Global Sex Trafficking: the Realities around the World Today

To start from the foundations, the United Nations defines human trafficking as “the recruitment, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons by threat or use of force” and recognizes that individuals are generally trafficked either for labor or sex (McCabe, K.A. & Manian, S., 2010, 2). Trafficking happens all across the globe but may look different depending upon the context. The six primary venues for trafficking: hotels, clubs, brothels, apartments, massage parlors, and the streets (Kara, S., 2009, 12). Club brothels are primarily found in Europe and East Asia (Kara, S., 2009, 13) whereas hotel brothels are more common in places like Thailand (14). Apartment brothels are common in America and Europe and can often be found through relationship advertisements (Kara, S., 2009, 13). Massage parlor operations are generally difficult to detect because they generally happen where prostitution is illegal (Kara, S., 2009, 13). Street prostitution often occurs when women do not have nearby resources and in places where police corruption is high (Kara, S., 2009, 14). Americans may feel as though trafficking is a far-off tragedy but the reality is the U.S. is among the top three “destination” countries for traffickers to send victims (McCabe, K.A. & Manian, S., 2010, 153). Across the board, globalization and technology have changed the face of trafficking and made the movement of people across borders much easier (McCabe, K.A. & Manian, S., 2010, 148).

There are many ways women enter trafficking. It may be through deceit such as promises of marriage or a job, being sold by family, abduction, seduction or “romance”, or recruitment by former slaves (Kara, S., 2009, 6-7). Particularly relevant today is the fact that displacement leads to vulnerability making the victims of the refugee crisis targets for traffickers (McCabe, K.A. & Manian, S., 2010, 10). However, it is not just in places where great displacement is that traffickers are active. Trafficking thrives in any place where there is acceptance of human servitude, especially among women, children, and the poor (McCabe, K.A. & Manian, S., 2010, 42). Something else which aids traffickers is the fact that in many countries women are largely dependent upon others for work arrangements (McCabe, K.A. & Manian, S., 2010, 46). Another big issue that benefits traffickers is law enforcement corruption. One brothel owner said police payoffs was his biggest expense (Kara, S., 2009, 53) and one prostitute in Italy actually said police were the main clients (85). In some places like Thailand, governments actually support sex trafficking because of the way it impacts the economy through tourist revenue. One government advertisement in Thailand reads “the one fruit of Thailand more delicious than durian is its young women” (Nolot, 2010, 34:00). In some cases directors of orphanages actually tell traffickers about girls aging out of the system and because no one misses an orphan these girls are prime targets for traffickers (Nolot, B., 2010, 7:30-8:30).

One of the most common questions people ask is “why don’t women speak up or just leave?” There are many reasons but what people need to remember is that exploited women are a part of systems that are meant to break and dehumanize them (Nolot, B., 2010, 19:30-20:00). Often times traffickers take women away from everything they know and oftentimes to a place where they don’t even speak the language. A 2003 survey of sex work establishments in London found that 80% of women were non-UK nationals (McCabe, K.A. & Manian, S., 2010, 61). Filmmaker Benjamin Nolot said the only words the foreign girls in Amsterdam knew were how to give a price for sex (2010, 25:00). The language barrier would make it impossible for them to ever reach out to someone if the opportunity were presented to them. Sometimes women are hesitant to speak up because they have been tricked by traffickers who test their loyalty by putting someone in their path who pretends to want to free them (Kara, S., 2009, xiii). Other times, women do not speak up because they do not want to re-live their experiences or they even want to think of themselves as choosing this life because feigned control feels better than feeling trapped (xiv). When women try to escape the results are often devastating. One woman shared a story of another girl who attempted to escape. She was brought out to the woods, chained up, undressed, beaten, escaped, picked up, and returned (Nolot, B., 2010, 18:15-19:00).

            How do individuals, churches, non-profits, and governments prevent and fight sex trafficking? First, any cultural norms of oppression or male dominance must be snuffed out. The situation in South Africa serves as a reminder that even decrease in political violence, diversified economies, and improved educational systems are not enough to combat trafficking if the cultural norms of oppression and dominance continue (McCabe, K.A. & Manian, S., 2010, 26). Second, the connection between trafficking and prostitution must be made clear. The Italian and Spanish governments have started advertising campaigns to make sure citizens understand the link between them (McCabe, K.A. & Manian, S., 2010, 88). Third, governments need to stop criminalizing victims. In places like Kuwait and Oman, victims are often punished more than traffickers because they are punished for having often crossed a border (McCabe, K.A. & Manian, S., 2010, 94). Fourth, governments need to get serious about prosecuting traffickers. Even in the U.S., only 140 traffickers were convicted in the U.S. from 2001 to 2005. It was estimated that roughly 75,000-100,000 new victims entered the States during that same period of time and if 20 victims are linked to each trafficker then this means 3,750 to 5,000 traffickers were active. With only 140 prosecutions, this means only 3-4% of traffickers were punished (Kara, S., 2009, 40). Fifth, the consequences for trafficking need to be more severe and more anti-trafficking laws need to be passed. Even in the United States the maximum sentence for human trafficking is about 10 years but the maximum sentence for distributing a kilo of heroin is life (McCabe, K.A. & Manian, S., 2010, 152). Brothels can make $12,000+ each year yet the fine for owning one some places is only $44 so the fine is only 1/291th of the potential profits (Kara, S., 2009, 40). In Italy and Thailand there are actually no fines for trafficking (40). Sixth, provisions like shelter, job opportunities, counseling, and community need to be available for victims coming out of trafficking. The U.S. has medical services, shelter, and counseling available to victims through the Department of Health and Human Services (McCabe, K.A. & Manian, S., 2010, 154). Seventh, job opportunities and education need to be made available to women where they are not currently so women are less vulnerable to trafficking. This imbalance in opportunity affects some more than others but the reality is gender inequality negatively affects many across the globe.

Sources

Kara, S. (2009). Sex Trafficking Inside the Business of Modern Slavery. New York: Columbia University Press.

McCabe, K.A. & Manian, S. (2010). Sex Trafficking : A Global Perspective. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.

A Biblical Perspective on Sex Trafficking

It is important to recognize that while sex trafficking is not a new issue, the world at the time of Scripture did not deal with this issue as individuals do now. Therefore, there are no Scriptures that clearly condemn sex trafficking, but there are many Scriptures that condemn the kind of twisted sexual practices seen in trafficking situations and a clear command for God’s people to seek justice for the vulnerable. Deuteronomy 22:22-29, Isaiah 58:6-10, Micah 6:6-8, and James 1:27 are amongst many examples of texts that communicate these messages.

Deuteronomy 22:22-29 is perhaps the most direct yet initially difficult passage, which makes it a good starting place. Still, to grasp what this passage is communicating will take some time so hang in there with me. Here it goes: “If a man is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman. So you shall purge the evil from Israel. If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her, then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbor's wife. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. But if in the open country a man meets a young woman who is betrothed, and the man seizes her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die. But you shall do nothing to the young woman; she has committed no offense punishable by death. For this case is like that of a man attacking and murdering his neighbor, because he met her in the open country, and though the betrothed young woman cried for help there was no one to rescue her. If a man meets a virgin who is not betrothed, and seizes her and lies with her, and they are found, then the man who lay with her shall give to the father of the young woman fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he has violated her. He may not divorce her all his days" (Deuteronomy 22:22-29, ESV).

Deuteronomy 22:22-29 gives the Israelites instructions for what to do when a married woman has sex with another man, an engaged woman and a man have sex, an engaged woman is raped by a man, or a man rapes a woman who is not betrothed. It is important to understand that while the punishments and language surrounding these instructions may seem odd to modern day readers Moses is not writing to modern day readers. If Moses were writing to modern readers, he would give different instructions that better fit the context of today’s society.

The first two potential scenarios when read as they appear in the text may sound like the woman is being condemned unreasonably for her involvement but it seems as though the woman willingly had an affair with the man (Clements, R.E., 1998, 456). Block also said “the specified punishment suggests the act was consensual” (2012, 525). The final two scenarios seem to address when a woman is raped, especially since the situations between scenarios two and three are otherwise nearly the same (Clements, R.E., 1998, 456). The notable difference between scenarios two and three is the part about the woman crying out. In the town the residents would have lived very close to one another and in the second scenario “since no one heard the woman’s cry for help, it is assumed she did not cry out, which suggests the sexual act was consensual” (Block, D.I., 2012, 525). The full and severe punishment against the woman was only to be in effect when the woman did not cry out but easily could have and was acting willingly (Clements, R.E., 1998, 456). This is why the consequences between scenarios two and three are very different.

