Moving On...

Good morning everyone!

It has been SO long since my last blog post..
Are you doing well?  I sure hope so!
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Here is a little bit from my new post.  Click here to read more.

You may have followed me or met me on my trek around the world (as pictured above) and are interested in what I have been up to since returning to Canada.  Just a forewarning, this next part will get a little personal, so, I give you permission to skip this post entirely, if you wish.

The story begins…

I landed in Canada, barefoot.  Behind, rolled my tattered red suitcase.  Was this the four-hundredth airport I’ve seen in the past two years?  Well no, but it seemed like it.  My mind, weak and weary, urged my tired body on.  After almost two years on the road, I’m home.

Then, “Hello!  Welcome home, how are you? How was you trip?”.  All the friends, all the family.  Weddings, parties, speaking engagements.  Move, buy a car, start a job.  Entertain over-seas visitors, be a maid of honour, try to fall in love.  Still jet-lagged.

Six weeks later, the whirlwind of excitement slowed.  I sat alone in a basement apartment, not knowing who I was anymore.  I questioned my purpose, my place.  Distancing myself, I tried to figure it out.  I had seen atrocities that burdened me.  My job was opposite to who I was.  I found myself desperate to change something, but unable to.

Friendship.

The majority of my friends fit into two categories:

1 - The friendships that make me feel good.

2 - The friendships that don't.

Why would I call someone who doesn't make me feel good a friend?  To be honest, I never considered this before, but have recently found that these friends are the best kind.

The other night, in an international Skype conversation I got annoyed because he repeated the same thing as our last conversation and the one before that.  He reminded me of my potential and how my current path is heading to self-destruction.  He pointed out my re-occurring habit of failure to do anything about it. My heightened emotional defenses were up, my words punched back at him through the iPad screen.  In our banter of "I don't want to say 'I told you so'" and "Dah! Would you stop already!" I told him in anger that he always made me feel bad.  Then I slammed the end call button and cocooned myself in the dark silence of my room.

That's the thing, it's easy to hide in the dark.  

I was furious.  I knew he was right, he normally is.  Of course my version of the story is more dramatic and harsh than what he really said, but come on! my pride was taking a pretty serious blow.  Even worse, I was mad at myself for not listening to him.

The majority of my friends don't make me feel that way.  Normally we laugh together.  We talk about this and that.  We adventure.  We love spending time together.  But I rarely am challenged to my core. So I've found that a friend who dares to catapult stones at the foundation of who you are is worth keeping close. They test your fortress to make sure it is strong enough to endure anything and if need be, they will help reinforce your castle walls.

A true friend is one who cares enough to tell you the truth, even when it hurts.
He gently and lovingly brings you out from the dark places.

Thank goodness someone loves me enough to help me through the worst of me.

And in the end there are two friendship categories:

1 - The ones that make you feel good.

2 - The ones that make you great.

The Epic Bun Race

In a recent trip to Brantford, I convinced three seniors to act in this little clip.
Just for fun.  Enjoy!

My Muskoka

Why Muskoka?

Because the crackle of the fireside, the crisp, clean air, and the beauty of rocks, trees and lakes soothe me.  The roads move with the land and weave through forest floors freshly carpeted with the colours of fall.  Life moves at a slower pace.  The beauty of the land is only surpassed by the beauty of it's people.  Compared to many places in this world Muskoka is one of those where I feel at home.  Its rugged surface and nature makes me feel grounded and rooted in something much bigger than myself.  It's a place of peace, serenity and rare appreciation of the life we've been given.  When I sit at the end of a dock, or on a lookout point to witness the vast creation I live in, the problems of the world seem to get smaller.  I moved to Muskoka for all of these reasons.

In my home town of Brantford, Ontario I lacked nothing and was strangely naive to the bleak circumstances of over 50% of the world's population. Monstrosities of extreme poverty were far away from the comforts of my couch.  I would offer a gasp, a sigh, maybe even a tear when I heard tragic news.  But last year that all changed. 

As a beginner photo journalist, I set out on a mission to document injustice in January 2013.  With my team of eight I traveled to over twenty countries to aide in humanitarian work, develop community projects and document injustice issues through photography and video.  We met people that poverty has landed under bridges, on the streets, in orphanages, behind red-lit windows and for twenty months we heard their stories.  The face of suffering became real when I met hungry kids who could be fed for a few days at the cost of one Starbucks Latte.  The struggles of humanity aired on the six o'clock news became my reality.

We wanted to do something, but how could we, a young group of journalists, help to end this world wide problem?  What could I, a young Canadian woman really do to make a lasting impact?  Our photos weren't clothing the poor or feeding the hungry.  We had set out eager to make waves of change, but we were drops in a bucket.

