Ghana Through His Eyes -- Guest Post

Meeting some of our Compassion children, encountering severe poverty for the first time, spending time with trafficked children and taking part in the negotiations to rescue child slaves...  not your everyday teenage boy's experience.  

Joshua and I were invited by Compassion International to share his perspective on his experiences in Ghana this past November, as well as how it felt as his mother to provide this experience to him.  

We shared in this post on their website today:  Changing One Teenager's Perspective

To read my other guest posts on their website, click here:  JD / Compassion 

Ghana Project Update

Earlier in 2011, we learned about the scourge of slavery in Ghana, specifically on Lake Volta... children being sold into slavery and forced to toil endlessly at the hands of their slave master, often losing hope of ever seeing freedom again. 

We also learned that there are organizations dedicated to not only negotiating the rescues of these children, but also of providing for the children once they are freed from slavery.  A child can not be rescued without a future being secured for them.

Our goal was to offer financial support to increase the resources available to rescued children so that the maximum amount of children can be rescued and given the best opportunities possible. 

When we spoke to PACODEP to assess what would be the most effective way to realize our goal, we were told that their initial 3 classroom unit built at the Village Of Life was at max capacity, and that more classroom space was their greatest need.  They explained that more classroom space would help provide an education to more rescued children.

At the time, that seemed to us to be the most effective way to expand the available resources so that more children could be effectively rescued.

Touch A Life Foundation, a ministry focused solely on the needs of trafficked children, is currently supporting 28 of the 38 children at the Village Of Life.  They have worked alongside PACODEP for several years to collectively address the issues of child trafficking in Ghana, as well as the provision and support for rescued children.  TAL currently also supports 47 children in their temporary facility in Accra.  We spent time with these kids as well during our time in Ghana.  

(Photo by Touch A Life)

When Touch A Life contacted us at the end of September, we discussed the needs of the rescued children and the heart of our mission/goal.  They offered to help us implement these changes and also offered to match the donated funds to help us meet our goal.  We accepted their offer, based on their extensive experience, their integrity and transparency, as well as their ability to help us meet our goal.  The funds were transferred over to them at the end of October. 

In order to ensure our funds would be handled with the highest possible degree of responsibility and transparency, TAL conducted a thorough review of the current resources for trafficked children at the Village Of Life. 

Key points of their review, including but not limited to:

·  An additional two classrooms have been built adjacent to the original three classrooms at the Village Of Life, bringing the total classrooms to five.

·  Only 8 of the 28 rescued children sponsored by TAL at the Village of Life are receiving an education.  The majority of the children currently educated at the village of life are from the neighboring community.  Note:  We understand that there is a benefit to educating trafficked and non trafficked children together, and that there is great value in providing education to the community’s children.

TAL concluded that since roughly only half of the rescued children currently in Kete Krachi are receiving an education at the Village Of Life, there is sufficient classroom space for trafficked children at the Village Of Life within the five existing classrooms.

By comparison, all 47 formerly trafficked children in TAL's care in Accra are currently supported, sheltered, rehabilitated and educated by Touch A Life. 

In 2012, TAL will be transferring the 47 children from Accra to a permanent facility that is being established in Kumasi.  This facility will provide for up to 100 children in TAL’s holistic rehabilitation and care program, more than doubling their current capacity to provide support to rescued children.  Since there are well established schools in close proximity to the new Kumasi facility which will provide integration to the children with local non-trafficked children, no funds would be needed for constructing classrooms.  Instead, funding would be focused on the housing, care and development of the children.  This will make a tremendous impact on the children who were once enslaved, but have been released into freedom.

While classroom space is still an integral part of the program at the Village Of Life, with the classroom space already having been expanded to five classrooms, there is currently ample space for trafficked children to receive an education at the Village Of Life.  This ultimately changes the needs for the resources we have raised.