As Moses writes to the Israelites, he says the penalty for sleeping with a virgin is to marry her (Deuteronomy 22:28-29). This may seem like a horrible fate for the woman to live with as she is forced to live with the man who forced himself upon her but what Moses is focused on here is that the man must right the wrong he has done by paying the bride price and caring for her forever (Kalland, E.S., 1992, 139). While the exact specific procedures involved with such cases may not be relevant to today’s culture, the message remains the same. When someone is sexually abused by another, the abused have not sinned. They have been wronged. In the patriarchal society of Moses’ day this meant part of righting the wrong was by paying her father for her if she was not betrothed, since the sin would have seen as being done against the family. Today it would be understood that the sin was primarily done against her but her community is also affected. Victims deserve justice and to be cared for. This is hinted at here even though the focus seems to be on the family. On the other hand, the abusers should also both act justly and receive justice for their wrongdoing.

Another passage which speaks to the importance of God’s people being a community of justice is Isaiah 58:6-10. “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday" (ESV).

Grogan said the questions the Lord asks in verses 6 and 7 following those of verse 5 where the people ask questions related to religious acts “serve to point out the people’s separation of religious observance and social righteousness, a theme the 8th century prophets never tired of expounding” (1986, 323). Their fasting had become about showing up others rather than about abandoning themselves but “God calls for behavior that is self-forgetful and outward-looking” (Oswalt, J.N., 2003, 625).

Here they are taught that freeing and helping are acceptable forms of worship (Watts, J.D.W., 1987, 272). The Lord specifies three acts which are related to the needs of the time (Watts, J.D.W., 1987, 274). God’s people could not change the whole oppressive system themselves but the Lord does not let them off the hook because they were still called to do justice however they could. Watts said “God’s people were and are intended to promote freedom” because “all forms of bondage are distasteful to God, whether economic, political, or social” (1987, 275). Sex trafficking is clearly a form of bondage thus it must eliminated.

The next few verses communicate the idea that when this kind of active, other-oriented faith is demonstrated the light of God’s people shall “break forth like dawn” (Isaiah 58:8, ESV) and the Lord will answer their calls. Grogan said the final concluding verse of this passage suggests “social concern is not just to be seen in an isolated episode but it is to be a way of life for God’s people. We are to spend not just our money but ourselves” (1986, 323). This need to give up one’s self for the sake of another still exists today while individuals continue to live in oppressive, impoverished systems such as those which promote sex trafficking.

Micah, another prophet active in the same context and some of the same time period as Isaiah, had a similar message for God’s people and shared that clearly in Micah 6:6-8. “With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" (ESV)

In the first part of this passage, the people ask the Lord what kind of sacrifices He desires but he responds “what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8, ESV). These three commands God gives are still in effect today. God’s command for justice implies movement because justice is something to be done (Simundson, 1996, 580). Simundson said “this is a dynamic concept that calls on God’s people to work for fairness and equality for all, particularly for the weak and the powerless who are exploited by others” (1996, 580). McComiskey said “‘to love mercy’ is to freely and willingly show kindness to others” (1985, 436). To walk humbly with God means to exhibit both obedience and humility (Deane, 1950, 88). Deane said “to walk with God is to make it our fixed purpose and determination to live to him, to devote ourselves to his service” (1950, 93). Relative to trafficking, these commands suggest believers fight for justice for them and show them mercy and kindness, especially since they are a group which is largely without a voice.

Finally, James 1:27 says “religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (ESV). Burdick said this verse teaches that “genuine religion is a life-changing force” (1981, 176). These actions James advocates for are not to be empty ones though, as the other prophets would also say. They “must spring from an inner spiritual reality that expresses itself in love to others and holiness before God” (Burdick, D.P., 1981, 176). True faith “shows its authenticity by giving gifts to the needy in the same way God gives them to all creatures” because giving gifts to others is a natural reaction when there is a deep understanding of the way God blesses and gives life to all (Johnson, L.T., 1998, 189).

In many ways, James continues the themes of the prophets regarding true religion, justice, and compassion (Nystrom, D.P., 1997, 97). One significant thing James does is that he identifies two particular groups that demanded the immediate attention of the Christian community: widows and orphans. This is because widows and orphans were considered “emblematic of all groups open to exploitation” (Nystrom, D.P., 1997, 97). While widows and orphans are still vulnerable groups, trafficked women could easily be added to the list of the most vulnerable individuals across the globe today. Another element which is relevant to the conversation of sex trafficking is James’ point about not being polluted by the world. Even “Christians” engage in trafficking to some degree or in some form sometimes but this verse and others clearly speak against such evil worldly engagement.

These are just four of many verses that could be chosen that relate to this topic. What these passages teach believers is that God’s people are called to do justice, care for the most vulnerable and oppressed, and pay attention to the broken realities of sexual sin.

Sources

Block, D.I. (2012). Deuteronomy. The NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Burdick, D.W. (1981). “James.” The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Volume 12. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Clements, R.E. (1998). “Deuteronomy.” The New Interpreter’s Bible: Volume 2. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.
Deane, W.J. (1950). “Micah.” The Pulpit Commentary: Volume 14. Grand Rapids, MI: W.M. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Grogan, G.W. (1986). “Isaiah.” The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Volume 6. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Johnson, L.T. (1998). “James.” The New Interpreter’s Bible: Volume 12. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.
Kalland, E.S. (1992). “Deuteronomy.” The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Volume 3. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
McComiskey, Thomas. (1985). The Expositor’s Commentary: Volume 7. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Nystrom, D.P. (1997). James. The NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Oswalt, J.N. (2003). Isaiah. The NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Simundson, Daniel J. (1996). “Micah.” The New Interpreter’s Bible. Nahville, TN: Abingdon Press.
Watts, J.D.W. (1987). Isaiah 34-66. Word Biblical Commentary. Waco, TX: Word Books.

America, Who Are You? God's People, Where Are You?

America who are you? Underneath the red, blue, and white? America who are you? I wonder who you are tonight. America who are you? Is God still on your side? I want to see a nation rise above the fear and fight that haunts these streets tonight. 

- "Looking for America" by Switchfoot and Lecrae

Brace yourself. This post will be long and it will contain controversial views and you probably will not agree with everything I have to say. I ask that as I share my thoughts and my heart that you listen openly and then respond as you will. I want to share with you what I did today and why. I spent the first part of my day attending classes that teach me all about God and what it means for me to be His, just as I do everyday. My day continued with conversations, homework, chapel, and attending a protest in Minneapolis. I attended this protest because I want to stand with my brothers and sisters who are refugees. From what I know about God, who I am, and who my refugee brothers and sisters are, I believe this was right. I will tackle why I did so. Then I will address why I chose to take action through protesting. Finally, I will address what the protest itself was like and finish with a few concluding thoughts.

I stand with my brothers and sisters first and foremost as a citizen of the kingdom of God. Didn't see that one coming, did you? As a citizen of the kingdom of God, I see my first priority to be to follow the wonderful ways of my good and wise King. Throughout the Old and New Testaments my King has not merely suggested but commanded His people to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, stand up for the oppressed, give a voice to the voiceless, and welcome the stranger in. (If you doubt this, see the following samplings of Scripture: Leviticus 19:33-34, Deuteronomy 10:18-19, Exodus 23:9, Job 31:32, Isaiah 1:17, Isaiah 58:10, Matthew 25:31-46, Philippians 2:3-4, Malachi 3:5, Hebrews 13:2) And if you don't think refugees are suffering or in need in any way, I would humbly ask you to open your eyes wider. As a citizen of a greater kingdom, I know that each person is made in the image of God and thus has immeasurable value. So much value that in fact the value of the life of a refugee from Syria or Somalia or anywhere else is actually the exact same as your own. Imagine that. There is no hierarchy in this kingdom. Inconvenient for you? It is sometimes for me too because it means I have to look beyond myself and recognize that maybe I am not any more important than everyone else.

The second role I come from this is that of an American citizen. I only have two notes on this point. One is the obvious fact that it is quite ironic for a bunch of fairly recent immigrants to push away a newer batch, especially when they are in a very critical position. I myself am just a third generation American born girl whose family came here from Sweden. Second, I want to address this safety (or as it is probably more properly labeled - fear) driven side. I acknowledge our need for having security as a nation. However, the argument that our vetting process needs work is extremely weak. You can read up on our very thorough vetting process for refugees as it stands here. Also, there has not been one American killed by a terrorist from any of the countries that have had the ban placed on them.

Third, I come looking at this issue as simply a human being. I know it is very easy to dehumanize refugees, especially when you don't always see pictures or hear personal stories or know any. However, I have. I have seen pictures, read stories, and known refugees. Nothing will turn your heart so quickly towards these people like truly knowing a few of them.

So that is why I am for the refugees. Now with the list of things I can do to support this cause, why choose to protest? I will be the first to admit I have never protested anything and I did not really think I ever would. I am not a huge fan of crowds, especially angry crowds like the media often shows. And at the end of the day, I do not think protesting alone will change everything we want to have changed. But I do believe it is a strong start. It causes people watching the news and government to recognize the thousands standing together to fight an issue. These protests serve as conversation starters and can lead to great change in thoughts and actions.

