Freedom Sunday and the days that follow.

Freedom Sunday.

A day where the faith community as a whole comes together in their place of worship and devotes their time to learn what it means to end slavery.

This is incredible.
As a Christian I truly believe that we, as the church, should be leading the movement to end slavery in our lifetime.

The night before Freedom Sunday my wonderful husband and I were hanging out with some friends and we chatted most of the evening about faith. We chatted various aspects of faith and at one point my husband said something absolutely wonderful. He mentioned that doing good things like feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, helping the widow and orphan, shouldn't be something of special mention for a Christian. When you die people at your funeral shouldn't be like "Aelea was awesome. She helped the poor, the orphans, etc...". That should be commonplace. That is a given if you are a Christian. It would be like saying "Aelea liked to breathe air to survive everyday." That is just a part of what we do, how we live every single day.
It should have no honorable mention.
We should all be living this way.
Those words have stuck with me.

The next day, Freedom Sunday, I had the opportunity to speak at Pathway Community Church. Since I had worked with Not For Sale as the Tour Fellow, and Not For Sale created Freedom Sunday, it was a pretty good fit. I gave a quick Human Trafficking 101 lesson then their pastor spoke an amazing message on Compassionate Justice. He used the story of the Good Samaritan and I can't even begin to re-tell his message. One of the bottom lines is that compassion doesn't just mean loving God and loving your neighbour, it means going above and beyond to treat your neighbour with the passionate, incredible, never ending love that God has for them.

...And to clarify, your neighbour is everyone.

Talk about no honorable mention... everyone is our neighbour... this is what we should all be doing.

Pathway also showed the documentary Nefarious: Merchant Of Souls that evening, open to anyone who wanted to come. Talking about the sex trade is a tricky thing-- especially when a good chunk people would rather live "safe" faith. Nothing about Nefarious is safe. It's dirty and in your face about the harsh truth and realities of human trafficking and the sex trade around the world. From women treated as cattle, sold to the highest bidder, and even children sold by their own family members. I spoke before the documentary about my time in Thailand in May 2012 (which you can read about on my blog-- check the archives) and how hard it is to wrestle with the emotions that you face while there. These are the same emotions people who saw the documentary are living through right now and they all end up doing the same thing; fuelling a fire to do something.

Doing something about injustice is rarely safe. It requires you to go out on a limb, challenge the comfort of your every day life and stand up against issues others want to turn a blind eye to.

I saw people looking for what to do next. Passionate individuals who want next steps. And this is where my own personal struggle comes to play:
Yes, helping those in the sex trade is huge, but helping EVERYONE involved in slavery is SO IMPORTANT! It's easy to watch a documentary about those being exploited in the sex trade and want to do something, but please don't forget about those in exploitation making your clothes, your food, your toys. Toys for kids, made by kids? The food for your family meal picked by people being abused and exploited? I think it's easier to feel the heart tugs of the sex trade because, for the most part, our view of sex is of how meaningful and special it is in the marriage relationship. To remove someone's choice from sex is unacceptable. One thing to also keep in mind is that those being exploited in domestic servitude, labour, and other forms of slavery are also raped, beat up, taken advantage of, and made to feel worthless... just like those in the sex trade.

I want to encourage you to take steps forward with your new passion to not only end sex trafficking, but work to end slavery all together. Here are a few of my top practical application steps:

1) Pray. So often we look at prayer as a last resort but prayer is huge! Pray for those held captive-- those being trafficked, the traffickers, the johns, and everyone else involved in the process.

2) Support organizations already standing against slavery! International Justice Mission does amazing work, same with Not For Sale and Love 146 to just name a few that I personally know are awesome. Even organizations like Kiva-- providing loans so individuals coming out of exploitation have a future, and those vulnerable never become exploited.

3) Educate yourself, then educate others! Read the book Not For Sale by David Batstone and Disposable People by Kevin Bales. Share what you learn! Tweet about it, share it with friends and family on facebook!

4) Shop smart. Seek out ethical options for your every day purchases using resources like Free2Work, and also know that a lot of artisan made goods (think Ten Thousand Villages) are made by survivors or those at risk for exploitation. Buying their products can ensure they don't end up exploited.

5) Pray some more. Gather with others passionate and pray. If you ask God what you can do to end slavery, and you are willing, He is sure to move you to meaningful action.

We, as individuals with passionate hearts to live out lives rooted in love, can end slavery. Every prayer, every Facebook or Twitter post, every dollar donated, truly makes a difference in creating more activists that will come together to see slavery ended in our lifetime.

Feeling Professional.

Sometimes in your day to day life, you end up doing things that make you feel very professional. These things make you feel grown up, like you're someone of importance, and that life is giving you opportunities to show people who you are and what you stand for....and that those people are going to listen and take you seriously.

I find that feeling professional is something I haven't felt too often. Or that during those times when I was feeling professional, there were people around that would stomp that out of me. As someone who started my career in Broadcasting at only 19 years old, it is often I wouldn't be taken seriously. Not only was I a young adult at that time, I was also a girl which posed its own problems. I was also in positions of status at times, heading departments, being in charge. When all those factors combined it created a lot of heart ache along the way and moments of triumph which were greatly relished.

Here we are today. Five years of radio under my belt, completely breaking free from the dream job I've had in the past, and volunteering for six months to pursue a new passion in hopes of finding my next attainable dream job.

It's amazing how, while still being at what might seem an apparent disadvantage to those I may have been associated with in the past, I've managed to be more accepted, have more skills recognized and been pushed more to give all I have in these past few weeks than ever before. I've felt more professional. I've felt more challenged.

