OOOOOHH WE'RE HALF WAY THERE!!

OHhhhhhhh! Livin' on a praaayyyyyer!!! (sorry.. couldn't help myself.)
Just wanted to give a quick shout out to all of our friends and family in the Northern Michigan area. We really appreciate all of the love and support you all have shown us in the last couple weeks.

Just as a quick update on the finances front.... (drum roll please.)

We're just a squeak over half way! Thank you for everyone who has gotten behind us and is partnering with us.

B

Quotable quote

I love a good quote... and I also happen to have a strange love for Teddy Roosevelt. So I found this among my daily design & craft blog wanderings (guilty pleasure) on a blog called "Make it Do." I love the do-it-yourself attitude of the craft world. It helps me stay motivated to keep going in a world that often has the attitude of waiting for someone else to fix what they are complaining about. Which brings me to my next quotable quote for today (drum roll please)....
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." -Mahatma Gandhi
Be the change in your world today by doing what you can with what you have.
:)
B

Read All About It

This came through the twitter-feed today thanks to our friend @shuttergrace and I thought it was worth a share. This article gives an interview with journalist & humanitarian Benjamin Skinner. A very well articulated interview about some of the realities of human slavery internationally. Check it out!

There Are More Slaves Today Than at Any Time in Human History

By Terrence McNally, AlterNet.

Summer Days

Ian is finally done with the dreaded California bar exam and we have moved on to the greener pastures of Michigan in August! We've been having a great time hanging out with family and friends and getting a chance to get our collective 'ducks in a row' before heading back to DC and off to Asia.
Be on the lookout for our next update letter letting you know how our fundraising is going and different ways that you can help as we work to secure justice for those in bondage internationally!
I've already had some really interesting conversations with people here in the mid-west about how wide-spread the issues of human trafficking are. Many of the people I have conversations with are sincerely sad to hear about trafficking internationally, but do not realize that trafficking and slavery still exist in their own country... perhaps in their own town (here are some State reports that Ian helped research and put together a little while ago). I think we all have a lot to learn from one another and I am really excited to share what we have learned as well as hearing what is going on here.
We're hoping to have some sort of get-together or event within the next two weeks if you are in the North-western Michigan region and interested in hearing what we are up to. As for now, here's a little eye candy via our fancy-dancey cell phone camera (seriously am going to miss that thing).

Chef John's with Bekah's sisters and our friend Sean

Quintessential trip to House of Flavors!
Hanging out with the MCRC worship team (John tried to steal my phone..stinker)

Taking care of business at Redolencia Coffee

More updates to come!
B

Week of Justice

In case you haven't heard, there is a great series of events going on at Ebenezers Coffeehouse in DC called Week of Justice! AND guess who is making a cameo appearance? Us!
Come out Thursday at 7pm for a night devoted to learning about and discussing the issues of Modern Day Slavery. Everyone is invited! Click for more info :)
B