Style for Justice

This morning when I woke up, it took me a little longer than normal to get up and get moving. When I opened my eyes this morning, I had no idea what the day had in store.

Checking blogs is one of the highlights of my day, and finding a new post from Jen Hatmaker is always a joy. I saw the word "Rwanda" in her title and became even more excited, because Rwanda is where my sponsor child lives.

And then I read the full title: I'm Going to Rwanda with Noonday...And Maybe You Are, Too.

...

I don't have all my words back inside of me yet, so I don't even know how I'm going to answer the application prompt, but I do know this much: I'm going to answer it, and I'm going to ask for your help. See, the process is I submit my answer, then rally my community {hint: you, dear readers!} to vote for my answer. The seven entries with the most votes get reviewed by the IJM panel and narrowed down to the top three. These top three entries rally their amazing communities again to earn the spot on the trip to Rwanda. The official explanation of it all, with dates and stuff, is on the Noonday page.

According to Jen's post, people can vote every day. There are prizes via random drawings for everyone who votes, so there's incentive! *wink wink* I know I can't ask for your votes before you've read my response {and you can't read it until I've written it - ha!}, so instead of voting right this instant, I'm asking that you pray for me and for this trip and for the lives that are going to be touched, no matter what.

Pray that God would open and close doors and that His will be done. Also, please pray that comparison doesn't fill my mind with thoughts that are not godly. I am not any person other than Bek, so I want to strive to be all that God has called Bek to be, not all that He's called someone else to be.

I'll be updating this post soon with my response to the prompt: Tell us why YOU want to join us in winning people's hearts to chase a global vision of economic empowerment and justice!

Update: Here is my response to "why you" and right here is the link to vote! Please share and share alike :)


When I was nineteen, a man came to my church and prophesied over me. He said a lot, but if I were to summarize all that he declared over me with his powerfully humble voice, these are the words I'd use: mother - travel - nations. I had no idea what God was going to do, but I was excited to find out.

Four years later, I completed my bachelor's degree in business administration. I learned a lot about economics and business topics, but I learned a lot more about caring for people, understanding more than two sides of an issue, and God's heart for the world.

It's been two years since the chapter of college closed in my life story, and I think I've learned more since graduating then I ever did in school. Books have been my main teachers, but people were and are my motivation. When I finished school, I read Kisses from Katie and was tearing my hair out because I wanted so very much to do something. Ann Voskamp wrote a blog post about sponsoring children, and that very evening I began sponsoring a little boy in Rwanda. Because of him and his beautiful notes, I started reading about this beautiful, broken, rebuilding nation. I started learning how truly powerful forgiveness is, and I began to see how God can use just one person who is willing.

Why do I want to join the Style for Justice team in their incredible trip to Rwanda? I want to join because I believe in its mission of empowering families. I want to see cycles of poverty broken, which will help restore families who will then change their nation to be a force for justice. I am a believer in the power of discipleship and "teaching someone to fish" and enabling women to make a living wage. I am passionate about sustainable business models and protecting the vulnerable and mobilizing normal people to do great things. Like Isaiah, I'm declaring, "Here I am, Lord. Send me."