Finally, if you are still with me I hope to share what it was actually like to protest today. I went with two of my fellow local outreach leaders from the university I attend who lead a ministry that reaches out to the international community (I get the great privilege of being a tutor through the ministry to a sweet Somali family) as well as a friend who is heavily involved in our multicultural group on campus. We rode in to Minneapolis on the light rail. One of my fellow students and I sat by an older woman. She asked the woman how her day was and where she was headed. Much to my surprise she was going to the protest. When asked to explain her heart for the cause she explained that she is a retired social worker. At the conclusion of this conversation we met a couple of other college kids going to protest. Then we saw dozens more protesters flock onto the light rail over the course of the next few stops. When we arrived at government plaza we then encountered thousands of protesters. We shuffled our way through the crowd and took our places. We held our signs displaying history, current data, quotes from the statue of liberty, and Bible verses & shouted in unison both our grievances and supports. Everyone else did the same. I was shocked to see the immense diversity of people there. Literally everyone was there. Young moms. College kids. Retired people. Singles. Couples. Families. Friends. Natural born citizens. Immigrants. Asians. Hispanics. African Americans. Scandinavians. Introverts. Extroverts. Politically-minded. Non-political. Christians. Muslims. Atheists. It was an incredible thing to see people stand up. Not just for themselves but for their brothers and sisters. I reflected upon that as we stood there in the cold. What would it be like to be preparing to come to America after a long waiting process & have one man and his bandwagon tell you that after all that time you actually cannot but then have thousands of people you have never met fighting for you? The whole protest was peaceful. It was filled with compassion and a desire to see justice. 

I hope that in this next season we truly do see people stand up for one another like I saw today. What if we actually lived like this - like we were our brother's keeper? What could that look like in your household, neighborhood, city, state, country, or world? I hope we see Americans set aside their "America first" attitude long enough to look into the eyes of the people they are trying to turn away. I hope the church thinks twice before deciding to "not get involved in political matters" and truly be the Church that Christ would ask us to be. I hope we all make choices we are proud of. I hope that when your children or your grandchildren ask you about this some day you will be able to tell them you fought for the refugees. This is my hope and these are my prayers.

Prostitution, Parties, & Peru

Like I said in my last post, I feel as though God has been talking to me a lot on the subject of seeing the world. Like most human beings, I avoid discomfort and pain a little too much. When I hear about tragedy and the pain of others around the world I try to distance myself. I was challenged on this in chapel (at Northwestern) last spring. I downloaded a news app this spring to keep up with what is going on the world more. Still, I have been feeling lately like this is not nearly enough. It is not enough to check out the news app every once in a while and see what is going on through the eye's of an author. Lately, I have been feeling like God is calling me to see the world for myself. With this constant nudging came the repetition of a quote by one of my heroes. This hero of mine chose to see the world and face it. That is why William Wilberforce is one of the people I admire the most. The quote that continually repeated itself was this: "you may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know." I feel like God doesn't want me to able to say 'I did not know'. I feel like God is calling me to know - to know the world as it truly is, not just the rose-colored glasses version. He wants me to see the world through His eyes. Now, this requires a great bit of discomfort and pain, which as I mentioned I am not particularly fond of. But God doesn't usually ask us to do easy things now, does He?

God gave me this call and then just like He usually does He plopped several opportunities to live out that call in front of me within a matter of a couple of weeks.

Right when I was feeling like seeing the world was something I needed to do I was asked to be a leader of a weekly ministry team called Seeds of Hope. Seeds is a new Northwestern ministry started by friends of mine and what we do is we go out into the cities and minister to real people with real stories right where they are. The past 3 Saturday nights I have gone out with them have been amazing. God has truly blessed our time and allowed us to impact people. But He has also shown me the world through it. The first week we went to the U of M... during homecoming. That was completely eye-opening for me. I had never seen anything like it in my life. I thought college parties in the movies were completely exaggerated but what I saw that night was just like all those movies. It hurt to see it. It hurt to see all those people ruining their lives when they thought they were truly living them. But at the end of the evening I knew that I was there that night because God wanted me to see it all and dare me to feel something about it rather than try to shut it out. It is easy to make Northwestern a bubble where you stay and get a Christian education with Christian friends and never leave the safety net. But that is not exactly what God wants from us. He calls us to train ourselves to impact the world for His sake, yes. He calls us to be in community with other believers, yes. But He also calls us to be in the world and that is something I think we are called to do now as students. We don't have to wait for God to use us. He wants us to go out now and reach out to people.

Another way I feel like God is helping me to see the world came through a piece of paper. It was almost like God legitimately sent me an invitation (except it was not actually addressed to me - although it might as well have been). Before I tell you about this piece of paper there is some background you need to know. I have been on 4 mission trips now. They have all been within the states and have all impacted me greatly. I had every intention of going on the last Revolution mission trip next summer. But I was trying to figure out how I could do that if I were able to intern somewhere like I intend to. I didn't know if it would be a possibility so I started thinking about other mission trip opportunities. If I were to be unavailable in the summer I would only have one other window of opportunity to go on a trip: spring break. Luckily Northwestern sends teams out to places all over the country during spring break. They often go to New Orleans so I started thinking about how great it would be to go back to the place where God decided I would leave part of my heart. But before they announced where they were going over spring break I ran into this piece of paper. It was announcing an informational meeting about a trip to Peru. And get this - the trip was not over the summer like all but one of the international trips UNW takes are. This trip was happening during spring break. Coincidence? Probably not. For about a year now I have been thinking about how I have seen the world through mission trips but how in America nothing is quite so extreme as it is everywhere else. I was thinking about how going on a mission trip overseas would be so different and I began to think that maybe it was about time I go on an international trip. Well, here God was giving me one. Still, being a human, I tried to make excuses. Like how I am not a person built for the jungle or the mountains or warm weather in general and how I don't exactly speak fluent Spanish along with other excuses. But I realized quickly they were very weak excuses and my prayers for clarity were resulting in answers of "yep, Kallee, Peru" and "yes, I am calling you to go see all kinds of things that will hurt you to see them but it's something I need you to do for me". So long story short I spent my day today renewing my passport and in less than five months I will be in South America.

A third way God is continuing to show me the world is through Streetlight, Northwestern's homeless ministry. Every week we get to meet people with stories very different from ours and it is amazing. It can be eye-opening too. But this year there has been an additional opportunity God has given us through Streetlight to see the world even more. This year we have been able to do street ministry. Now this isn't average street ministry This is Franklin and Chicago in South Minneapolis at 11:00 on a Friday night. It is not family friendly and the Dove foundation would not approve of that picture. In many ways it feels like the devil's playground. Everywhere on those streets he is altering people's minds in order to try to keep them from the Gospel. It can feel like no one on those streets is sober but that doesn't stop us. This last time we went out was especially eye-opening for me. James, a staff member of the Marie Sandvik Center, came with us and as a former walker of the streets he pointed things out to us we might never have seen before. He pointed out a drug dealer to us as well as an actual drug deal going down. While James was explaining some of these things to us we made light conversation with a woman passing by. We then watched her as she continued down the street and a car made a U turn. We watched the car pull into the parking lot of the strip mall and the woman walk over to the car. We saw them talk and then we watched the woman get in. Then James said "yeah, that just happened". So now I can add prostitution to my list of things I have seen but never want to see again.

God has been showing me the world these past few weeks. And I can't always say that I have loved what I have seen. In fact a lot of what I see makes me sick but I know it is what I need to see because in order to change the world we must know the world even if knowing the world breaks our hearts. It is okay that it does because when our hearts are broken that much we are forever changed. And when we are forever changed we are moved to action.

Opening our Eyes to our Brothers and Sisters

In chapel a few weeks ago we took a moment of silence for the victims of 9/11 and we talked about the Syrian refugee crisis. When I got back to my dorm after Greek class that day I listened to a radio clip that was recorded on 9/11/01 and then a video John Green posted explaining the refugee crisis (I know - some heavy topics for a Friday afternoon after class). Anyway, it got me thinking about what our brothers and sisters around the world face. I think we often think of the world as 'us' and 'them' but a better way to view the world is 'we'. We are all in this world together at this same time in history and I believe it is all for a reason. Those thoughts inspired me to write this post. In this post I will write about who are brothers and sisters are, how people have cared for their brothers and sisters in the past, why we need to take note of what they are going through now, and how we can help others (if at all).

Who are our brothers and sisters?

In the Bible other people are often called our brothers/sisters. The Greek word adelphos, which is generally translated as brother or sister, is used over 300 times in the New Testament. Over 250 of those uses almost absolutely do not refer to a family member. (For more on this look no further.) What does this mean? It means Jesus does not want us to just care for our direct family members. He calls us to love people outside of our bloodline. So once again that begs the question: who are our brothers and sisters? Well, I think that question is a different way to ask the question "who is our neighbor?" In Luke 10:25-37 an expert of the law asks Jesus the same question. Jesus answers by telling him the story of the good Samaritan. The story showed us that everyone is our neighbor. It is easy to distance ourselves from the struggles of others on the other side of the globe but that isn't what we are called to do for our neighbors.