After much time spent in prayer, discussion and research, our team realized that in order to serve the best interest of the trafficked children, it is imperative that we reconsider our initial plan to simply expand classroom space at the Village Of Life.  We owe it to God, to the donors, but most of all, to the trafficked children, to protect the best interests of the trafficked children in Ghana.

We have carefully come to a decision that we feel will serve the best interest the children still awaiting rescue, as well as the children currently rescued.   PACODEP and Touch A Life, although two organizations operating separately and independently, both have the same goal at the heart of their mission -- to do what's best for these trafficked children.  Our decision will help these two organization meet their goals, while still maintaining the integrity of our mission -- to provide expanded resources to the trafficked children in ways that would help further the abolishment of child slavery in Ghana.

Out of the funds raised currently held in trust by TAL, $5,000 USD will be provided to PACODEP, to join the $1,000 we have already provided to them prior to our travels for construction materials.  These funds will be used by PACODEP to provide the construction and labor for one additional classroom.  This will help raise the amount of classroom space from the original three to a total of six.  This classroom will be equipped with sewing machines and other resources that can be used by the older children currently residing at the Village Of Life to gain necessary skills for successful employment. 

The remaining $24,000 of the funds raised will be used by TAL to establish the Kumasi facilities, greatly increasing the resources available to rescued children.  Full accountability and transparency of how these funds are used for the Kumasi facilities will be readily provided by Touch A Life.

Any concerns or questions as to the distribution of these funds or how this decision was reached, please feel free to contact Touch A Life or our team, at Africa@beyondmeasure.me

Please note that I will be in Cameroon until the end of February, and will be unable to respond until my return.  

Funding Freedom - Priceless Gift

Half a world away, and yet right here in our hearts, Richard still awaits freedom.

It's now been 33 days since we met him face to face in Ghana, time still of the utmost essence for this young boy whose life is fast fading.  His face and his plight has struck a chord in all of us, from the members of our team who met him face to face and desperately prayed through the negotiations, to the people we shared his story with.  He has, for us all, become the face of child slavery, the constant reminder that the work is not over.  He's not free, and he's not alone.

I sat in church last Sunday, watching with the rest of our congregation the video testimony of God's provision for our mission in Ghana.  Although the words from my interview were familiar to me, I had not seen the final video and was not prepared for the acute impact of seeing Richard's photo flashed on the large screens as I explained in the narrative that we had not secured his freedom.

Sobs immediately shook me to the core.

It wouldn't be the first time, nor would it be the last.


As I attended the second service, I thought the impact would have been cushioned, having known what to expect and bracing myself for it.

Not so.


I am not alone, not in having been moved by Richard's face, that haunting look in his eyes and his desperate situation...  nor am I alone in wanting to make a difference for him and the children still awaiting freedom.


It would be all too easy to feel completely overwhelmed and helpless in the face of such a serious situation, but that's simply the enemy's way of distracting us from what we CAN do.  The same was true in the vision of building the school -- those who struggled to see it as possible were perhaps simply focused on the seemingly impossible.  It's understandable.

What can we do?

Our first call to action has always been prayer, and it remains as such.  I recently shared in an interview that while on the island, one could feel "absolute darkness mixed with absolute light".  The primary battle when it comes to slavery is deeply spiritual, and to intercede with prayer on behalf of these children, even on behalf of the slave masters whose hearts need to be softened to the truth, is the most powerful weapon we can wield.

Our second call to action is prevention.  Compassion isn't merely a child sponsorship organization.  Their holistic child development approach impacts lives far beyond that of the sponsored child, and it ensures that these children and their families will be empowered against the dangers of slavery.

Our third course of action is to seed the fund that provides financial support and resources to those on the front-lines working toward the abolishment of slavery, negotiating and securing freedom, as well as supporting the rescued children through sponsorship until they reach adulthood.

It's not enough to simply rescue these children.  The need does not end there.  Once rescued, Touch A Life Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Texas, commits to providing for the children residing at the Village Of Life in Kete Krachi, as well as a second refuge close to Accra.  This includes but is not limited to food, shelter, clothing, education and medical care.

