Archive for the ‘Blog’ Category
Thursday, May 17th, 2012
Last fall, I met a young man in San Antonio who was from a Christian village in Pakistan. I didn’t even know there was such a thing as a Christian village in Pakistan. He said there almost aren’t. Most Christians have left the country. For those who remain, life is hard and treacherous.
Which is why I was so intrigued by a recent message I got from a Pakastani woman I’ll call Aarya:
“Please pray for my family because you know the circumstance in Pakistan about Christians. A few days ago the Muslim people is teasing and abusing my family, and they start to threaten us with their gun fires.”
Not an unusual occurrence, she said. Except that her husband was in another village, so there was no one to protect her and her little ones.
“Some of the people they threw stones and bricks at our home.”
When her husband came home, he and Aarya went to the police, who promised to come to their house and take a report later. But it was the abusers who came back that night. After beating Aarya and her husband, the intruders said, “If you go to the police again, we will kill you!”
“They are very cruel people,” Aarya wrote. “They killed many people. I am glad my husband could go to villages and preach, but I am very upset. My life is in danger and my husband too. We are waiting for help of the Lord to save us from the dangers. Please, Sister, please pray for us. What will happen to us? What should we do?”
Oh, Aarya, how can I answer your questions? I do not know. But, my sister, I will pray.
Who will pray with me?
Tags: 21st century abolitionist, justice, mercy, Micah 6:8, Pakistan, Pakistani Christian, writing
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Tuesday, May 1st, 2012
Slavery is not a problem for the history books. It happens today, every day. Around the world and right in our own communities.
I had the honor of leading a conference on Human Trafficking this past weekend along with Ruth Hill, past Director of National Awareness for Shared Hope. From my travels and writing, I talked about the problem worldwide. From her expertise, Ruth showed us what we can do to help heal, but also to protect.
- Stories
- Pictures
- Experience
- Expertise
- A hands on training program with engaging activities
Are you interested in such a program for your church or group? If so, let me know through the contact page and we’ll talk~
Tags: 21st century abolitionist, 21st century slavery, Forgotten Girls, Human trafficking, Isaiah 61:1-3, justice, mercy, Micah 6:8, slavery today, trafficking conference
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Friday, April 27th, 2012
During Divali, the Indian festival of lights, my friend and I ventured out into the Calcutta night. We weaved our way among the crowds of people singing and dancing. Treats sizzled over open fires, and bursting firecrackers kept us jumping. It wasn’t until the next morning that we heard about the explosion in a house not far from where we walked. Five children died and others were maimed. They had been at work making firecrackers.
I“Why in the world would children be making fireworks?” we exclaimed.
How little we knew.
Hundreds of thousands of children as young as 5 or 6 toil in India, many of them performing dangerous work. Besides making firecrackers for the endless festivals, they chop tobacco and make bidis—thin brown Indian cigarettes. They work in rock quarries and in brick factories. They labor in pesticide-laced fields.
A 1986 law does bar children under 14 from working in hazardous industries. Trouble is, a huge loophole in the law permits children to work at home with their families.
“These people are very poor,” a man explained to us. “They can’t survive without their children’s work.”
But what of the children?
The man shrugged. “The government is discussing it,” he said.
Nevermind that a company owner sits in the national Cabinet.
Tags: 21st century abolitionist, Blessings in India, child labor, exploited children, Forgotten Girls, India, labor laws
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Friday, April 20th, 2012
Just over a year ago last month, Shahbaz Bhatti was assassinated. As Pakistan’s Minister of Defense of Minorities, he was the only Christian member of that country’s government. He was a man of great courage and faith who spread the truth of Christ and stood up for the rights of Christians in Pakistan. Despite death threats, he spoke out against Pakistan’s terrible blasphemy law that makes it a crime to say anything that can in any way be interrpreted as speaking against Islam, the Koran, or Muhammed. The law is routinely used to persecute Christians.
Bhatti knew that by taking such actions he was signing his own death warrant. That’s why he never married. He felt it wouldn’t be fair to put a wife and children in such danger.
On March 2, 2011, he visited his mother. He was shot to death as he left. Al Qaeda and the Taliban both claimed responsibility.
Surely Jesus Christ met him with open arms and the words, “Well done my good and faithful servant!”