Why should I care about other people?

1 John 2:10 says "whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling". John 13:34-35 says "a new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." If that doesn't convince you then maybe this will. As you may know, 1 Corinthians chapter 13 is known as the "love chapter" of the Bible. In it, it say this:

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Why should we love other people? Besides the fact that they are our brothers and sisters, we are nothing without love.

Can I even make an impact?

Short answer: yes. You can make an impact. You may not be able to completely change the world yourself but we all have an impact and we get to choose the kind of impact we make. The song "The World You Want" by Switchfoot asks "is this the world you want?" Then goes on to say "you are making it (the world) every day you are alive". So according to them we make an impact no matter what so it might as well be a positive one, right? History proves one person can make a huge difference. Need an example? Well, here is one: Adolf Hitler. He changed the world - no one can argue that. It was in a terrible way that he changed the world but he did indeed change it. Examples of people who changed the world positively include Jesus (of course), William Wilberforce, Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther, the apostle Paul, and many others. One person can make a difference. I promise you that. My life has been deeply affected by the actions of single people. I would not be sitting here at Northwestern if it weren't for Dr. William Bell Riley, who started Northwestern, along with all the donors and presidents and staff and faculty who have kept it going since then. Or for that matter the many people who encouraged me to check out UNW. Come to think of it I would not have started looking at Christian colleges at all if it weren't for me putting my faith in Christ. That was a result of going to Eagle Brook Church, which I wouldn't have done if it weren't for a friend of mine from North Lakes Academy. I wouldn't have gone there if it weren't for the founder Jackie or if it weren't for my mom's encouragement. This is just one simple line of connections to show that how other's lives and choices affect us. Whether we like it or not our lives are all connected and the choices we make affect other people. We are affected by the choices of many before us, and others around us and those to come will live differently (for better or worse) because of our choices. So now here comes the question: What will your impact be? Will you be remembered as a person who reached down and reached out to others in need? Will you be remembered as a person who encouraged others to change the world? What do you want to be written about you in your eulogy?

How can we best make an impact?
In order for us to make the greatest impact possible we must be educated. I don't mean we have to know trigonometry or chemistry. I mean we have to know the world as it is. (This is something I feel like God has been trying to teach me lately and I want to share a bit more of my journey with this lately in another blog.) In order for us to change the world, we must know what needs to be changed. Makes sense, right? The only thing is that this particular type of education will not always be pleasant. In fact, it may very well break your heart. Still, we must force ourselves to walk away from comfort for the sake of knowledge. If we don't truly know what is going on in the world we can never have true motivation to change it.

Warning: Getting educated about the condition of the world may very well change you and wreck you in the greatest way possible because before we can make a change we ourselves must change.

What is your next step?
Maybe you need to simply gain more knowledge of the world or maybe you are at the point where you need to experience it. Below are a few suggestions for next steps. I encourage you to think or pray about what God might be calling you to do to better understand the world...

1. Start reading the stories of persecuted Christians from The Voice of the Martyrs  and pray for them
2. Read the heartbreaking facts about sex trafficking
3. Hear the facts and stories of women who had abortions
4. Read about how people who are homeless are just like you and me from Invisible People and then join a homeless ministry
5. Find out more about extreme global poverty and then dedicate one day's wages to help end it
6. Read about world hunger and then go pack food at Feed My Starving Children
7. Sponsor a child with Compassion
8. Go on a mission trip and see the world as it is

"Be the change you wish to see in the world"

- Gandhi

My Compassion Story

My family started sponsoring a little girl in Mozambique in 2010 through World Vision, a company very similar to Compassion. That was the first time I had ever really had any knowledge or experience of the fact that people could sponsor children in other countries. During the next several years I heard many "Compassion talks". I even heard a few by the lead singer (Mike Donehey) of my favorite band Tenth Avenue North. His talks were compelling and got me excited for the time when I could sponsor a child someday on my own. Then in June 2013 while I was at Joyful Noise I heard Mike give yet another "Compassion talk". This time, however, was different.

As Mike finished his talk volunteers came around with packets which had pictures of children from all around the world that needed sponsors. I raised my hand and a volunteer handed me a picture of Jose Aldair, a little boy from Honduras. I filled out the paperwork and went to the Compassion table. That is where my journey with Compassion International began.

Over the course of the next two years I wrote letters to and received letters from Jose Aldair and his family. Through those letters I was able to learn a lot about Aldair and he was able  to learn a lot about me. I even got letters from his pastor Carlos, tutor Carmen, and project director Becky. I got an updated photo of him and many wonderful drawings from him (seriously that little boy draws better than me). Each note I would receive would bring me such joy. I will share just a few quotes from his letters and you will quickly be able to see why I loved them so much. One of the notes that his sister wrote out for him said this: "He says that when he grows up he wants to be a person like you to help other people." His mom wrote me and said "I'm very happy because you chose my son and he has learned a lot in the project." Another from his mom said "he thanks God because he can count on you". Those simply notes showed me something important. They showed me that one person can make a difference and if you ever doubt that you can change someone's life then I challenge you to sponsor a child because you will find out the truth. I've never missed the $38 a month I send to Aldair because I know what the money is doing is much better than anything I could ever spend it on here. His letters said some of the most touching things I have ever heard. Just about every letter ended similarly to this one: "God bless your life and that of your family. Aldair says that he always prays for you and asks for your prayer. Aldair says goodbye with much love and care, hoping that you will write to him soon."

Sponsoring Jose Aldair was a huge blessing and privilege but that fall after I started sponsoring him I suddenly wasn't having any tutoring business. So from September 2013 to February 2014 I watched my savings dwindle and I began to wonder what to do. I knew I wouldn't give up on him - that much I was sure of. And I didn't want to put the burden of paying for him on my parents. So I began to talk about getting a job but my parents didn't want me to because I was going to start PSEO the following fall. I felt completely stuck and one Sunday I was just felt so helpless I cried about it. Three days after that God totally stepped in. I got a call from a girl I knew from school asking if I would be interested in  being a personal care assistant for her sister. I met with the family and did some research on what being a personal care assistant actually meant & I started with her a few weeks later. God stepped in at a time I was desperate to continue His work and He blessed me even more by providing me with a job that was flexible, paid well, and was one that I loved. I could talk forever about how being a PCA has blessed me but I will save that for another blog post. Anyway because of that job I was able to continue sponsoring Aldair.

I sponsored Aldair for two years. This past May, however, I got a letter saying that his family pulled him from the program. I don't know the reason. Most likely they simply needed him to work at home. Whatever the circumstances I pray his two years in the program will benefit him in life. I continue to pray for him and will do so for a long time to come. Just because I don't monetarily sponsor him anymore doesn't mean I can't spiritually sponsor him.

However, this did mean that I could monetarily sponsor another child. And I have started doing so. When Aldair left the program I got word they were sending me information about another child. About three weeks after Aldair left the program I was at Joyful Noise yet again. They had the Compassion Experience there and so I decided to go through it with my friends. It was amazing. At the end of it they had a room filled with pictures of children that needed sponsors all around the world. I had never really gotten the opportunity to look at all the Compassion kids so I decided to look around. When I was looking I came across a little girl in a red and white dress named Esther. She stuck out to me. Probably because the girl that we sponsor as a family is named Esther. I picked up her packet and looked it over for a while. I set it down after a few moments and continued looking at the rest of the children but I ended up coming back to her. It was as if God was saying "pick her". I didn't know whether the information about the other child was coming or not but I decided to start sponsoring her. Of course, when I came home that evening the packet with the other child's information was there. I hated having to say I couldn't sponsor him too but I hoped someone would sponsor him. I recently looked online to see if he was still waiting to be sponsored and thankfully he is not. Someone has started sponsoring him!

My journey with sweet little Esther has just begun but I am looking forward to sponsoring this little one for a long time to come. I hope to sponsor her until she graduates the program. In fact, someday I would love to visit her in Haiti.

If you have never heard of Compassion before now I would encourage you to look it up. In fact I will help you out, you can find out more here. There are currently over 1.5 million children sponsored through Compassion but there could be more. So what about you? Do you have your own Compassion story? Or is this the story of your own story?

Chicago: Because We Don't Want to Say "Tomorrow" Today

I left the Blaine campus of Eagle Brook Church at 8 a.m. on  the morning of June 22, 2015 for Chicago, IL. I didn't know what God had planned but I was excited to see what it was. Life with God is like a good book - there are always grand adventures. Life with God is much like life with Ferris Bueller - not all at what you expected it to be. The next few days were a whirlwind of an adventure and I want to share with you some of the observations I made, things I experienced, and things I saw. The way I will do this is take you on the trip by telling you a little about each day.