Many of the children we met at the Village Of Life are not yet sponsored.  Their needs are provided for through fundraising efforts and general donations made to Touch A Life.  At $150/month, sponsorships are often done through "Find Your Mark" chapters/groups, based on the story of Touch A Life founder Pam Cope having been touched by the plight of one young child slave on Lake Volta named Mark, and providing for his rescue and care.  Touch A Life foundation encourages everyone to also find their "Mark" and make an impact through sponsorship.

We found our Mark.  His name is Richard.

For those who are unable to commit to sponsorship, a general donation can still be made to Touch A Life for the care of children like our beloved Samson*, one of the most delightful children I have ever met in my entire life.  Samson* was one of 116 children rescued in May as part of a large anti-slavery crackdown on Lake Volta.  At five years of age, he is currently the youngest child at the Village Of Life.  The joy of freedom shines so bright through him.

This year, during the holidays, every donation made to Touch A Life until the end of December for the care of these children will be matched by a generous donor.  This helps provide children like Innocence, Patrick, and all the others currently at the Village Of Life with all that they need to overcome their past and live their future to their full potential.

Remember the classroom space?  The Village Of Life was at maximum capacity and without more classroom space, it hampered their ability to release more children.  The same holds true for the financial support given to Touch A Life.  The more financial resources Touch A Life has to care for the rescued children, the more rescued children they will be able to support.

We strongly encourage you to give to this amazing ministry before the end of December in order to make the most of the matching program, but we also encourage you to give to this organization at any time throughout the year.

Last but not least, each and everyone of us can continue to share and spread awareness on modern-day-slavery.  If I had a dollar for every person that told me they did not know that slavery still existed today, let's just say a very large donation could have been made to Touch A Life foundation.  Information leads to transformation.




As for Richard, although we're somewhat limited to prayer and financial support, there is great news:  A sponsor has stepped forward for Richard, committing to sponsoring him in full should his freedom be granted.  This is nothing short of an amazing answer to prayer, and such a beautiful, priceless gift.  

I spoke to a member of PACODEP's team a few days ago, and was told that they are preparing to return shortly to the island where Richard is in order to continue the negotiations for his release.



As we prayerfully wait for an update, let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (Gal 6:9)


Let's show the enemy that we are not giving up.  The harvest belongs only to Him.

Missional Home

Home is where the 'hard' is.

With each "You're back!!  How was Africa?", my heart aches, permanently bruised by the experience, and yet longing to lean into that bruise, leaving no room for numbness.  Who among them would understand that it was harder to come back than to be there?  Who would understand that while some of us missed home,   I struggled to miss it at all.

Coming back nearing Christmas has made what was already difficult even more so.

The contrast is what's hard.  Going from extreme poverty that lays heavy on the world like an ashen blanket, to the excess of north american Christmas, skewed and stretched away from it's Holy meaning and origin all under the guise of "giving" being good.  What is considered good in spending 450 billion dollars annually on Christmas in America when a mere 20 billion, just four percent, could provide clean water to everyone in the world, including the more than 20 thousand children who die each day from lack of access to clean water?

If poverty covers the developing world like an ashen blanket, with beauty rising from underneath it all...  does spiritual poverty hides throughout the developed nations like thin air, a stealthy cover deceiving us all into thinking all is well?


Shaun Groves had warned us all -- coming back home from the geographical mission field is where the culture shock begins, when society would want to push you back into the middle ground, the balance, but where our heart cries out in protest, knowing instead that Christ calls on us to not live of the world, but live radically instead.

I wanted it long before I felt the rust tinted and parched soil of Ghana under my feet, my experiences there not quenching, but further creating a deeper thirsting for radical.

Posts like this simultaneously manage to strike a chord and hit a nerve, not because it convicts the already convicted even further, but because as much as I want what He wants, it doesn't take away the bittersweet of seeing what He has given someone else.


A husband who loves and lives like Christ.

Children who lead in matters of faith.