Tags: 21st century abolitionist, justice, martyr, mercy, Micah 6:8, Minister of Defense of Minorities, Pakistan, Shahbaz Bhatti
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Friday, April 13th, 2012
Easter Sunday was John Newton’s 264th re-birthday.
On April 8, 1748, three agonizing months after a horrendous storm all but ripped apart the merchant ship Greyhound and swept all supplies overboard, the wrecked hulk drifted close to the shore off Lough Swilly, Ireland. When the good people of the village caught sight of it, they rowed their longboats out in search of survivors. There were only nine. One was John Newton.
But John was more than a survivor. Notorious as an obnoxious blaspheming troublemaker, the worst of the worst, he had encountered God’s Amazing Grace. John Newton was a new man.
People often ask me, “You’re a 21st century abolitionist? Where did that come from?”
From my acquaintance with John Newton. Yes, yes, I know he was born centuries before me. But I have been privileged to explore his story in depth for the two books I wrote on his life. And after so much research, after delving so deeply into his own writings, I feel as though he is a dear friend.
John Newton was a vile slave ship captain who became a hard-hitting evangelical preacher in the garb of an Anglican clergyman. He was also an unabashed and unstoppable abolitionist who passionately spoke and wrote from his own slave trading experience. In the end, he risked everything—his reputation, his wife’s emotional well-being, even his cherished right to preach—in order to bear witness to the slave trade horrors he knew to be true. He had been a part of it. Determined to help bring about laws that would stop the slave trade, he shocked England with the truth, and he helped to turn the nation’s heart against the African slave trade.
Today, most people know John Newton as the author of Amazing Grace. The words, sung to the soul-wrenching tune of an old slave song, are his testimony. They are the story of his life.
John Newton lived to see the first anti-slavery law passed inEngland in March of 1807. He died nine months later at the rich age of 83.
Happy re-birthday, John. I look forward to spending 800 years or so chatting with you in heaven.
Tags: 21st century abolitionist, abolition, Amazing Grace, John Newton, John Newton the Angry Sailor, justice, mercy, Micah 6:8, Once Blind: The Life of John Newton, slave ships, slavery, writing
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Monday, April 9th, 2012
Yay! For a limited time, you can get free downloads of both The Call of Zulina, book 1 of the Grace in Africa trilogy, and The Hope of Shridula, book 2 of the Blessings in India trilogy. Such a deal!
If you own a KINDLE or NOOK, you can download an EPUB version from: http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/cms_content?page=928515&sp=110934
or from Amazon, The Hope of Shridula: www.amazon.com/Hope-Shridula-Blessings-India-Book/dp/1426709099
Oh, and if you get one of these, or if you have already read books in the two series and like them, I would love to have you write a review and post it on Christianbook.com, Amazon.com, and wherever else you would like.
The Call of Zulina
The Hope of Shridula
Tags: Blessings in India, free, FREE eBook, Grace in Africa, The Call of Zulina, The Hope of Shridula
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Friday, April 6th, 2012
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of joy instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
Isaiah 61:1-3 (NIV)
Tags: crown of beauty instead of ashes, freedom for captives, Good Friday, Isaiah 61:1-3, the year of the Lord's favor
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Friday, March 30th, 2012
Fawzia is an Afghani woman, and an amazing one at that. Not amazing because she lost her father, a brother, and her husband in the endless conflicts that afflict her country. That’s all too common.
Not even because as a newborn she was left outside to die. Many fathers and mothers in the area don’t want a girl.
Partly, perhaps, she is amazing because of her endless determination. Baby Fawzia didn’t die, so her mother gathered her up and brought her back inside the house. Her father tolerated her, but she can recall only one time he ever spoke to her. He told her to go away.
But here is the really amazing part: In 2001, after the fall of the Taliban, Fawzia Koofi began a political career by promoting the right of girls to get an education—her “Back to school” campaign. Today she is a member of Afghanistan’s parliament. In fact, in three years she hopes to run for president. “If I am still alive,” she says. “In Afghanistan, you never know.”
Want to know more about this amazing woman? Check out her new book, The Favored Daughter.
Tags: 21st century abolitionist, Afghan parliament, Afghanistan, Fawzia Koofi, influential women, Kay Marshall Strom, The Favored Daughter
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Friday, March 23rd, 2012
Say what??