Monday: Keep a Mission Trip Mindset
When we arrived at North Park University late in the afternoon we knew the drill: get your room key and bring your luggage to your room. So we did. It just wasn't quite as easy as we expected it to be. For one thing, it was dreadfully hot outside and surprisingly, nearly as hot inside. We were all banking on the expensive private school in Illinois to have A/C. Apparently not. Secondly, the line to check in and get our room keys was quite long. So not only did we have to wait in line but we had to do it with all our luggage piled on us while we were dripping with sweat. Then when my roommate and I got our keys we discovered that the elevator we assumed was down the hall didn't exist. And our room was on the fourth floor. Most people would complain to the management after an experience like that but we didn't because we were on a mission trip. So we got a better hold on our luggage and said "mission trip" and lugged our things up to the fourth floor. Throughout the week we used that phrase "mission trip" as a way of saying "okay, let's do this". And it got me thinking - what if we did that all our lives? Instead of complaining and wishing things were different what if we just pulled up our boot straps and did what needed to be done? We would be lights to the world and we be happier at the same time.

Tuesday: We Need Fun As Much As We Need Work
I did not plan to enjoy the sightseeing part of this trip at all. When I am on a mission trip I want to work. But I truly enjoyed seeing the sights. Not just because it was fun to splash through the fountain although it was. Not just because it was cool to take pictures of ourselves in the Bean. Not just because it was awesome to buy Ferris Bueller merchandise in Chicago. And not just because it was epic to take a picture of myself staring down at the ground from the top of Willis Tower like Ferris and his friends do in the movie. It was because it was with people that I love dearly and I often forget I need fun even more than I need to work. Working is vital to our vitality but so is play. We remember this when it comes to animals and kids but forget that even when you grow older you still need time to relax and have fun too.

Wednesday: Listen to God's Promptings
That evening we went to Navy Pier. Now that was a very interesting experience but one thing that stuck out to me was the prayer walk. I am a big fan of prayer walks and my favorite parts of the past two trips were (you guessed it) the prayer walks. So at first I was pretty discouraged by our results. We had talked to several families but we only got to pray with one but even then it wasn’t a very long or touching conversation. We were getting to the end of the half hour the pastors had asked us to pray with people and the others in my group seemed to be getting antsy to do the “fun things at Navy Pier”. But I didn’t feel like God was done with us yet. So I asked for one more group hoping that God would intervene. We went to pray with another group – rejection. Still, I was unsatisfied but I had made a promise to my group members that I would finally shut up about praying for people for the evening. About twenty minutes later a couple asked me to take a few pictures of them so I did and as I did a light bulb went off – pray for them! So after I took some pretty awesome shots of them with the city in the background I jumped into the Zone of the Unknown. I started talking to them and found out they had just moved to Chicago from Egypt and were getting married in the fall. They said they needed all the help they could get and let us pray with them. That encounter with them stuck out to me. In fact a week after I returned from Chicago I started reading “Just Walk Across the Room” by Bill Hybels (you should definitely read it – I mean, I haven’t finished reading it yet but so far it is great and Bill is great so just trust me on this) and this one line stuck out to me as well. I think that encounter at Navy Pier and this line from the book go quite well together actually. (Are you mad I haven’t told you the line yet? Are you dying of suspense yet?) Either way, the line is “life’s greatest moments evolve from simple acts of cooperation with God’s mysterious promptings”. That is so profound to me because that moment was not one I will ever regret and it was led by a prompting from God. Come to think out nothing God has called me to do has ever been anything I regret in life. It’s only when I don’t listen to Him that I fail. I think Bill is right. Life is best when we let God in the driver’s seat. Now once you know the circumstances of this encounter it gets better. This moment would have never happened if we hadn’t lost my friend. She disappeared and the only reason we were there when that couple was is because we were making phone calls looking for her. It just goes to show that sometimes the greatest moments of your life can happen in the middle of mess and just when you are asking God where He is He is waiting to show you His presence.

Thursday: Love People
Thursday was the first of two days we did VBS. It was much different this year than previous years though because we were serving on the south side of Chicago. We consistently had to break up fights. We heard a kid (who shouldn't have even known what rape was) say that another boy was trying to rape him. We also heard a little girl tell us how her daddy threw her sister against a wall. We didn't have to be told about the gang wars and violence and poverty and constant shootings that happen in that neighborhood to understand what these kids were coming from. The kids told us and showed us what they were growing up in. Things like that break your heart. One of the girls from my small group told me going into the week that she was terrible with kids but by the end of our second day she was crying because she didn't want to leave them. She was experiencing the mission trip pain of not being able to stay. I know it because I've gone through it before. I hate trying to answer questions like "are you staying?" and "when are you coming back?" because there is no good answers to those questions. You can't lie to them and you can't tell them what they want to hear. Still, you want to say "yes, I'll always be here for you". You want to save them. But instead you are reminded how powerless you truly are. You can choose to do one of two things - you can either wallow in grief or you can just choose to love people as much as you can for as long as you can. There is a quote that is so accurate it's scary and it says you can't save people, just love them. No matter what we cannot truly save anyone, only Jesus can. We do, however, have the ability to love people and that is powerful all by itself. I think we should choose to love all our lives. Everyone we encounter will have their own struggles and they need to be loved. As much as we want to save them we can't. But no one can take away our ability to love people.

Friday: Choose To Thank God For the Good Rather Then Be Angry About the Bad
We left the Willis Tower around 4:45 in the afternoon. It was raining - not sprinkling, raining. And I had taken my poncho out of my purse that morning before we left. The bus did not pick us up for an hour. At first I had nothing but my purse which I over my head to shield myself from the rain. Thankfully, I have got connections. Just kidding, thankfully I have friends and one gave me his poncho. There are two ways to look at this situation - just as there are two ways to look at any situation. I could look at the bad and be upset. After a full week of work we were all tired and we wanted to get back to campus to relax. We didn't want to wait around especially in the rain when many of us did not have ponchos. Even those that did were still cold. One girl was visibly shivering. We could have said that was a terrible experience but I want to choose to see it differently. For one, when I looked at the weather before we left it said there was at least a 20% chance of rain. Two of the days were 50% or over. Yet not once did it rain when we were serving. That is incredible. And I was lucky enough to have a friend that offered me a poncho. And we could have been homeless people who just had to deal with it. Instead we were waiting for a Coach bus to take us to a private college where we were staying. You could look at everything in life through different lenses, You could look and see the bad or you could look and focus on the good. It is your choice but you will always be happier if you chose to see the good.

Saturday: Remember to Invest in People Because They Bring More Meaning to Life
Looking back it is interesting to think that people who I didn't know on Monday could became my friends by Saturday. People who you swear you have never even seen at your campus are now someone you've shared dance parties and unforgettable moments with on mission trips. That's just the way a mission trip is. It's a beautiful thing to see - it really is. This is the 4th time I have seen it happen - strangers become inseparable friends on a mission trip. When I think back to the early part of the week I am struck by the fact that people I didn't know made my days so much better simply by being there. Two girls in particular I spent a lot of time with. Before Monday I knew neither but now I consider them to be friends of mine. I also met a lot of other girls from my campus who I want to get to know better next year. In fact, it has inspired me to really try to meet new people at Revolution next year. As much as I love my friends from small group I want to invest in others - others who are new or just need a friend. Not only that but people I already knew become even more important to me. I experienced a lot of that this year. In fact, on Friday night during our debrief session we spent time breaking down our week into definable themes. Out of the six choices the category 'people' stuck out to me the most. It's not that people haven't been important in previous trips but for some reason they stuck out this year. I grew a lot closer to my small group leader and the three girls from my small group who accompanied me. I'd known two of the girls for nearly three years and the other for a year but this trip really bonded me to them even more. We have so many more adventures and memories we now share. We know more things about one another than we did before. We are simply closer and I am extremely thankful for that. I trust those three very much and am blessed to go through life with them.

Seneca Falls and Beyond: The Impact a 1848 Conference Has on Women Today

In my very first post I made a nod to the 1848 Seneca Falls Women's Rights Convention. A nod, however, is not nearly enough to make towards this event and the women who made it happen. The women of Seneca Falls set an incredible example for us today and they should not go unnoticed or unrecognized. I wrote a paper about the First Women's Rights Convention for National History Day back in spring of 2014. Cutting the paper down or even condensing it would (I feel) only cut down the power and importance of the convention itself so I left the paper untouched. Long as it is, I hope you enjoy it and come away from it feeling proud and empowered.
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Introduction
Every revolution starts with a decision. In 1848 five women made a very important decision at the tea table; a decision that sparked a movement among women to fight for their rights and gender equality, which were not secured to them by the Declaration of Independence. The fire that burned for women’s rights did not begin in 1848, but it was refueled when they decided to hold a convention to discuss the rights of women. According to Ellen Carol DuBois’s book Feminism and Suffrage “the Seneca Falls Convention was consciously intended to initiate a broader movement for the emancipation of women” (23). It inspired generations to continue their work.  The Seneca Falls Women's Convention was the most critical event of the 19th century Women's Rights Movement because it called awareness to the unequal treatment of American women, determined a set of rights for which to fight, and made people realize the unfulfilled responsibility of the government to its citizens.