A radically right-side-up Christmas.

A child not born of them.

A full time mission in Africa.



I consider myself a citizen of heaven, away from Home, longing and living to be there.  As such, it was hard for me to understand why going to Ghana felt like I was coming 'home' without ever having been there, and why coming back 'home' from Ghana was much harder than coming back from Honduras last year.

If Home for me is heaven, leaving me perpetually homesick, what is this new feeling of home on earth?

It was as I was leaving for Ghana that it all begin to make sense, but I couldn't yet put it into words.

This morning, I sat down to write, the original topic being clean water, and with each sentence, He was re-writing my words to lead to this.  I know better than to force the words back to my own.  His pen is so much stronger than mine.


I want nothing more than to live completely in the freedom of a radical lifestyle, a life that would seem upside down in this broken world, but would be right side up for His Kingdom.


To give Christmas away.

To follow in His footsteps through the human example of Katie.

To sell belongings and aim for a promotion at work, not because I want or need more money or some empty title, but because it would enable more children and families to be released from poverty or slavery, in His name.

To live against the grain of North American living.

To leave it all behind, yes, even family, pack nothing (or maybe just my camera and my words) and move to a developing nation to be His hands and feet there, living among the world's poor spiritually wealthiest, learning, growing, giving of Him, unable to sleep each night from the sheer joy of being there, where I most feel comfortable in the uncomfortable.


And yet, I've noticed more and more that it's not me holding me back from it all, but Him, and He isn't holding me back as much as He is pushing me forward.  I want to leave it all for Him and sometimes His answer is no, teaching me that living radically is relative, personal, subjective and individual, and that He guides my steps, slowly, carefully.  He's also showing me that right now, the radical for me is in the allowing Him to place me where He wants, and not where the world would expect or understand.

Who determines the balance, us, or Christ?

Eschewing the world more and more so that human voices and influence dim and fade, turning away when the world's voices only add confusion or division, I seek to know what the Word speaks to me, where He leads me in the daily walk of life, trusting in the intimate ways He knows my heart and dances with me in the delicate minefield of my life.

He has shown me that to many, I am already living radically in ways the world can not understand by intentionally choosing to remain in a difficult marriage to an unbeliever whose increasingly convicted heart makes him restless, reckless and cold from discomfort...  an unbeliever for whom I pray for God's daily bread of love each morning as I awake and each night as I lay down.  It's a spiritual battle that leaves me exhausted and in need of mercy and grace daily, with a generous helping of fruit.  Being committed to him because of my commitment to Him is radical even though it shouldn't be, but if we simply only loved those who are easy to love, how radical would that be?  What would set us apart from the rest of the world?

Sometimes, living against the grain is simply parenting radically by choosing not to aim to raise happy children, but focusing instead on leading children to find joy in being responsible, well adjusted, giving and selfless. Teaching them by example that there is treasure in doing the difficult.

Sometimes radical simply means letting go of the church tithing that would offend and enrage your spouse and make him less trusting of church and religion (if possible), and accepting instead that for us, tithing looks different than the traditional giving to the local body of Christ.  God softened my husband's heart to child sponsorship, so rather than tithing to church, this is what God has given us as way to live in the balance.  My tithe to church becomes instead serving weekly with my time and gifts.

It's letting go of the desire to give Christmas away completely, and accepting that He helps me find the balance between having gifts under the tree and choosing instead to give it all up in order to offer gifts of hope elsewhere in the world.

It's coming to terms with the grief of having come to my limits of living simply.

It's giving grace and mercy radically.

It's being radically patient and loving, yet knowing when to walk away.


It's not comparing ourselves to others, and others to ourselves, when God shaped us each with the work of His hands, no two alike, and when we don't see the heart, only He does.


I don't have it all figured out, I don't always live it well.  Sometimes, I fail miserably, but in that failure and brokenness, He continues to grow and shape me.



