Global Concerns

The Advent Conspiracy Video

Carrie Nye — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 13:10:31 -0800

I saw this video awhile back and thought it was well done and encouraging. So check it out and let me know what you think.

(Note: if you are the kind of person who can't listen to Christmas music until the day after Thanksgiving, then maybe wait to watch until Friday).

The Story of Stuff

Christy Tennant — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 08:00:00 -0800

My brother sent me this link. He wrote,

"Chris,

When you have 20 min, check this website out: http://www.storyofstuff.com/

Watch the little video. It is kind of depressing, but I think it could also be inspiring for change. Let me know what you think.

Matt"

I encourage you to watch this, and I welcome your comments.

At the very least, we need to talk about these issues. For all who are called to faithful stewardship, the issues in this little movie need to be not only on our radar, but inform how we live our lives, from time, to priorities, to money, etc.

The World was Watching as the U.S. was Voting

Lisa Borden — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:21:06 -0800

Tanzania is pretty far away from the United States.

Still, Tanzania was holding her breath last week as the U.S. went into elections.

I was by myself in our bedroom when the electoral count on the BBC website jumped from 207 to 297. I was pulling my jeans on and calling out to my empty house, "Hey! Doesn't that mean he won? Doesn't that mean he won?"

Yes, that meant that Barack Obama had won. So I jumped into the car and drove through our early morning traffic to a gathering point in town where I could hear his acceptance speech live. (And I would have jumped into my car to hear McCain's speech as well, lest you wonder.)

There were over 100 expats in the restaurant and we were certainly not all Americans. There were Dutch and English and French and Australian and Greeks and Canadians with Tanzanians and I don't know who all.

I'm sure I've mentioned that I have lived basically my entire adult life outside of the United States. Can I tell you that I have never experienced a scene where so many non-Americans were genuinely excited for and happy about the U.S. ?

I know that many people inside the States say, "We don't care what the rest of the world thinks. This is not about them."

Yes, some Americans do truly believe that this is not anyone else's concern.

I'm not saying that we have to agree with the conclusion the rest of the world came to early on in these elections about who they would like to see in the White House. But to think that what happens in our politics doesn't concern them is, frankly, naive.

As a citizen who loves her nation-- the most powerful nation on the planet, the less than 5% of the world's population that controls 20% of the world's wealth and consumes 25% of her resources, the country that wields power and influence on every continent--all I can say to those who want to hold to the line that this is only about the U.S. is... "I beg to differ."

May we use our influence and resources well.

Paul Rusesabagina & Give A Damn?'s Big Fundraiser Next Saturday

Give A Damn — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:17:18 -0800

Today we interviewed Paul Rusesabagina, the man on whom the film Hotel Rwanda was based. It was an incredible interview that went off without any issues. We felt so blessed to get the chance to interview such a remarkable man that really demonstrates that one person can make a difference. Check out his organization www.hrrfoundation.org.

Hey, if you live in St. Louis, we need you out at Westminster Christian Academy this next Saturday, Nov. 15, from 7-9pm for our big Dessert Banquet Fundraiser. We really feel this will be a pivotal night for Give A Damn? and will determine the course of the rest of this film.

The address is:
10900 Ladue Rd.
St. Louis, MO 63141

The event is free and we will be serving desserts and snacks! 8 different companies have agreed to donate and support the event.

T-shirts are now for sale online too! Get you one!!!

Thanks everyone for your continued support,
the Give A Damn? Team

A VERY SAD DAY IN KENYA!

brianwurzell — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:22:00 -0700

I've posted a blog on some VERY HEARTBREAKING news from some people we love dearly in Kenya. if you get the chance PLEASE check out the write up I did on what's going on and please pay close attention to the 'WHAT YOU CAN DO' section on the blog.

These are AMAZING people and if you've seen the documentary called Invisible Children you'll know Mama Zipporah. Please read this blog - http://brianwurzell.wordpress.com/2008/10/30/a-sad-day-in-kenya/

Questions as We Approach Elections

Lisa Borden — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:01:06 -0700

Is it ok to kill babies if they aren't wanted?

I don't really think so.

But that's not the only question I have as I consider the up-coming elections.

I don’t know but... Do you that think that slashing forests and mutilating mountains and killing oceans is ok with the one who carefully created them?

I sometimes wonder if unilateral decisions to go to war might possibly feel to the Prince of Peace a little like rebellion?

And when we keep our neighbors in inner cities trapped in cycles of under privilege and lack of hope, does this feel to the Father of the Fatherless like an overt ignoring of Biblical mandates, not to mention a brazenly revealing flash of hearts of stone?

Personally, I’m against abortion. I’m particularly appalled by partial birth abortion, which is just a tidy term for “Kill the baby as she comes out but before we look into her face.”