Could it be true that this billboard was actually erected in a racially diverse neighborhood in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania?
I’m afraid it is true. Seems an atheist group put it up, supposedly to show how evil the Bible is. Well, the display definitely does show evil, though the accusing finger seems to point right back at the perpetrators. At the angry insistence of many voices and several groups, the billboard was quickly pulled down.
But the whole episode begs the question: How is it possible that our nation has become so horribly polarized? And cruel? And where will it end? And what terrible episodes must we still endure before then?
God, forgive us.
Tags: 21st century abolitionist, athiest, Grace in Africa, Harrisburg, Micah 6:8, Pa, slavery, slavery today
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Monday, March 19th, 2012
I have been so, so encouraged by all the comments I’ve received about the Grace in Africa trilogy, and now the newly releasing Blessings in India books. Thank you everyone!
All this week, you will find free Amazon Kindle downloads on a couple of the books:
- The Call of Zulina, book 1 of the Grace in Africa series, will be available for FREE download Monday the 19th through Wednesday the 21st.
- The Faith of Ashish, book 1 of the Blessings inIndia series, will be available for FREE download March 22 and 23.
If you haven’t read them, please… help yourself on those days.
If you have read them, you might consider urging your friends to get them as well. Or perhaps your book club. Both of the books have discussion questions in the back.
If you like the books, I’d love to have you write a review for Amazon or CBD or Barnes and Noble.
Thanks so much!
The Call of Zulina
Tags: 21st century abolitionist, 21st century slavery, abolition, Africa, Blessings in India, Grace in Africa, historical fiction, India, justice, mercy, Micah 6:8, slavery today, The Call of Zulina, The Faith of Ashish
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Friday, March 16th, 2012
I just finished reading The Zookeeper’s Wife, A War Story, by Dianne Ackerman, and I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s the story—all the more shocking because it’s true—of how a husband and wife, keepers of the Warsaw Zoo, saved hundreds of people from Nazi death camps. Most of the animals perished in attacks on the zoo, so Antonina and Jan Zabinski filled the empty cages, and the passageways below, with Jews. Jan, active in the Polish resistance, buried ammunition in the elephant enclosure and stashed explosives in the animal hospital. As Europe crumbled around them, the Zabinski family carried on as normally as possible, caring for their hidden “guests” and the surviving animals.
All that happened a long time ago. But still, after so many years, after all the books we’ve read and the movies we’ve seen, it’s impossible to grasp the reality: some six million Jews perished in the Holocaust—many of them children. That unfathomable fact sears into our souls. “Never again!” we say. “Never again!”
But what of the mass graves in the killing fields of Cambodia?
What of the children pressed into combat—or sex slavery—in the Congo?
What of the mind-numbing crimes of Darfur?
What of Rwanda?
What of the burned-out villages along the border between Sudan and South Sudan?
On January 27, Holocaust Remembrance Day, President Obama said that some of the responsibility rested with people who “accepted the assigned role of bystander.” He called on us to help “the citizens of the world make the journey from oppression to survival, from witness to resistance, and ultimately to reconciliation.”
Yes.
Perhaps then we can say together, “Never, ever again.”
Tags: 21st century abolitionist, 21st century slavery, Africa, bonded labor, Cambodia, Congo, Darfur, Holocaust remembrance, Micah 6:8, President Obama, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan
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Monday, March 5th, 2012
India wins. Too bad.
The Oxford Poverty and Human Development initiative, together with the U.N., is now using a new method to measure global poverty. Here’s what they found: Eight Indian states account for more poor people than the 26 poorest African nations put together.
What does this mean? Besides Yikes!? It means a terrible number of Indians are suffering. It means they lack food, education, and health care. And it means they are more helplessly powerless than ever.
Right now I’m on a diet, trying to lose some weight. And I’m complaining about those rising gas prices.
God, forgive me.
Tags: 21st century abolitionist, Blessings in India, India
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Tuesday, February 28th, 2012
A Call to Action for Modern Society
Advocate Offers Tools to End Horrific Practice
FROM: Ginny Grimsley
National Print Campaign Manager (see below)
In January, MSNBC.com posted a report of its four-month investigation into a slavery network emanating in Eastern Europe. Every year, it says, some 200,000 women and girls are smuggled out of impoverished former Soviet countries and sent to the Middle East, Western Europe and the United States, where they’re held captive.