God alone guides my balance at home between living my faith in ways that bring him to Christ, and living a faith that is also relational rather than divisional. I don't always get it right, in the eyes of the world or in the eyes of God.  Yet, even when I get it right in the eyes of God, the world doesn't understand or see what He sees, doesn't know the heart, convicts -- God, Judge & Jury of the human form.


I used to think of the mission field as leaving my home to go somewhere uncomfortable and hard for a short time, before returning to the comforts of life, the daily living...


I couldn't have been more wrong.

Not only has here become the uncomfortable and the hard daily living, but I've also learned that the mission field isn't simply something that only changes the others whose presence God leads us to enter and remain in, but instead, it is where He places us in the hard corners of the world, where He shapes us by saying "stay here, in the uncomfortable, and learn...  learn to seek only Me, through the people I have provided to you."


Going to Ghana felt like going home because I already knew that the uncomfortable there was comfort by contrast, where the greatest heartbreaks were within reach of hope, inconveniences were welcomed reminders, where redemption was palpable...

Ghana, where for a short while, the joy within could not be contained, bubbling to the surface and breaking into radiant smiles and laughter that originated from the toes and worked their way through the entire body, leaving it breathless...

Ghana, where thoughts of life back 'home' here on earth vanished, knowing all too well what I know too few would understand -- I'd never look back if He gave the call, either to stay there or go Home...  I kept hoping He would...

...  but the call never came, because His call to me was, for the time being, to return back to the missional home.  The missional home -- the hard corner of the world where life is smoothed the hard way, by chisel and sandpaper, where brokenness is more complex, where there is growth through hard eucharisteo... where He doesn't hold me back, but shapes me to depend on Him daily, in the present, in His presence...


Where I am a full time missionary for His kingdom, painfully learning to bridge the gap between where He needs me to be, and where I want to be.

Crash Course In Customer Service -- Letter To United Airlines

***** Update *****

Exactly 24 hours and 30 minutes after posting this and asking you all to share via every social media outlet available to you, a representative from United contacted me directly with a sincere apology and a good, productive conversation about what took place so that steps could be taken to find sustainable solutions for these issues.  I shared that my intentions in writing this post weren't to be "out to get them", but simply to help them realize the potential losses they could face if these issues weren't addressed.  Since our attempts to resolve this at through the proper channels created more problems, we simply had to resort to more effective means of getting their attention in order to solve the issue and help them take advantage of the opportunity to improve their business.  They expressed a genuine appreciation for that, and not only immediately issued the refund to Tia's credit card, but they will also be calling me back tomorrow to continue working with us to see what can be done to ensure that these problems don't repeat themselves.

I thanked them and promised to hold back the 'bloodhounds'.  I think I heard relief in her laughter. :o)

Last but not least, they read about our purpose for our travel to Ghana, commended us on our humanitarian work, and expressed their sincere regret on inadvertently making it so difficult for us to focus on the purpose of our mission.

We will see how the discussions continue tomorrow... I will keep you posted.

I can not thank you enough for your tremendous support -- my heart goes out to all of you who have emailed, commented and contacted me through various methods to share your horror stories.  I hope you also were able to obtain results, and I hope that this is truly the beginning of the end in this nightmare, and that all this will soon be rectified in full.


JD

******************************************

I’ll be honest, I don’t have a business degree, and for what it’s worth, I’m not a rocket scientist either.  In fact, I don’t consider myself to be of great intelligence, but I pray that I make up for that with common sense and wisdom.

That’s more than I can say for United Airlines in light of our recent experience with them.  We were simply trying to do good -- traveling to Ghana to work on a child slavery rescue mission, where we successfully negotiated the rescue of two children from slavery and begun building the school we had raised funds for...  so to thank us for our humanitarian efforts, United charged me twice for my flight and won't negotiate the release of the funds they owe me.  

The experience left me wondering why it is that I seem to have more business sense than one of the largest airlines in the world.

Sometimes, I need to have things broken down to me in small, manageable chunks of information, so perhaps that approach will work for them as well.  Let’s give it a try.