Reform in the early 1800’s
According to an article published in the newspaper, Oneida Whig, the early 1800s were the prime time to demand reform. People of all ethnicities and economic classes were trying to change industries, institutions, laws, and mindsets. It is stated on the W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. website that 100 utopian communities were set up in the early 1800s alone because they all thought they knew the key to a perfect world. Everyone had different ideas for reform. New religions were started; jails, poorhouses, asylums, and orphanages were created; people wanted the school system altered; masses protested against slavery; the temperance movement was in full swing. Men were not the only ones fighting these changes; women fought too. Among them were Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, two adamant supporters of abolition. Soon these women and others realized that women’s rights needed updating as well.

The 1848 Seneca Falls Convention
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott were responsible for the idea of the first women’s rights convention. The idea was planted in their heads when they met at the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London. Stanton and Mott could not speak at the convention as women were not allowed to speak publicly at events attended by men. At the slavery convention Mott and Stanton spent a lot of time together and talked a lot about women’s rights. Before they left London, they promised they would start a women’s rights group.
Their idea did not take flight for eight years due to Stanton’s ever-changing home life and Mott’s continuous anti-slavery work. It took until the Stantons moved from busy Boston to sleepy Seneca Falls that Stanton fully turned back to her women’s rights group promise. Stanton sat down with Mott and four other ladies to discuss the idea of holding a convention for women and that night they drew up an advertisement. According to their advertisement “Seneca Falls Convention”, which was printed in the local newspaper Seneca County Courier, the purpose of the convention was “to discuss the social, civil, and religious condition and rights of woman”. These women were not ones to be kept waiting; the advertisement was printed the next day and the convention was held five days later.
According to the Encyclopedia of New York State the convention was held on July 19-20 at Wesleyan Methodist Church. Two hundred women and forty men gathered to hear speeches given by organizers and the reading of the Declaration of Sentiments (History.com). The National Women’s History Museum website exhibits the Declaration of Sentiments, a document written by Stanton alluding to the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Sentiments contained 12 resolutions about equality and unfair laws against women. The next day all the resolutions passed  including the controversial 9th resolution which called for the women to have the right to vote. According to the Huffington Post the ninth resolution passed narrowly even after speeches by Stanton and famous abolitionist Frederick Douglass defended it. Sixty-eight women and thirty two men that signed the The Declaration of Sentiments (National Park Service). The Seneca Falls Convention was held in a local church and the only advertisement was in a local newspaper, but that small meeting caught the attention of a whole nation (Burgan, 9).

Calling Awareness to Inequality
The Seneca Falls Convention called  awareness to the unequal treatment of women because women were able to discuss their unfair treatment in a public place. Most men and, surprisingly, a lot of women did not see women’s rights and equality as something to even think about. In her speech at the Seneca Falls Convention Stanton said “the most discouraging, the most lamentable aspect our cause wears is the indifference, indeed, the contempt, with which women themselves regard the movement”. Women gave up their rights because most of them had believed for their whole lives they did not have any power and that they did not deserve any; therefore, any women who actually believed in the fight for rights and dared speak to anyone else about such thoughts would more often than not be ridiculed by others. “They [supporters of women’s rights] did all this against an avalanche of hostility and ridicule that today’s young militants can scarcely imagine. Every institution - government, church, press, school - was angrily or scornfully against them “ said Miriam Gurko in her book The Ladies of Seneca Falls (8). The convention gave women a team of people that felt the same way they did about women’s rights.
According to the paper “The Birth of the Women’s Rights Movement in Seneca County”, 43% of newspaper articles were critical of the convention and 29% supported these women (28% were neutral). While supporters were not impossible to find, the critics often spoke louder. Newspapers like Mechanics’ Mutual Protection put down such notions as women’s equality calling them “ridiculous” and “scandalous”. One newspaper called the convention “ [a] mass of corruption, heresies, ridiculous nonsense, and reeking vulgarities which these bad women have vomited forth the past three days” (Gurko, 10).  Despite these negative comments it says on the National Portrait Gallery website Stanton was happy for the publicity because it drew attention to women’s rights.
By having met people who also supported women’s rights, suffragists were able to battle back. “In the face of such obstacles, the major resource on which women’s rights activists drew to support themselves and advance their cause was one another” (Lasser and Robertson, 28). When attending Oberlin College two women’s rights activists Lucy Stone and Antoinette Brown turned to one another and supported each other against harassment by teachers and other students (DuBois, 29). Other newspapers like Oneida Whig and The North Star supported the convention and women’s rights. The North Star called the convention “one of the most interesting events of the week”. According to the National Park Service, groups like the Quakers also took part in the convention. In fact, twenty two Quakers signed the Declaration of Sentiments (National Park Service).
Having supporters inspired attendees. In response, two weeks later another meeting was held in Rochester, NY and in the next few years conventions spread across the country. Many women also started campaigns and raised money to support their cause (Gurko, 107,179-180). In the words of Gurko, “one by one these horrifying propositions [about women’s equality] gradually seemed less outrageous” (206). The Seneca Falls Convention united women to fight together for a wonderful cause: the rights of their mothers, their daughters, and themselves.

A New Set of Rights to Fight For
The Seneca Falls Convention determined a set of rights to women to advocate for. Previously women wanted to fight for many different rights; the convention solidified what social and political rights women wanted to fight for the most. Many women wanted rights, but they didn’t know how much to demand or what to ask for. At the time women couldn’t sign contracts, make a will, or sue in a court of law. Women could have their property sold without consent, their wages could be kept, and their own children could be taken from them. Preaching, speaking in public, and pursuing higher learning were all unacceptable (Gurko, 8-14). Everyone had different ideas about what to ask for first.
The Seneca Falls Convention solved this issue with the Declaration of Sentiments. In fact, the Huffington Post called the Declaration of Sentiments “the nation's most important historical documents advocating women's rights”. The document set twelve standards to advocate for. One resolution said men could not claim superiority over women . Another declared the same amount of delicacy and virtue required of women should be required of men. Women also demanded to be recognized as equals under God, acknowledge the injustices done to them, and not be satisfied with their current condition. The most controversial resolution said that it’s the duty of women to participate in voting (Declaration of Sentiments). The passing of the 9th resolution caused some of the ridicule about the convention, but it ended up being the cornerstone that led to the 19th amendment (Britannica School High). Together women went after these standards and they started to see results. “In the mid-1850’s state legislatures began to respond favorably to women’s lobbying and petition efforts for reforms in property law. By 1860, fourteen states had passed some form of women’s property rights legislation.” (DuBois, 41). In 1869, Wyoming gave women the right to vote followed by Utah. Without the Declaration of Sentiments, women wouldn’t have made the progress they did because they wouldn’t have had those common goals they had established back in 1848.

Unfulfilled Responsibility
The Seneca Falls Convention made Americans realize the unfulfilled responsibility of the government to its citizens because the Constitution did not give equality and freedom to all as promised. In colonial times, women were treated with respect. The modern conveniences of the mid 1800’s had not been invented yet. Men needed all the help they could get; women were vital to making the colonies run properly. Women were not thought fragile and helpless. They couldn’t be those things when they were needed to help produce food, clothing, soap, and candles. Women often did the cooking, cleaning, laundry, caring for and teaching the children, preparing machines, canning food, doctoring, baking bread, and spinning or weaving materials. Women were highly respected back then; in some colonies, women could even vote. This changed in 1776 when America gained independence. Countrywide laws were now put in place and rights for women were not brought up (Gurko, 22-24). Women could not have a trial by jury of peers because women were not allowed to serve on juries. The government expected them to follow the laws but they had no part in creating them. The government denied them the right to control their property or earnings. The colonies fought taxation without representation in the Revolutionary War, but once they won independence, they did the same thing to women, who made up half the country’s population. In 1776, Abigail Adams said in a letter to her husband John Adams “I cannot say that I think you are very generous to the ladies; for while you are proclaiming peace and good-will to men, emancipating all nations, you insist upon retaining an absolute power over wives” (Gurko, 24-25).
The Seneca Falls Convention inspired women to fight back against the limits set for them by the government. These limits had been accepted by men and most women for 72 years. With all the conventions and campaigns occurring in the late 1840’s and early 1850’s people started to hear about women’s rights regularly. Many scoffed at such an idea, but others recognized the unfulfilled responsibility of the government to its women and they fought for rights. The founders of America claimed they wanted democracy, equality, liberty, rights, and opportunity and they had provided that… to white property-owning men, but not to their mothers, sisters, and daughters. The Seneca Falls Convention created an uproar that made people realize how unequally women were treated under the Constitution of the United States of America.

