the world is in pieces...not like reeses

Today was e=mc², and by that I mean e(today)=marvelous Chelsey squared!!!

I finished the book that I was working on—the one that I told you was so horribly tragic with the guy dying in Afghanistan! Well, let me take that back for a second. I closed the book happy, and with a new perspective. Turns out there is a note from the author (Heather Huffman) in the back about taking action to end human slavery and trafficking. Prostitution as a result of young girls being sold is a very, very real deal and is common throughout the world. Don’t think that the U.S. is an exception. I heard of a ring that was broken up in Illinois. The author made the book free on the iPad with the hope that it would encourage people to see prostitution from another point of view and to try to help end slavery by purchasing Fair Trade products or donating to World Vision’s Hope for Sexually Exploited Girls fund. Legit stuff. Throwaway is the title of this book about a girl who comes from horrible circumstances, defies the odds, and then tries to prevent this recurring circle by helping 18 year olds who are no longer taken care of by the state and have no where to go and no way to support themselves.

This afternoon I went to the Protestant Cemetery and old Protestant church that are tourist attractions here. There were grave stones of U.S. Naval officers from the 1800s, and plenty of them. I always feel such a peace and honor to be among military, living or dead. The sacrifice that military men, women, and their families make is huge. It was really neat to see the headstones that told where the men were from—I have pride in my country and the values it has fought for.

There is a park close to our apartment building that has these neat little tile mosaics on the ground. There also is a lot of greenery, which I love. It’s quite the hang out on weekends for all ages, but specifically men playing some Chinese game similar to checkers and older women on the free public exercise equipment.

(a poem in the park--this is one of the many translations)

Next door to the park was a building with a free World Press Photo exhibit sponsored by Cannon. The pictures were amazing, and the captions that went with them told of a world with great pain and chaos. I couldn’t take pictures in the gallery, but this is the pamphlet that displays one of the pieces of art. This girl had her nose and ears cut off after she ran away from her husband. She’d complained about abuse by her in-laws, and when she ran away, men took her into the woods and cut her nose and ears off. It is said that when a woman disgraces her husband, it’s like cutting off his nose (figuratively), so they did this to her literally to prove a point. She was then discarded as I understood it, but rescued by a group called Women 4 Afghan Women, and then sent to America for psychological therapy and care.

After that, I went to Starbucks. Mostly I went because I thought they had free wifi to upload my pictures from today with, but also to take a picture of my drink for my old Starbucks boss. They do not have free wifi, so that didn’t work. Hopefully I can put some pictures up on here, but I’m not sure if they will upload right….so stay tuned til internet arrives in October!

On my way to the office (where I eventually came to use the internet after the no free wifi let down, I ran into some Macanese high school girls at a popular intersection. They were asking for donations for the Macau Deaf Association. Once they realized they needed to speak English and I needed to speak slowly, we were able to communicate. What a great thing these 16 and 17 year old girls were doing on their Saturday! I tried to communicate just how proud I was :) Here's the stickers they handed out for donations. I accidentally tore it when I took it off to take a picture :/

Moral of the story: what are you doing to help your world today? A world in need is this world indeed.  

Have a great golly gees gusto kind of day!