Yet to say I will kill other people’s mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers and other people’s babies with the bombs I drop, or to agree to knowingly ravage Creation to support my lifestyle, or to leave my neighbors in drastic want-- this doesn’t actually strike me as a more righteous stand.

To pillage the earth, ignore the poor and willingly go into war are issues that, along with the killing of unborn babies, I have to take very, very seriously. I just cannot pretend that this is a one issue election.

Maybe I’m mistaken. Maybe these issues don't all need equally careful consideration. I don’t pretend to have a brilliant mind.

I would, however, aspire to have a brilliant heart.

Our Stuff Has a Story

Lisa Borden — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 07:39:47 -0700

I have a lot of stuff! All this stuff has a story; a history of where it came from and where it's going once I'm done with it.

It's an important story. It's one that we all need to know because our stuff impacts the globe. It impacts people, their economies and our environment.

Here's a great (as in creative, clever, educational, challenging, helpful) little video that explains the story of all this stuff we gather and use. It's 20 minutes long but well worth your time.

Please take a break to ponder how you might love your Creator by taking better care for his gift to us: the earth and her people.

Make a cup of something you like and pull up a seat!

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

In Their Own Words: Chinzorig (Mongolian Videos)

Nick Bogardus — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 01:26:20 -0700

My wife Kim is working on a series of short videos featuring her Mongolian students and our ex-pat friends. She just posted two on her site.

Here is the newest one featuring her student Chinzorig.

Chinzorig Video from kim bogardus on Vimeo.

Side note: Kim has also posted some of her photography on Conversant, which you can see here.

You can subscribe to Kim's site, my blog here at Conversant, or my personal site via RSS on each site. If you don't use RSS, you should. :)

Ready to Become an Abolitionist?

Carrie Nye — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 12:00:36 -0700

I recently went to see a local showing of the documentary Call + Response. The film, created and produced by singer/song writer, Justin Dillon, cast a spot light on the worlds darkest 27 million secrets, exposing the world of the enslaved.

Call + Response reveals the raw truths behind the current slave trade situation in action today. There are more slaves today than any other time in human history. In 2007, those behind the world of slavery made more than powerhouse organizations Google, Nike and Starbucks combined.

I learned that not only are there 27 million enslaved today around the globe, a shocking 1 million of them are currently enslaved in the United States. Isn't this the land of the free? How could this have happened and what can I do about it? These are just a couple of the questions that come to mind after watching the film and after some of the research I have done post my viewing of it. Twenty-seven million slaves is a hard reality to face. Yet, what I've found is that there are several ways that I can take action to abolish slavery right now.

For starters, I recommend checking out the film Call + Response. If it's not playing near you, hit up Netflix or Blockbuster for other films such as Trade, staring actor Kevin Kline or Black Gold, a documentary exposing the truth behond the coffee you drink and the farmer who grew it.

On the Call + Response website, you can also check out a list of 33 practical ways you can help abolish the slave trade.

Or, check out Relevant Magazine's latest edition with cover article, Choco Lies? What you're really buying this Christmas May Surprise You!

Another organization that is working tirelessly to end the slave trade is The Salvation Army. They do a great job at listing ways that you can become an abolishionist and advocate for the enslaved in your community.

It's basic things like ensuring that the coffee you buy, the chocolate you eat, the clothes you wear, the cell phone you text and call on, etc. are all made by the hands of the free. Black Friday is creeping up on us quickly and Americans will hit the malls in groves to purchase the perfect gift for their loved one. How great would it be to not only make that perfect purchase, but also do so in a way that ensured the freedom of a life in the country where that product was manufactured.

I urge you this holiday season as you store up gifts, to do the research needed to make certain that gift didn't cost someone their food that day, their limbs, their safety, their freedom, their life. Buy fair trade. If you're not certain a product is fair trade, ask. And if you still don't know, don't buy it. The cost of not knowing, is too great knowing there are 27 million enslaved globally.

The 18th Century had William Wilberforce to abolish slavery. The 21st Century has you!

If you have questions on the specifics of how you can help abolish slavery in your community, let me know. We can do the research together and put a stop to this injustice. Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom! Jesus declared to us that he came to give us abundant life. Let's work together this holiday season and lets make 2009 a much less lucrative year for those behind this evil act of slavery in the world.

Hitchhiking to Africa

Give A Damn — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 09:24:29 -0700

Ok everyone, we are thinking about hitchhiking to Africa. Yes, I said it. HITCHHIKING TO AFRICA!

You may be thinking..."Do these idiots know there is an ocean in between them and Africa?" Well yes we do. We are planning to hitchhike across the US, take some kind of boat across the Atlantic, and then hitchhike across Europe, part of the Middle East and down into Sub-Saharan Africa.

What do you guys think? Is this possible? Do you know anyway we could cross the Atlantic on a ship/yacht, preferably while working on the ship scrubbing floors or being deck hands?