[caption id="attachment_1193" align="aligncenter" width="175" caption="----My cousin Jennie----"][/caption]

So I have a dear cousin who lives in Sudan. She’s actually my mom’s cousin’s daughter.

And she’s freaking awesome.

Just last week she posted about how she helped this victim of sex-trafficking escape Sudan and make it back to her home country. The young girl’s story is unbelievable. It’s definitely worth a look, a prayer, a pass-a-long to friends, and a donation to help her do even more.

Here’s how it starts:

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Picture this.

You’re a fifteen year-old girl in a developed nation. You attend high school, practice piano, and participate in after-school sports. You’re dealing with all the drama of teenage relationships, having recently broken up with your first boyfriend, when your mother tells you she wants to take you to another country to visit some extended family…(click here to finish reading)

I just threw something away. While this is not a rare occurrence for me, this time was different.

I remembered.

I could see the children in Liberia begging, waiting, hoping beyond hope that our junk would become their treasure. Every time we would finish a bottle of water, dozens of children would flock to us, hoping to be the recipients of one of the empty “useless” bottles.

Remembering this is good for me. To whom much is given much is required. I have so much that I casually discard things that would be precious to friends in other places.

I was looking through my journal last night. The journal my sister Mandy gave me right before I left the country for the very first time, bound for Africa by myself. It seemed appropriate to share the first entry here.
1/06/2002 3:30pm MST
Am in the airport in Denver (DIA)…am a little filled with apprehension about the 16.5  hours of flying ahead of me, and the changeover in London, but the ache in my heart to explore and learn more about this world, God’s world, is  too great. The author of small stories would have me believe that things are safer here in the US. He would have me put off adventure and embrace safety and the mundane.

I will not succumb.

Instead I throw off the small meaningless story and embrace the unknown adventure that awaits me as I look to fulfill the role chosen for me in the larger story.
I choose the way of romance and danger!
And with that I left my country forever. Though I’ve physically traveled back and forth many times, my heart never fully returned. It been amazing to see the truth that simple, prayer has borne out in my …