In Haiti, UNICEF reported thousands of children were illegally trafficked out of the country following the devastating earthquakes two years ago. Selling orphaned children as slaves is a common problem following natural disasters, it says.
“Modern-day slavery is an even bigger problem than it was during the years of legalized slave trade from Africa to the Americas,” says Lucia Mann, the daughter of a woman who was held as a sex slave in South Africa in the 1940s. Mann, a former journalist, tells a slightly fictionalized version of her family’s story in Rise Above Hate & Anger (www.luciamann.com).
There are ways individuals can help end the suffering and reach out a hand to victims, says Mann, who created the Modern-Day Slave Reporting Centre as a tool to address the problem. Here are details about the reporting center and other resources.
• At The Modern-Day Slave Reporting Centre, www.mdsrc.org, anyone who suspects a person is being held captive, or any person who is being held their will, can file a report. The information will be reported to law enforcement officers and the person filing can request they remain a confidential source. The Web site also includes links to relevant law-enforcement agencies in Canada and the United States.
• At www.slaveryfootprint.org, people can take a short online survey that calculates the number of slaves working for you around the world based on the clothes, cars, electronic items and other consumer goods you own. The number is calculated according to what’s known about slave labor in the regions where the raw materials are produced and the goods are manufactured. (Google Chrome is required to take the survey.)
• At www.chainstorereaction.com, are email prepared letters and surveys to any of 1,566 companies asking what steps they’re taking to ensure no slave labor is used in their supply chains. Companies who complete the survey and go out of their way to describe ongoing and current efforts are tagged with a “Thank You.” Companies that complete the survey are tagged with “View Response.” As of mid-January, 70 companies ranging from Fruit of the Loom to Campbell’s Soup had earned a “Thank You.” Another 25, including Avon and Best Buy, had completed the survey. Most, though, had not responded despite numerous emails. Duracell, for instance, was sent 432 emails and Bounty was sent 221.
• In California, the Transparency in Supply Chains Act became effective Jan. 1. It requires retailers and manufacturers with gross receipts of $100 million to disclose what they’ve done – or haven’t done – to eliminate slavery in their supply chains. While there are no punitive consequences, advocates say the law will raise awareness and allow consumers to reward or punish companies with their shopping choices. Residents of other states can lobby legislators for a similar law.
“There is nowhere in the world now where slavery is legal, and yet more than 27 million people are held captive as forced laborers or sex slaves,” Mann says. “That’s more than twice the number enslaved during 400 years of trans-Atlantic trading.
Raising Americans’ awareness and concern is the first step to ending slavery, Mann says.
“If there is no money to be made from enslaving people, it will end.”
About Lucia Mann
Lucia Mann was born in British colonial South Africa in the wake of World War II and lives in British Columbia, Canada. She retired from freelance journalism in 1998 and wrote Rise Above Hate & Anger to give voice to those who suffered brutalities and captivity decades ago.
If you would like to run the above article, please feel free to do so. I am able to provide images if you would like some to accompany it. If you’re interested in interviewing Lucia Mann via phone/email, let me know and I’ll gladly work out details. Lastly, please let me know if you’d be interested in receiving a copy of her book, Rise Above Hate & Anger, for possible review.
Ginny Grimsley
National Print Campaign Manager
News and Experts
3748 Turman Loop #101
Wesley Chapel, FL 33544
Tel: 727-443-7115, Extension 207
www.newsandexperts.com
Tags: 21st century abolitionist, 21st century slavery, Eastern Europe, Haiti, Lucia Mann, slavery today
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Saturday, February 11th, 2012
February is Black History Month. Which means it’s a great time to stir up reminisces about some of our country’s African-American greats.
DID YOU KNOW THAT:
- In 1773, slave poet Phillis Wheatley wrote “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral,” the first published book by an African American?
- Nat Turner, an enslaved African-American preacher, led the most significant slave uprising in American history?
- George Washing Carver, agricultural chemist, discovered 300 products that could be made from peanuts?
- Fredrick Douglass founded an abolitionist newspaper called the North Star?
