what are you passionate about?

the latest buzz in the gta has certainly been surrounding the tamil protesters. how 5000 gathered and shut down the gardiner after news that at least 378 civilians had been killed in a safe zone. i support neither the genocide occurring or the unlawful act of the protesters, but am amazed at the action being taken.

i've grown up in the gta and have never heard, nor have ever thought that such a thing could happen. there have been many protests in and around toronto, but never like this.

so i think about my beliefs, and what i would stick up for. if there was a civil war going on in the philippines that i believed was unjust, would i protest? clean water is my soft spot, but would i protest in hopes of getting the government to take action on the 1.1 billion people without clean water? in fact, is there any cause that i would be willing to run onto the gardiner and stop traffic for?

right now, my answers would be: i don't know, i don't know, and i don't know.

this brings me back to the vision of the icare project: getting people to care, and to be passionate about a social issue, any social issue. for some people this issue is buried deep down inside, and for others, you can see it in there eyes. even the people with the hardest hearts surely must care about something. stray animals or runaway teens, refugees or quietness in the community, anything really.

i think the shutdown was fuelled by a desperate passion for the issue the protesters believed in. in a way, this challenges me to be more active and less passive concerning issues i feel strongly about. less blogging, more action. less thinking, more doing.

passion: clean water
action: everything it takes to provide everyone access to clean water and nothing less

what would you do to seek justice for what you truly believe in?

the power of prayer

apologies to anyone who's been waiting for a real post. i'm amused that during finals time, i would find many opportunities to post, but now that school is done, i haven't made any time at all! there really are no excuses, so what have i been doing? going full-swing into fundraising.

as today is the 58th observed national prayer day and obama signed the prayer day proclamation, it makes me think about the power of prayer.

i gave my presentation at church, and told people how God was revealing His plan for me through answered prayers. i told them how i was daunted by cost of the trip, then how Helen informed me that they had overestimated by $2000. i also told how i was worried about going alone, but then Kathleen decided to also go to Malawi and we'll most likely live together. and more recently, i've been praying about getting my funds in for tomorrow's flight booking deadline. 24h ago, i was $700 short. after 2 phone calls and being informed that my ticket went down $200 and i am now $400 over and almost half-way to $6000 =) amazing, isn't it?

while going through the truth project, one of the first questions they asked was

"do you really believe that what you believe is really real?"

it's a tough question to swallow but if i could somehow answer "yes", then wouldn't my every action be done so with humility and love? if i did really believe in the power of prayer, wouldn't i be on my knees praying all day instead of trying to make time for prayer?

i have personally experienced the power of diligent prayer. the wonder and amazement of praying for something days and weeks on end and seeing the prayer answered =) i've also experienced frustration with prayer. praying for sometihng for days and weeks on end, only to hear God say "No, not now."

last week, 10-year-old ella from church gave me this:












the two things i worry (and pray) about most are: being effective and raising funds. it's amazing for me to see ella&cd shake their allowances out of their piggy banks for my benefit when they dont fully understand what im doing. somtimes i need to be more like ella and blur out the fine details and simply understand that God will have His way in my life. and really believe that what i believe is really real.

"for when two or three are gathered in My name, there I am with them."

- matthew 18:20

FUNding

just a quick fundraising update:

• Cupcakes for Change Waterloo raised $1000 :D
• Cupcakes for Change Mississauga has about $150 in orders so far
• Sunday Snacks raised $205 on Sunday #1

Coming soon: Online donations can be made to my account on Canada

Only $5000 more to go...
God will provide.

"Call unto me and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not."

- jerimiah 33:3

goosebumps.

"do you ever get that feeling, that you're on the brink of something really amazing but you're scared to tell anyone? and then, then you get these signs that make you realize that you're doing the right thing? it's so amazing, it gives me goosebumps."
- RB on our idea (:

there's a reason for my sleepless nights and it's not school. my heart pounds and my head spins when i think about all the possibilities. the revolution we can create, the changes we can initiate, and most importantly, the people we can help.

this is going to be amazing. because we're going to make it amazing.

great. just what i need before my 3 finals in 2 days.
more to come on [insert project name here].
im SO excited :D

love your neighbour.

north america, the land of opportunity. families from all over the globe immigrate here in hopes of finding what many of the established already have: stability and happiness. in a society that doesn't have to worry about the obtaining the basic necessities of life, many people never have to think about poverty, nonetheless, relate to it. many people understand that there are wars happening, injustice taking place, and poverty surmounting, but can't relate to those issues because it doesnt happen here, right? wrong.

hi waterloo. never seen poverty? stop and look into the eyes of the homeless man sitting at the plaza. never experienced war or political injustice? talk to a refugee who chose to escape their country with her 5 children, after the government had killed her husband. never had to take desperate measures to provide for your family? talk to the 6.5% of the region who is unemployed (thats 1.2% above the national average).

global issues are not just global. they're local, right down the street from us. no, they may not be as severe locally as they are globally, but they are here. they stare us (literally) in the face, and we avoid eye contact and keep walking.

the definition of community and neighbourhood is constantly changing, with talk that gen y may ruin local communities. in the parable of the good samaritan, a man asks Jesus how he can inherit eternal life. Jesus answers "Love your neighbour as yourself". "And so, who counts as my neighbour?" the man asks. then as Jesus tells a story. as scott harrison puts it "a man [is] beaten near death by robbers. He's stripped naked and lying roadside. [Two] people from his village pass him by, but [an enemy from another village] stops. He picks him up and bandages his wounds. He puts him on his horse and walks alongside until they reach an inn. He checks him in and throws down his Amex and tells them to give whatever he needs until he gets better. "Which of the 3 men," Jesus asks "is the man's neighbour?" The man replied "The one who had mercy on him."

our neighbours are defined as the people who live next doors, the cashiers at the local grocery store, and the joggers passing by. but also encompassing our neighbours include the refugee family that just moved to waterloo, the teens living on the streets, and the homeless man in the plaza.

lets pass a little kindness onto our neighbours, shall we?