Sometimes it's easy to get discouraged.  Many hopes and dreams within the hearts of man have died before taking the daunting first step.  At home, at work or within your social circle making a change can be difficult and hard work can go unnoticed.  Take the sun, for example.  The sun in all of it's splendor rises every morning, yet most of it's audience still sleeps.  A simple leaf, from flower to fall, dedicates itself entirely to its tree then is cast away upon the billows of the wind in autumn. Yet the simple, beautiful spectacle of both, although overlooked by many, bring life and light to humanity.  Likewise, our efforts, no matter how small, can make this world a better place.  Mother Theresa said, "Not all of us can do great things.  But we can all do small things with great love."

In Peru we met Bud Lenz, known in those parts as the 'loco gringo'.  Bud took a Kabota tractor from Texas to Peru and cleared part of the Amazon jungle to make a self sustaining orphanage for abandoned children.  In Thailand we met Emmi, who was rejected by her own family and at risk of being trafficked.  She now runs a cafe and helps girls transition out of prostitution through giving them work and counseling.  In Indonesia we met doctors, nurses and members of the community who take care of and feed people in the slums.  I used to believe that poor countries will always stay poor, until I met the poor.  I witnessed a movement of generosity and care.  There is always an opportunity to make this world a better place, and now, more than ever we are starting to see it.  Bill Gates said in his annual news letter, "By 2035 there will be almost no poor countries left in the world."  In fact, global poverty can be solved with just 1% of global income.

I can't say that we found a solution to end world poverty, but we want to do our part.  As photojournalists we published a book that tells stories of people around the world affected by poverty and stories of people helping to pull them up to higher ground.  The book, called "Rags and Riches" inspired a tour through Europe and North America that raised awareness of everyone's power over poverty.  It was our way of giving back to the people we met, who truly showed us that some people are so poor, all they have is money.

It was an incredible journey - one so intense that I have come to beautiful Muskoka to reflect upon.  Two years of packed bags and scribbled journals, two years of documenting injustice and an entire world of people permanently etched into my heart - that is why I chose Muskoka to be my resting place.  For now.

To you, dear reader, I have a challenge.  Right here, in our own neighbourhood there are people who have needs.  Everyone has something to offer wether that be resources, skills, time or relationship.  You don't need to travel the world to find people who need help.  What skills and resources do you have to respond to the needs in your community?  I find myself getting lost in the wild beauty of everything Muskoka that I forget about the one thing that matters most - other people.  Remember, you don't have to do great things, but you can do small things with great love.

Tour Part Two

Our Rags and Riches tour team hit Europe with great enthusiasm.  Four young people, including myself, on a mission to conquer Europe with our "end poverty" message with only our book in our hands and no money in our pockets - this was an adventure!  Here is a little bit about what that looked like.

We went to Switzerland

Then to Germany

Houses in Luzern.

Lamp post.  Maps.  Confusion.

Walking through the streets of Luzern with Sarah and David.

It was a twelve hour time difference - literally night and day time change from Hawaii.

It took me a bit to get used to, but in the afternoon one morning, I woke up to this view of the Swiss Alps.  

We spoke about how everyone has a part in ending world poverty.  This youth group in Luzern was a great audience.  Some of them are leaving on a missions trip shortly.  Special thanks to Mel and Andy for hosting us!

In between speaking engagements we had a lot of time tour the cities and country side.

The ukulele is my new favourite.  Singing on the bus, in the park... Wherever.  It's fun.

We heard a man yodelling right before this picture.  Yup, they still yodel.

In Burn we screened our documentary "Behind the Curtain" and spoke about human trafficking.

Then we skipped over to GERMANY!!

The World Cup champions.

Sarah's mom's church - they prayed for us in the front after we told stories from our last two years.  Thanks to Sarah's mom for hosting at at her home in the Black Forest.

Our book and merchandise table

Sarah's Oma's church.  

Sarah translated our presentation from English to German.  

She was so good!

Oma is a sweetheart, opening her home to four wandering vagabonds as we trekked through Villingen.

We serenaded the elderly at a luncheon put on by the community.

The classics "You are my Sunshine" & "Amazing Grace"

were our best options for our German crowd.

I still can't believe we squished all of our belongings into Dani's car like this.  It was a rockin ride!  Thanks to Dani and his family for hosting our team in Nuremburg.

From Germany we traveled to...

AUSTRIA

"Have a good trip"

We rented a car and drove to Vienna.

(Note to travellers: it's cheaper to rent a car and split it between everyone then to buy separate train tickets.  It's also more convenient)

We loved Austria so much!  We got treated like royalty.

At this speaking engagement, I took off my shoes on stage.

"This evening we want you to experience what it's like to walk in someone else's shoes... And sometimes, those people don't have shoes."

Here Rachel tells the story of Jefry, a man in the slums of Jakarta, Indonesia who used to aide men in finding boys to go home with.  After he became a Christian, Jefry now has a mission to help within the transvestitie community, supporting both their spiritual and physical needs.  He also organizes an annual retreat for transvestites where many people have chosen to turn their lives around.

Here is a screen shot of the story called "Eddy" from the iBook.

Eddy was a transvestite who became a Christian at the retreat Jefry hosted in 2012.