- Harriet Tubman, best known for her work on the underground railroad, was never captured?
- In 1870, Hiram Rhoads Revels (R-MS) became the first African American U.S. Senator?
- Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier when he is signed to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947?
- Howard University’s first female law student, who also became the first black woman lawyer in 1972, was Charlotte Ray?
- 5,000 Blacks, both slaves and freemen, fought in the Continental Army on the Patriot side during the American Revolution?
- African slaves combined elements of several African tribal languages with English to creat their own unique language known as Gullah?
- The Father of Gospel Music was Thomas A. Dorsey?
- In 1964, Martin Luther King, Jr. received the Nobel Peace Prize?
- A nuclear-powered submarine is named after inventor George Washington Carver?
- The Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott lasted throughout the year of 1956?
- School segregation was determined to be inherently unequal and in violation of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by the landmark Supreme Court decision Brown vs. Board of Education (1954)?
- The first black person to hold a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court was Thurgood Marshall?
- Colin Powell, former Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of State was born in Harlem?
- Barack Obama became the first African-American president and the country’s 44th president in 2009?
Can you add to this list? Let’s make it pages long!
Tags: 21st century abolitionist, Barack Obama, Black History Month, Charlotte Ray, Colin Powell, Fredrick Douglas, George Washington Carver, Grace in Africa, Gullah, Harriet Tubman, Hiram Rhoads Revels, Howard University, Jackie Robinson, Jr., Martin Luther King, Nat Turner, Phillis Wheatley, The Call of Zulina, The Triumph of Grace, The Voyage of Promise, Thomas A. Dorsey, Thurgood Marshall
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Tuesday, January 17th, 2012
I know, I know. Everyone wants a donation from you. Well, not everyone. This just in from International Justice Mission (IJM):
Over the last year, you’ve stood with IJM in advocating for the reauthorization of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPRA) – the foundation of our country’s efforts to combat human trafficking and slavery around the world. You have helped secure broad bi-partisan support in the House and Senate for this critical legislation, and the bill passed out of key committees in both bodies in October.
Since that time, however, the bill’s progress has become mired in the highly charged debates that are typical of election year politics. The Senate bill, S. 1301, is stronger than its House counterpart and is the closest to passing — it just needs to be brought to the Senate floor for a vote.
This is why I want to ask for your help again. Please take two minutes today to call your Senators and ask for their help in getting the TVPRA passed as soon as possible. Feel free to use the sample script for your call, and let us know how it goes by contacting us at justicecampaigns@ijm.org.
If passed, this bill will make a difference for children and families who need help. We are deeply grateful for your ongoing support!
Eileen Campbell
Director of Justice Campaigns
P.S. You can see whether your Senator has co-sponsored the TVPRA here.
Feel free to use this sample script for your call:
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“Hi, my name is [YOUR NAME] and I’m calling from [YOUR TOWN, STATE] to voice my support for the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, S. 1301. I’d like to ask the Senator to do everything in [HIS/HER] power to get this important bill passed. This legislation helps to combat human trafficking around the globe and right here in [YOUR STATE], an issue I really care about. Would you please pass my message on to the Senator? Thank you!”
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Tags: 21st century abolitionist, Grace in Africa, IJM, National slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, The Faith of Ashish, Trafficking, TVPRA
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Thursday, January 12th, 2012
Haven’t yet gotten into the Grace in Africa trilogy?
Now is your chance. Today and tomorrow, January 12 and 13, book 1–The Call of Zulina–is free on Kindle.
Tags: author, Call of Zulina, free, Grace in Africa, Kindle, writer
Posted in Blog, The Call of Zulina | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 10th, 2012
Shortly before Christmas, President Obama declared that January 2012 would be National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Thank you, Mr. President. Not a moment too soon!
Did you you know there are over 27 million slaves worldwide? Sadly, it’s true. And it is in our power to help put an end to this scourge.
Nearly a century and a half after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, President Obama issued this proclamation:
Presidential Proclamation — National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, 2012
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
Nearly a century and a half ago, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation — a document that reaffirmed the noble goals of equality and freedom for all that lie at the heart of what it means to live in America. In the years since, we have tirelessly pursued the realization and protection of these essential principles. Yet, despite our successes, thousands of individuals living in the United States and still more abroad suffer in silence under the intolerable yoke of modern slavery. During National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, we stand with all those who are held in compelled service; we recognize the people, organizations, and government entities that are working to combat human trafficking; and we recommit to bringing an end to this inexcusable human rights abuse.