How Far Women’s Rights Has Come
Since 1848 American women have been able to become lawyers, doctors, police officers, and pastors. Not only have more positions become open to women, but women received the right to vote, own property, control their own money, sign contracts, sue in a court of law, and make a will. In 1963, the Equal Pay Act, which assured that females would receive the same pay as males would receive doing the same work, was passed. The following year sex discrimination was banned in the workplace. Title IX passed in 1972 stating that students would not be denied participating in any school activities because of their gender. Two years later women were permitted into U.S. Military Academies. This state of women’s rights is a drastic change from the conditions women faced in the mid 1800’s and the Declaration of Sentiments at Seneca Falls initiated it.

The Ongoing Fight
Despite these changes women are still fighting injustices. In the documentary Miss Representation it is described how women are treated like objects in the media; therefore, they start to see themselves that way. Women are portrayed as the same basic archetypes in most TV shows and movies. Females are rarely protagonists; only 16% of protagonists in films are women. Media and advertising aren’t the only places injustice can be found; just look at the government. Women are 50% of the population, yet they only make up 17% of Congress. While there have been 34 female governors, there have been 2,285 more male governors. Countries like China, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Cuba have more women in government than “the land of opportunity”.
Women have also seen injustice when it comes to wages. On average, women earn 77 cents for every dollar men earn. While women are able to obtain many more jobs than they did 165 years ago, they are rarely found at the top of a company. The fact is only 5.8% of TV stations and 6% of radio stations are owned by women. Women only hold 3% of clout positions in telecommunications, entertainment, publishing, and advertising. While there are many actresses out there, only 7% of directors and 10% of writers are females (Miss Representation). So while a lot of progress has been made since the first women’s rights convention, there is still a lot more progress to be made before women reach equality with men.


Want to know more? Check out these sources...

• An Incredible Book - I would seriously LOVE to borrow it to you
• Gurko, Miriam. The Ladies of Seneca Falls. New York: Schocken Books, 1974. Book.

• The Most Mind Blowing and Thought Provoking Documentary I Have Ever Seen - it's on Netflix so check it out
• Miss Representation. Jennifer Siebel Newsom. Virgil Films, 2011. Film.

• Blog Post
• MacNamara, Elisabeth. “165 Years Since Seneca Falls: Continuing to Organize for Equality.” Huffpost Women. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 17 July 2013.

• Historical Documents and Reports
• "Address Delivered at Seneca Falls." TeachingAmericanHistory.org. Ashland University.
• “Declaration of Sentiments.” National Women’s History Museum. National Women’s History Museum, 2007.
• “Report of the Woman’s Rights Convention.” National Park Service. National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior.
• “The Rights of Women.” The North Star [Rochester, NY], 28 July 1848. Print. Found on Library of Congress website.
• “Women out of their Latitude.” Mechanics’ Mutual Protection [Albany, NY] n.d. Print. Found on Library of Congress website.

All the Same: Follow up article on "Different Worlds, Same City"

The central lessons found in "Different Worlds, Same City" include...

1. We all have struggles

2. Our struggles are often different from those of others around us (for better or worse)

3. We are more similar to one another than we are different.

When we first read Angie's story we think she has no problems. But then as we progress through we learn that she grew up in a lower income home, she doesn't know her father, and her mother died two months ago. Then during the story her boyfriend dumps her on her birthday. We don't see the struggles at first but as we get to know her we start to see them. This is often how it is with our own relationships. When we first meet someone we often think they have no problems but only once we spend time around them and start asking questions do we discover the truth: we are all the same in at least one way. We all have struggles. We see this also happen with Mandy. Although we read early on that she has struggles. In the first few paragraphs we discover that she is homeless but it's more than that. She isn't just the homeless person many people wrongly picture as typical - drinking alcohol and being too lazy to get a job or a home for themselves. Mandy is hardworking and is fiercely trying to get a job. During her conversation with Angie we learn that Mandy did nothing to deserve the homelessness situation she is in. The reason she is homeless because her father was abusive and her mother died too. Even the people we think are perfect and have no problems have their own struggles if only we care enough to ask..

While Angie gets up in her warm, soft bed, Mandy was getting up off the cold, hard ground. This simple fact goes to show that not everyone has the same struggles. Mandy's problems include joblessness and homelessness. Angie's problems include loss of the man she loves and the recent death of her mother. Everyone's story is made up of different problems. Some struggle with their weight, others struggle with being bullied. Some struggle with depression, others struggle with finding a job. Some struggle with infertility, others struggle with abuse. We all have struggles but they are not all the same.

Some struggles are similar. Many of us struggle with lack of purpose, fear, inequality, trust issues, poor self-image, lack of courage, inferiority, bitterness, anger, sadness, and uncertainty. In many ways we are more similar than we are different. Tenth Avenue North's song "All the Same"  speaks to this. Mandy and Angie are similar in many ways. They both have needs - physical, mental, social, and spiritual ones. They want and need friends, support, care, and love. Mandy and Angie also have basic needs - a job, a home, food, and warmth. Mandy had spent 2 years worrying over how she would be seen. If people would understand that she was just like them. That even though she was homeless she was still just like them. Angie was one of the few people to take the time to find out who she was on the inside. As human beings, we have so many similarities to each other.

In conclusion, "Different Worlds, Same City" teaches us 3 basic lessons. We all have struggles but your struggles will not be the same as your neighbors. Everyone's problems are different but in many ways, we are all similar to one another.

Different Worlds, Same City: The Story of Two Women

"Different Worlds, Same City" is a fictional short story of two young women and it is written from their different perspectives. I was inspired to write this because of the mission trips I have been on to New Orleans and Dallas, and also a meeting with a fellow sister in Christ a few weeks ago. I hope you enjoy it!

"This is going to be an incredible day", thought Angie as she awoke. It was Angie's birthday and she had a wonderful day planned. She'd taken the day off of work for the first time in months. She was going out to breakfast with her best friend Stacy at the local diner. Then they were going on shopping at Hillsdale Mall. Later that night she had a date with her boyfriend Jared. Her greatest birthday yet was just on the horizon and she couldn't wait for all the day would hold.

Mandy woke up to the sound of an ambulance screeching nearby. She was cold when she awoke. Most people were grateful for the winter coming. It meant Thanksgiving feasts, snowfall, holiday shopping, baking Christmas cookies, and ice skating season was close. But winter was always a miserable time for Mandy. It had been for years.

She met Stacy an hour later at the restaurant. Stacy greeted her with a huge hug and a gift bag in her hand. The two girls chose a booth by the window. Angie ordered an omelet, hash browns, and fresh fruit. Stacy ordered chocolate chip pancakes. While they waited on their food Angie opened her gift from Stacy. Brown leather boots. The exact ones she'd seen and loved when shopping with Stacy just one week before. "How perfect!" Angie exclaimed. She loved them. Shortly after she opened her gift their food arrived  to their table.

Mandy had $4.36 in her pocket. Just enough for a little breakfast out. She walked to the gas station nearby and got a cup of warm coffee for 99 cents, an apple for 69 cents, and a muffin for 99 cents. She purchased her food and went to go sit on a bench to eat her meal.

Angie and Stacy left the diner and headed for the mall. After several hours of shopping the girls headed back to Angie's apartment. 

"You bought 3 dresses all of which were on sale Ang. You shouldn't be so uptight about spending the money. It is your birthday", Stacy said. 

"I guess not but you know me. I didn't grow up having a lot. Spending $100 even on my birthday is a lot", Angie explained. 

"I know. But Ang, you do so much at the school that you deserve a little something extra just for you. It is your 25th birthday after all", Stacy encouraged. 

Angie hesitantly replied, "well... I guess I don't have any dresses and they are beautiful. I am definitely going to wear one of them on my date tonight. Now the only problem is this: what should I wear to my date?"

After Mandy finished her meal, she went to the homeless shelter nearby. The sign at the bank said that it was Tuesday. That meant the showers were open and so was the clothing bank. She walked the six short blocks to the shelter. The shelters were bursting at the seams. She had stayed there two weeks before, meaning that she would need to wait another two weeks before she could go back since it was so full. Still, the showers were open to everyone. She got in the women's line, which looked to be about 20 people long. She talked to Dominique who was in line in front of her. 

"How's the job hunt Mandy?", she asked. 

"Well, I went door to door last week but then my good jacket got stolen and I missed the last shower day so I haven't been looking the past few days. I've been waiting to hit the showers again and I also need to find some new clothes if I am going to be considered by anyone", Mandy responded. 

Dominique laughed her usual raspy laugh. "Well, good luck girl. You're going to need it. I still think you're crazy. I've been on the streets for 10 years and I went to 104 businesses during my first two years and nothing. Not one ever even interviewed me. Soon as they find out you're homeless they give up on you. They think you're going to steal from 'em or something." 