Things that make one feel professional:
Doing work at the EBay/Pay Pal office.
Having breakfast meetings.
Being flown somewhere on a Friday, to host workshops on Saturday, then flying back to your current residence on Sunday.

PayPal Visitor.

I've been part of all those things over the past couple of weeks.

It was quite amazing to be going to the EBay/Pay Pal office to sell ethically made products to the staff and talk to them about making smart consumer choices. How often do people do that? Not very often. It's wonderful to be able to take skills I've been growing what seems like all my life, and be applying them in such a surreal manner.







I recall on the Thursday before being flown to Ohio for an Academy World Tour stop that I said out loud in the office, "I feel so professional. Breakfast meeting then flying to an event." A staff member agreed with me, especially about the breakfast meeting. There's no reason why a breakfast meeting should make you feel professional. A meeting at any other time of day is just the same. But a lunch meeting just doesn't have the same emphasis of importance as a breakfast meeting. Perhaps it's because we know that "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day", so the meetings we have during that time must also share that same importance. Perhaps it's because breakfast hosts some of the most envious foods. Aren't we all excited when we see a restaurant serves "All Day Breakfast"? Regardless of the reason behind it, a breakfast meeting made me feel important. Like I had something to offer and we were going to chat about it over granola with yogurt and fruit, and a chai tea latte.

While EBay, Pay Pal, and breakfast meetings all hold a level of professionalism I was pumped to experience, nothing holds that level as being flown somewhere to present workshops and then fly home the next day.

I was a last resort. Truth. No one else could go to the event, so I went.
Now, this could make someone feel a few different things...You could feel insignificant; *sigh* no one else could go so they are sending me. You could feel empowered; *excitement* no one else could go so they are sending me! You could feel nervous; *yikes* no one else could go so they are sending me.
I'd say I felt a healthy combination of the last two; healthy meaning slightly empowered but more so nervous. It was a wonderful experience to have people believe in you. People you have known for really, not a long time, feel you are 100% capable of presenting workshops you had a week or less to learn to a crowd of unknown size in Troy, Ohio.

After my breakfast meeting I received a ride to the airport from a fellow Fellow and flew on over to Ohio. I met wonderful people on my flights and arrived to meet the host of the event who was gracious, friendly and just as nice in person as he was in emails and on twitter. I spent the night at a hotel nicer than I ever expected and attempted to prepare myself for the next day...hosting three workshops and the main event. I'll be honest, my preparation included a whole lot of prayer.

SIDE NOTE on PRAYER: I don't get why people leave praying to the last resort. Prayer is a first step. What happens next is up to God who reveals to you your next steps. Whether you chose to act on His next steps or not is completely your thing.

The next day came sooner that it should have (a three hour time difference throws you off a little bit) and I was doing it, I was going to present. We all went to breakfast ("all" being the host, the performer, and myself) and enjoyed a restaurant that originated in Ohio. Next was on to the venue to set up the NFS merch I brought along, set up my laptop and get the presentations rolling! Like I said before, my preparation was a whole lot of prayer. Honestly, in my opinion, the best form of prayer in a time like that, where you are nervous and afraid to forget something of importance, is to pray that God uses you to get His message across. That He speaks through you. That you are a vessel for Him.


I am sure I missed points I had on my notes to get across. I'm sure things didn't go exactly the way my notes on the music stand in front of me guided. I am sure that the things I said that weren't part of my notes were extra things that God wanted me to say to that crowd. Things don't always go according to your plan. The best is when things go according to God's plan.

While setting up that day I met a wonderful lady the is the Love 146 rep for the Dayton, Ohio area. She is fun, spunky, full of life, loves vintage and tattoos and has a heart for ending modern day slavery in our time. Let's just say from the moment I saw her with her half sleeve and fun hair I knew we would chat and get along. I confided in her that I had never done public speaking before and there were moments I'd look at her while presenting and she would smile. She was my encourager at that event. After the first presentation she assured me I did well and those in attendance even asked me questions and complimented me. Praise the Lord! I knew from that moment on that the rest would be OK.

NomiS and I, boarding pass, attendees
with certificates and the
lovely Love 146 rep

The Faith Based Activism Workshop was probably my favourite. Telling personal stories is wonderful. It's easy to be passionate about the verses I was referencing because they are the same verses I have bookmarked in my Bible App. This was definitely the workshop where I can guarantee I spoke things that weren't on my notes, where I really let God guide me and I loved it. It was a wonderful feeling to have God lead and I follow.

The rest of the evening went well. We presented, we discussed, we went out after and enjoyed the company of new friends brought together by one purpose; to end human trafficking. While packing up the wonderful Love 146 rep gave me the Love 146 badge she had on display at her booth. It meant a lot to me to receive that. I feel her friendship will always mean a lot to me as she was someone that helped me through a whole new experience in my life. An experience I will look back on and be forever grateful that I was able to be a part of and actually exceed both my expectations and the expectations of the host of the event.

I feel professional here. It is something that I don't always feel while here, but it is wonderful to be in a space where I am both challenged and respected. Where you aren't trying to make people realize you are here for a reason (you are smart, educated, have a skill set) but where they know you are here for a reason, and those reasons are why they challenge you and expect great things from you.

It is such a different dynamic than what my last five years have been like. And while yes, there have been many rewarding  moments in the past five years in my career, where people have believed in me, I have believed in myself, and I've ended up becoming an asset and a loved and valued team member; it is definitely nice when the beginning isn't full of proving yourself, where those you are surrounded with unknowingly push you to be the best you can be. I know, come the last day of the Fellowship on December 14th, I will be more than I ever thought I could be thanks to those who continually encouraged my growth both at work, personally and spiritually.