The profits from our book sales are funding ministries like Jefry's.

Other organizations our book "Rags ans Riches" supports are:

'Amani Orphanage' in Kenya and 'Henri Coanda' community projects in Romania.

After Austria we went to the Czech Republic.

Check out this random border crossing.

We spoke at Teen Challenge outside of Prague.

The roads of the Czech were the most adventurous roads we ventured on.

Sarah, rockin the sticker.

(Note to travellers: if you rent a car and travel between European countries, pick up a Vignette sticker to make your car legal)

Every time we drove through a Villiage called "Slapanice" Rachel would slap David in the back seat.  Is that supposed to be a compliment??!

Then they got along and had... Sleepovers?

Prague is amazing.  One of my favourite European cities.

Bahunka is an amazing woman!  She hosted us at teen Challenge and arranged for us to speak there.  It was a different crowd then we were used to speaking to, and we were a bit nervous for it.  At the end of the evening, the people in the audience asked so many questions it nearly doubled our presentation time.  It was amazing to see that stories of what God is doing around the world can encourage and inspire anyone, from a recovering drug addict to the teenager to the old lady sitting in a church pew.

From the Czech Republic, we headed to Bad Blankenburg, Germany on the autobahn.

It didn't take long.

Oh, where these feet have trod.

This is an old hotel.  It is being constructed into a new PhotogenX base.

We helped to build and repair things.  We also slept in the dust we created.

I was sick, but the rest of the crew spoke to a small crowd about our book "Rags and Riches" and how we can each do our part to end poverty.

Then we headed off to THE NETHERLANDS.

A few buses later... We were in Amsterdam.

We had two speaking engagements scheduled in Groningen.

One was the "Behind the Curtain" documentary screening, and the other was the "Rags and Riches" presentation.  My family attended!

A big thanks to our lovely hosts Gert & Evangeline in Groningen!

I even got a delicious homemade Dutch apple pie for my birthday breakfast.

Also, the team met my Oma and her boyfriend.

The cute gesture of waving goodbye until we can't see eachother anymore is now a team tradition, started by my family.

Good bye Oma & Gerrit... Tot siens!

(Aren't they cute)

And then we were in Amsterdam together again.

Our last night before we all broke apart.

It was a bitter sweet ending after nearly two years of being together.

But also a time of rejoicing in the future.

Thanks for joining us.

Much love to everyone we met on our tour through Europe.

"There is no such thing as an ending.  Just a new beginning."

p.s. (a note for fellow travellers)

(be nice, be generous, be open and meet people becuase...)

:: six weeks in europe :: housing total was 44 euros ::

#thatsamazing

#thankyouthankyouverymuch

Tour Part One.

We stared island hopping.

Big Island - Maui - Oahu

This is a cool story.

The sun was setting on this cool dreamy evening.  I waited outside for the flight to board and pondered life.  A man, who appeared to be a pilot came to my bench and our conversation drifted toward our current project, "Rags and Riches" and how it came to be.  I told him of our work last year and about the purpose of it all.  His name is Eric and he is the captian of a small 9 seater "Mokulele plane we were soon to fly in.  "How do you fund a trip like this?" he asked me.  

"Each member of the team does their own fundraising, or has saved money... it's all volunteer" 

I replied.  

"Does Mokulele sponsor you?" he asks.

And with that Eric became our wings in the sky.

Not only did he deliver 40 books on last minute notice, he also gave Rachel and I a free joy ride along the beautiful coastline of Maui and two "buddy passes" to Oahu.

Thank the Lord for generous, talented people!

A double rainbow followed the plane as we enjoyed the scenery along the Maui coastline.

The view of Maui's coast coming from Hana.

A special thanks to Mokulele Airlines, Eric, every pilot who flew us around and every check-in person who treated us with special priveledge.  You are good people.

Sarah and Rachel spoke in Maui, a pre-start of our tour.

The response was incredible.  Twenty-five books were sold making $500 for the orpanage in Kenya and the community project in the slums of Jakarta.

Pastor John and Mariam were amazing.  They treated us to an exquisite, delicious lunch at Tommy Bahamas.  Somehow it became my Hawaiian Birthday, complete with candles and a song.

After about one week in Maui, Rachel and I headed to Oahu for some rest and relaxation before heading to Europe to officially start our book tour.  We stayed with our friend Tim.

The rainbow trees in Hawaii are incredible!  This is my favourite island.  It was a huge blessing to spend a week in Oahu, just relaxing and reflecting on the last year and a half.

Tim and Chester waiting for me to finish oogling the rainbow trees.

This is me proudly holding the first printed copy of our book "Rags and Riches".

Rachel and I spent lots of time in this lovely cafe preparing for the rest of tour.

It was a sad goodbye to leave Hawaii and island life as I knew it.

But the European tour is ahead of me, and it's gonna be awesome!

Love.

And now I will show you the most excellent way:

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not 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 have not love, I am nothing.  If I give all I have to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails.

- From the Bible in 1 Corinthians 13:1-8