"I still have to try Dominique", Mandy smiled.

About forty minutes later she got a shower. The water wasn't warm by that point but she still was grateful to shower. Afterwards, she went next door to the clothing bank. Now her only problem was this: what should she wear on her job hunt? 

Angie looked at her 3 new dresses. One was lilac with beautiful lilies on it, the second was long and dark blue, and the third was green and simple but gorgeous. Stacy left for the hospital after getting a call from her mom saying that her sister had gone into labor. Angie loved Stacy's sister very much and wanted to go with but Stacy insisted that she stay and get ready for her date. Now she sat alone trying to decide what dress to wear. Jared had called her and asked if he could pick her up at 6:00 instead of 5:00. Jared seemed kind of nervous. They had been seeing each other for nearly two years and lately he'd seemed like he was planning something. Angie wondered if maybe he had planned to propose. The idea of that both excited her and made her sad. Her mother, whom she had always been close to, had died the previous summer. She couldn't imagine her mom not helping her through the whole process of planning a wedding like she always thought would happen.

Every time the bank was open you were able to get two things. Since her jacket had been stolen she would want a new one since the winter weather was creeping in. She was able to find a blue one. It was two sizes too big but it was pretty nice. It must have just been added. Otherwise, someone would have taken this gem. Her shirt was old and faded and starting to tear. She couldn't go to businesses like that and expect employment. So she went to the section where they kept the tops. The selection was pretty picked over but she found a dark blue polo. It was technically a men's shirt but it was the thing that looked the most professional. So she checked out and then went to the bathroom to change. Now, she looked like she was dressed for success. Destiny was waiting for her right around the corner.

Angie eventually chose the green dress and decided it would look wonderful with her new boots Stacy got her. It was only 3:30 so she decided to drive over to the hospital. It was a beautiful day and the birds were chirping so it wasn't a surprise that Stacy chose to wait outside while she waited for her niece to be born. But then as Angie approached she could see something was wrong. 

"Stacy, what's wrong?", Angie asked in concern. 

"Hope was born but she is blind", she said and began to sob. "Oh Ang, she'll never see the blue birds or the wind sway the trees. She'll never know what I look like. She'll never see the beauty of a lake or a mountain. She won't even know what her own mother looks like." 

Angie soothed her friend and led her to a bench. She hugged her close and comforted her. "Stacy, have I told you about Maurice?", Angie asked softly. 

"Of course. He's your favorite student", Stacy said, obviously confused. 

"He's deaf but he sees the world through a different lens. He sees his deafness as an advantage. He doesn't have to listen to the noise of the world. Instead, he hears God. Maybe Hope will be able to use her blindness for a greater purpose and she can hold a different perspective than others." 

"Angie, what I would do without you", Stacy sniffled.


Mandy spent the afternoon and evening inquiring about open positions to every business she could. Every shopkeeper said they had no openings. Most would ask for a phone number to call if positions opened up. This was always a dreaded question because there were always ways of getting out of telling potential employers you had no home but that request always made people wonder. How do you tell someone you have absolutely no way of contacting anyone - no email, phone number, no address? It's not that she was ashamed of being homeless. It's just that she wanted people to see her as more than just a homeless person. She wanted them to see Mandy, not another Homeless Person.

Around 5:00 she went home and got ready for her date. She was still worried about Stacy and her sister but Stacy practically kicked her out of the hospital. "You'll be late for your date!", Stacy cried out as she looked at the clock. Angie showered, got dressed, applied her makeup, and fixed her hair. Jared arrived right on time. As she went to answer the door she wondered what this evening would hold for her.

As she approached the last business she planned to go to she sat on a bench and prayed silently for ten minutes. She needed a job and she needed one soon. She would not spend another winter out in the cold. When she arose and looked towards the steps of that last business. Between the time she sat and the time she rose the OPEN sign had went out. Mandy went back to the bench, sat down, and began to cry.

Angie had been walking around the park for an hour and a half thinking. Finally, she sat down. Her boyfriend had planned no kind birthday gestures and given no gifts, much less a ring. In fact, as they reached the restaurant Jared just said "I can't do this anymore" and broke up with her right then and there. After that she just walked to the park and had been pacing in circles ever since. Her feet were killing her and she needed to eat something. It had been seven hours since she had last eaten and her stomach was growling. Still, she did not have the energy to hail a cab or walk anywhere. Instead, she just sat down and began to cry.

After a few minutes Mandy regained her composure. She decided she needed something to cheer her up. She was hungry but wanted to save her little money for breakfast. She hadn't been able to ask for money since she had been so busy looking for a job. Maybe tomorrow she would get a little more cash. Instead, she decided to go to one of her favorite places in the city: the park downtown. She loved its fountains, its furry inhabitants, and its people. When she arrived the park seemed quite empty. As she walked around she saw a young woman and she froze. The woman on the bench wore a green dress. Her mother's favorite dress had looked so similar to this one. She stood still for a moment as the memories of her mother flooded her mind. Oh, how she missed her dearly. Finally, she came back to reality. She noticed for the first time that the woman was crying. She started to turn away but as she began to walk away. She knew that she couldn't leave her. So she walked up to her hesitantly.

"Miss?", said a voice. 

Angie looked up in surprise. She had not heard anyone approach. "Oh...hello", Angie mustered.

 "Are you alright?", the voice, which belonged to a black teenage girl, asked. 

"I will be...I just...", she started. 

"You seem pretty upset....Is there something that maybe you might want to talk about?", the girl asked uncertainly. 

"No, I couldn't burden you with my troubles", she said. 

"Miss, my mother once told me that when we share our joys they are doubled and when we share our hurts they are halved", the girl said and sat down beside her.

"What's your name?", Mandy asked the young woman. 

"It's Angela. Call me Angie", the woman replied. 

Mandy was floored. Finally, she got out "that was my mother's name". 

"I don't mean to be forward or anything but... have you lost - or I mean, has your mother passed on too?", Angie asked. 

Mandy tried to hold back tears. "Yes, ma'am. Two years ago next month", Mandy said. 

"Mine too. She passed away two months ago", Angie replied as a tear rolled down her cheek. 

"It's a dreadful thing to lose someone you love", Mandy said. 

"It is indeed", Angie affirmed.

"That's actually what brought me here tonight", Angie sniffled. "My mom always loved this park. She took me here when I was a little girl. I come here now when I have troubles and sometimes I tell her about them...What brought you here tonight? Oh, I am sorry I never caught your name." 

"It's Mandy. I came here to cheer myself up a bit. I'm unemployed."

"Oh, I am so sorry", Angie replied. Then she asked "how long have you been looking if you don't mind me asking?" 

"Well, two years as a matter of fact", Mandy told her. 

"Did you start to look after your mother died?", Angie asked. 

"Yes, I had to drop out of school and support myself", Mandy responded. 

"No other family?", Angie asked incredulously. 

"Nope. My father abused my mom so she left. She was an only child and both of her parents died years ago. No one is left that I know about." The longer this young girl went on the more Angie's heart broke.

"Are you homeless?" 

Mandy could tell the woman was scared to ask this so she answered pleasantly. "Actually, I am." Now Mandy was scared. Would she treat her differently? Would she stop talking to her? What was she thinking? 

"You poor dear. I am pretty hungry. Can I treat you to a pizza?", Angie asked her in the sweetest and most compassionate tone she'd heard out of anyone in weeks. 

At first she didn't know what to say. Then she quickly said yes and thanked her. During the next 20 minutes Angie hailed a cab and they were dropped off at a pizza place. On the way Mandy had asked her about herself. Angie told her of her break up with Jared, of poor Hope, and also about her own mother. Mandy learned that Angie had never known her father. As the girls climbed out of the cab, Mandy's heart fluttered. A sign on the side of the pizza place read HELP WANTED. 

"Angie!", Mandy cried in excitement. "Look!"

"I have even greater news. My uncle owns this place. I didn't know he was hiring but it looks like he is. I am sure I can get you a job here!", Angie practically screamed. 

"Why would you do that for me?", Mandy asked Angie in a confused tone. 

"Because in a lot of ways Mandy you are just like me. And right now you could use job and if I am able to help you then I should. You've already helped me tonight. I should return the favor."

Mandy was shocked. Ever since she had been homeless she had been treated differently by nearly everyone. But Angie treated her like an equal, a friend. Things were looking up. If she could get this job then she could eat 3 meals a day. She could live in an apartment. She could go to the dentist and the doctor when she needed to. She could buy new clothes. She could help her friends. This could make all the difference. Not only that, but she felt as though she'd made a friend. Not just for the night but for life.

Angie hadn't had the birthday she expected. At the end of the night she thought she would have a diamond ring on her finger but instead she had a new friend around the table and a new perspective on life.