That’s how it begins. To read more, follow this link National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.
Tags: 21st century abolitionist, bonded labor, justice, Micah 6:8, National slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, Obama, Presidential Proclamation, slavery, slavery today, Trafficking
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Saturday, December 24th, 2011
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
to console those who mourn in Zion,
to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning,
the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
Isaiah 61:1-3
The Savior has come!
Blessed Christmas
Tags: acceptable year of the Lord, beauty for ashes, Christmas, heal brokenhearted, Isaiah 61:1-3, joy for mourning, liberty to captives, New Year
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Monday, December 12th, 2011
Taped to my computer is the picture of a small girl in a ragged blue dress. I first saw her in a huge trash dump in India where she lives, busily searching for something her father could sell… or she could eat.
I tried to talk to her, but she stared in silence with her huge brown eyes. Then I blurted out the question I ask of children everywhere: “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
The little girl continued to stare. As I turned to walk away, she whispered, “I can’t be anything.”
The world might look at that little one, standing ragged and barefoot in the garbage dump with a tattered collection bag over her frail shoulder, and agree with her. But they are wrong. Two Christian Indian women have started a school in the dump, and I’ve seen the options education can open up. Donors support the women. Other donors send school supplies. Caring people in diverse places pray for both the teachers and the children.
None of us need do everything. We only need to do our part.
Blessed Christmas!
Tags: 21st century abolitionist, Blessings in India, Christmas giving, empowerment, Forgotten Girls, India
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Thursday, December 8th, 2011
For two weeks Wardo walked, her 1-year-old daughter on her back and her 4-year-old son trudging at her side.
They were fleeing Somalia’s horrible famine. They had almost reached the end of their journey when the little boy collapsed. The child didn’t even have the strength to drink, so Wardo poured the little water she had left over his head to cool him off. She begged other struggling people to help her, but no one dared stop. They were too worried for their own survival.
Wardo had to make a horrible choice: Which of her little ones had the best chance of survival? Too exhausted to cry, she left her son lying on the road.
I know, I know. Too much knowledge of horror is overwhelming. On the other hand, if we don’t know we can’t act.
Have a blessed Christmas. Give the gift of rescue and restoration to moms like Wardo and their little ones. Check out www.ijm.org/giftsoffreedom.
“Finally, I decided to leave him behind to his God.”
Wardo Mohamud Yusuf
Tags: 21st century abolitionist, Africa, Christmas gift, IJM, International Justice Mission, Somalia
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Monday, November 21st, 2011
Breaking News Flash: I was just notified that The Triumph of Grace, book 3 in the Grace in Africa trilogy, was named in Booklist’s top 10 Inspirational Fiction books of the year. It was featured in the November 15 issue of the American Library Association’s Booklist Magazine.
Cool, huh? Especially since book 2 of the series, The Voyage of Promise, received the same honor last year.
In celebration of this, I will be giving away a signed copy of The Triumph of Grace. My impartial husband Dan will draw a name at random from all who stop by and leave a comment to this post. We’ll have one drawing on this website, which is built around this trilogy and dedicated to social justice and 21st century abolition, and another on www.kaystrom.wordpress.com . Visit both, leave a comment on each. You will double your chances of winning!
Yay for Grace!
Tags: 21st century abolitionist, Africa, Grace in Africa, historical fiction, slave ships, slavery, The Triumph of Grace, writing
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Friday, November 11th, 2011
This Sunday, November 13, is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. As you consider the many areas that need prayer, please add Afghanistan to your list. Last month the U.S. State Department reported this devastated country now has no church buildings left.
That is not to say that the church doesn’t exist in Afghanistan. Only that each believer exists alone. Can you imagine the fear? Can you imagine the isolation? Can you imagine the discouragement?
This is just one of the desperate places, of course. Please join with Christians around the world who will be in prayer for the more than 100 million believers now suffering persecution.
We are, after all, family.
