free downloads and packs). Your contribution will help to fund projects both in the UK and in Africa.

Blessings!

Ronell x

“A merry heart does good like a medicine” {Proverbs 17:22}

Testing the Motive of the Heart

The following post on Joyce Meyer Ministries online daily devotional really challenged me on the importance we place on things, including dreams (even God-given ones), which may be distracting us from being obedient in what God is asking us to do next or in sacrificing what He might be asking us to sacrifice.

After these events, God tested and proved Abraham and said to him, Abraham! And he said, Here I am. [God] said, Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I will tell you. So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and then began the trip to the place of which God had told him.
—Genesis 22:1-3

I believe God was testing Abraham's priorities. Isaac had probably become very important to Abraham, so God tested Abraham to see if he would give up Isaac to Him in faith and obedience. When God saw Abraham's willingness to obey, He provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice in place of Isaac.

Remember, we all go through tests. As with Abraham, these tests are designed to try, prove, and develop our faith. One of the tests I had to face was, "What if I never have the ministry I've dreamed about for so long? What if I never get to minister to more than fifty people at a time? Can I still love God and be happy?"

What about you? If you don't get whatever it is you want, can you still love God? Will you still serve Him all the days of your life? Or are you just trying to get something from Him? A fine line divides the motives of the heart between selfish and selfless; and we must always make sure we understand which side of the line we are standing on.

{From the book New Day, New You by Joyce Meyer}

Blessings!

Ronell x

Oxfam: Mother’s Day Gifts

Mother’s Day is just around the corner in the UK and I bet many of you are starting to fret about what to get your mums! I have already bought my mum something that I know she wants, but I also want to get her something that is meaningful and representative of the incredible person that she is.

My mum is really amazing- she is an incredibly loving parent, one of my best friends and a phenomenal teacher. I am by no stretch of the imagination the only person that would agree with all of those statements, but countless people that she has actually taught will testify that she was/is their favourite teacher and that she is unlike any other teacher they have ever met. My mum sees teaching as her true calling and she pours her life into the children that she works with, so I thought to myself, what better way to celebrate this than to give a gift in her name that will continue this legacy with children she has never even met. I knew exactly how: Oxfam Unwrapped gifts!

I am purchasing a gift based around educating children and training up teachers in countries where education is a privilege, not a right.

Make Mother's Day extra-special with an Oxfam Unwrapped gift: you can either choose any gift from their hand-picked selection for mums, or check out our full range to find something really personal. You can pay for these gifts in cash. Your second option is also to use your Nectar points to purchase an Oxfam Unwrapped gift, which costs you absolutely nothing (apart from giving up your discounts and bonuses that you have earned through using your Nectar card).

So go online and support incredibly worthy causes to help change lives on behalf of your Mum! If she is anything like my mum, she will love this gift!

Blessings!

Ronell x

"A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take." {Cardinal Mermillod}

Oxfam & HIJRA: e-cash for Somalia

In August 2012, HIJRA (Humanitarian Initiative Just Relief Aid)  together with partner OXFAM, launched Somalia’s first ever E-Cash livelihoods program.  The initiative, designed jointly with Nation Link telecom, is the first of its kind to be piloted in the country, benefiting 2,090 urban poor Households in Mogadishu.

The program, a 150 USD mobile cash distribution, has been designed to target skilled urban poor residents for use in business and resilience building activities.

Oxfam and Hijra’s innovative new “e-cash” project to deliver aid to people helps women like Kadija Mohammed, who uses the $150 she receives to invest in her small shop, say receiving mobile cash gives her far more options than traditional food aid:

“The money gives me choices, it gives me the power to buy and sell things… all you can do with the food is eat.”

Although in its early stages, many people find the mobile money transfers to be safer and quicker than other methods.

In drought-hit Somalia, vulnerable people are buying food with mobile phones – thanks to you. Oxfam and local organisation Hijra are distributing cash as text messages. It’s an easy, secure way of transferring money, and gives people the freedom to spend it on what they need most: food, school fees or an investment in their small business. 

Watch this clip from news agency Al Jazeera to see the brilliant scheme in action.

The e-cash Program Components Include:

•               Distribution of Mobile phones

•               Training on usage

•               Security Sensitization

“Before we waited too long sometimes spending all day in the hot sun to receive our monies. I never felt safe after to carry cash in town! Now it comes straight to our phones! I can go to anywhere and transfer the monies to shopkeepers for what I buy. I am too happy for this! Thank you HIJRA, you are truly a blessing.” - Halima Omar, Mogadishu

Support Oxfam and Hijra online to help with this work.

Blessings!

Ronell x