Tags: Afghanistan, Day of prayer for persecuted church, persecution
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Thursday, November 3rd, 2011
He was an Iraqi soldier fighting under Saddam Hussein in Desert Storm, one of a privileged class who lived well and wanted for little. Amazingly, he was a Christian. When Saddam rained poison gas down on the Kurds as punishment for their lack of support, the soldier saw it all—the terrified parents rushing terrified children forward, the young men running with their grandmas on their backs, the families tossing aside the last of their worldly goods in their struggle to escape the poison gas.
The soldier gathered his own family together. He locked the front door of his lovely house and tossed the keys to his luxury car to the neighbor. Then he joined the crowd of running Kurds. He would not be back. He knew it.
Saddam Hussein is no more. The Kurds are living a better life. The soldier? He and his family have cast their lots with the Kurds.
The soldier’s compassion brought his family to the Kurds, but it is their faith that sustains them there. His family are all Christians. But not they alone, for day by day, more Kurdish Iraqis join them. It is the family of God at work.
Tags: 21st century abolitionist, Iraq, Kurdish Christians, Kurds, Micah 6:8, oppression, Saddam Hussein
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Thursday, October 27th, 2011
I just received an email from an Egyptian friend. She said, “We have gained so much. We are so hopeful for the future. But I am frightened, too. What if we are like the Israelites after they finally got freedom? What if we, too, forget?”
Great question.
Something amazing happens after such a momentous time. Or maybe I should say something terrible. Or terribly amazing. We think, “This is indelibly engraved in my mind and on my heart. I will never forget it. Never ever!”
But time goes by. Other things happen. The memory fades. And, just like the Israelites, we do forget.
I turned off my email and prayed for my Egyptian friend. I prayed for all the Christians in that land. I prayed for the entire country.
Lest we all forget.
Tags: 21st century abolitionist, Arab Spring, Egypt, forget, freedom, Israelites, Micah 6:8, remember
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Monday, October 3rd, 2011
King Abdullah, Saudi Arabia’s reformer king, took a good big step for women’s rights. He decreed that women would actually be allowed to vote. For the very first time. They can even run as candidates in municipal council elections.
Yay!
But the very next day, he had a woman arrested for defying the kingdom’s ban on women driving. That’s right, she will stand trial for daring to drive a car.
Evidently there is a deep chasm between the image the king wants to show to the world and the reality inside Saudi Arabia.
So sad.
Tags: 21st century abolitionist, King Abdullah, Saudi Arabia, Saudi woman arrested for driving, saudi woman drives
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Tuesday, September 27th, 2011
I just finished The Love of Divena, book 3 of the Blessings in India trilogy. People often say to me: Tell me about India. I hardly know anything about it.
Okay. Here are 26 interesting facts about the country of India:
1. India is about 1/3 the size of the United States, yet with a population of 1.16 billion people it is the second most populous country in the world. It accounts for 16% of the world’s population.
2. India is the largest democracy in the world.
3. Although India has 22 officially recognized languages and almost 2000 dialects, it is the largest English-speaking nation. The official language is Hindi. Sanskrit is considered as the classical language of India. English is the language of business and education.
4. The first and greatest civilization in ancient India developed around the valley of the Indus River (now Pakistan) around 3000 B.C. Called the Indus Valley civilization, this early empire was larger than any other, including Egypt andMesopotamia
5. After the Indus Civilization collapsed in 2000 B.C., groups of Indo-Europeans called Aryans (“noble ones”) traveled to northwest India and reigned during what is called the Vedic age. The mingling of ideas from the Aryan and Indus Valley religions formed the basis of Hinduism. The Aryans also recorded the Vedas, the first Hindu scriptures, and introduced a caste system based on ethnicity and occupation
6. Christopher Columbus, attracted by India’s wealth, searched for a shorter route to get there. Instead, he mistakenly discovered the Americas. Hence, American “Indians.”
7. It is illegal to take Indian currency (rupees) out of India.
8. Because of a preference for sons over daughters, India has one of the world’s highest abortion rates—and a growing deficit of girls.
9. While most Indians live on less than two dollars a day, more than a million are millionaires.
10. Cows freely wander the streets of India’s cities. They are considered sacred and will often wear a tilak, a Hindu symbol of good fortune.
11. The largest employer in the world is the Indian railway system. It employs over a million people
12. The game of chess was invented in India. In fact, the word “chess” comes from the Sanskrit chaturanga, meaning “four members of an army”—which were mostly likely elephants, horses, chariots, and foot soldiers
13. The Indian flag has three horizontal bands of color: saffron for courage and sacrifice, white for truth and peace, and green for faith, fertility, and chivalry. A Buddhist dharma chakra, or wheel of life, is in the middle.
14. The fold and color of clothing are viewed as important markers of social classification in India. And a woman can be seen as either a prostitute or a holy person depending on how she parts her hair.
15. The Bengal tiger is India’s national animal. Once found everywhere in the country, fewer than 4,000 tigers are left in the wild.
16. Tradition holds that Jesus’ disciple Thomas first brought Christianity to India and was martyred there by Brahmins.
17. Alexander the Great of Macedonia helped bring India into contact with the West. After his death, a link between Europe and the East would not be restored until Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama landed in Calcutta in 1498.
18. The British Raj, or British rule of India, lasted from 1858 to 1947. It influenced everything from Indian architecture to its education system, transportation, and politics. India’s worst famines are associated with British rule.
19. According to the constitution of India, the country is a secular republic. Indian citizens are free to follow any religion. Over 80% of Indians are Hindus. Muslims, at 13%, are the largest minority. Officially, 2.5% are Christians, though this is certainly underestimated. Many Christians masquerade as Hindus to keep from losing their benefits.
20. India won independence from British rule on August 15th, 1947. The freedom struggle involved various political organizations and non-violence movements. The agreement was a country split into India and Pakistan. The partition displaced 1.27 million people and resulted in the death of at least a million people.
21. Mohandas K. Gandhi is known around the world as Mahatma, which is a title of honor that means “Great Soul” in Sanskrit. He devoted his life to free India from British rule peacefully and based his campaign on civil disobedience. He was assassinated in 1948.
22. India has the world’s largest movie industry—Bollywood–based in the city of Mumbai. The B in “Bollywood” comes from Bombay, the former name for Mumbai. Almost all Bollywood movies are tear-jerker musicals.
23. Mumbai (Bombay) is India’s largest city, with a population of 15 million.
24. The decimal system was invented in India in 100 B.C. The concept of zero as a number is also attributed to India. Indians made significant contributions to calculus, trigonometry, and algebra.
25. India’s national fruit is the mango. The national bird is the peacock, which was initially bred for food
26. Most Indians rinse their hands, legs, and face before eating a meal. It is considered proper to eat with the right hand. Women eat after everyone is finished. Wasting food is considered a sin
Tags: Blessings in India, India, writing
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Thursday, September 22nd, 2011
Quote from Time.com:
“If a new country is
born and no one sees it online, does it really exist?”
Ask the people in South Sudan.
They celebrated their first independence day on July 9, 2011.
Have you heard much about the hard-fought new country?
Me either.
What a shame!
Tags: 21st century abolitionist, Africa, Grace in Africa, justice, newest country, South Sudan, Suda, writing
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Sunday, September 18th, 2011
Ashish: Would you like to know more about me? Read Margaret Daley’s interview with my father, Virat.
Tags: 21st century abolitionist, Ashish, Blessings in India, historical fiction, India, Margaret Daley, The Faith of Ashish, writing
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Wednesday, September 14th, 2011
Free Kindle edition
“The Faith of Ashish”
Wednesday, September 14, through Friday, September 16.
If you love the book, please write me a glowing review! If you don’t like it, please give me your scathing comments in private. 
Tags: Blessings in India, bonded labor, FREE eBook, historical fiction, India, slavery today, The Faith of Ashish
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Saturday, September 10th, 2011
Okay, question here:
How would you respond to a presidential candidate who went off topic and expressed real concern for people who are starving to death in Somalia?
Whose heart was truly broken for the 750,000 men, women, children, and especially babies, who are in real danger of dying between now and New Year’s Day 2012?
Whose tears honestly flow for women who must bury their little ones beside the road as they flee a horrific situation?
Who, along with railing over the debt and fighting for party priorities, also presented a plan to respond to a situation to which the world’s governments and private donors have provided less than half what is so desperately needed? In a country with no oil?
What would you think of such a candidate?
Me, too.
Tags: Africa, justice, mercy, Micah 6:8, Somalia, starvation
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