A company’s bottom line goal is to earn a profit.

Given that we have all heard of the financial crisis facing airlines, it’s peculiar to me that United’s approach to earning a profit is to choose to save money by encouraging their customers to use their website to purchase services, but then refuse to accept payment from a large percentage of those potential customers, simply based on geography.  They can not accept a Canadian credit card on their website.  

Strange, considering that the U.S. vendors I’ve shopped with in the past (from family owned businesses such as Lisa Leonard Designs, Goat Milk Stuff and Wild Olive Tees, up to large corporations such as Walmart) have never discriminated against me for being Canadian.  My Mastercard number works just fine on their system.  In fact, they welcome me giving them business.  Imagine!

United’s approach forced me, the customer, to have someone else make the payment on my behalf.  

For convenience’s sake, I chose to comply to their wish, and had my best friend and travel partner purchase the ticket on her American credit card.

The charge was never questioned by her credit card company, even though it was a large sum and for an airline ticket not in her name.  Unlike United, her credit card company seems to trust her and value her business.

The charge appeared on her credit card statement, and she paid it with the money I had forwarded to her. 

The assumption that inconveniencing a customer is great for business seems to be counter-intuitive and counter-productive, when so many other companies would gladly welcome having people give them thousands of dollars…  but while this business model is inconvenient and unconventional at best, it could have been worse in the end.

That is, if the nightmare that had just begun had an end in sight.

A company should not assume their customers are criminals.

Unless, of course, they’re running a privately owned for-profit prison or something, by all means… but last I heard, prisons don’t fly.  And neither does United’s accusation that the purchase of my ticket was fraudulent.  

The credit card company never questioned or flagged the transaction.  

United Airlines’ computer system, however, decided that since the name on the ticket and the cardholder name did not match, it was automatically fraud.  Ironic, since it was their system that refused to let me use my credit card for my own ticket.  

I guess it didn't occur to them that if I had really stolen her credit card, I wouldn't have booked the seat next to the cardholder for a 12 hour flight to Ghana.    #awkwardmuch?

Since United seems to subscribe to the theory that two wrongs make a right, they corrected the problem by not calling us to alert us that there was an issue, and just to go the extra mile and aim for three wrongs to make a right, they didn’t contact the credit card company either, lest they find out they had made a critical error.

By this point, I am beginning to ask myself if they handle safety quite as competently.

A company advises their customers when they revoke a transaction.

  

If United is brazen enough to assume that we’re criminals, and they are bold enough to revoke my ticket…  one would think they would have the courage to admit what they had done…  you know, in case I might be interested in knowing that the airline ticket for travel I’ve been planning all year has been revoked.  All the better if they do this before I drive 6 hours to the airport and arrive ready for my flight.  Imagine the horror of the experience for my 13 year old son, who had visions of travelling to a developing country without his mother at his side.  

United sends me notification after notification that flight times have been adjusted by one or two minutes, why not let me know that my ticket has been cancelled altogether?  Again, I’m no rocket scientist, I just figure that since they have my email and information for the purpose of keeping me updated as promised, they’d actually use it to send me vital information.

 Just sayin’...

A company’s mistake shouldn’t penalize the customers.  

You know that Business Degree I don’t have?   Yeah.  I do have some education from the School Of Life, though, and I seem to recall the following topic being covered in Common Sense 101:  When a mistake is made, the best apology is a sincere one that involves taking ownership and rectifying the situation as to not cause undue hardship and further inconvenience for your customer over a mistake your company has made.  

DO THIS:

“When the mechanic forgets to tighten the nuts on the rims he just installed on your vehicle and the wheels fall off as you leave to drive home…  apologize without placing blame on the customer or making up excuses, and take ownership of the problem by offering to rectify the situation at your cost.”

“When you overcharge me for an item and I brings it to your attention with proof, provide a prompt refund.”

NOT THIS:

“Mishandle the funds that have been paid to you, refuse to take ownership and rectify the situation, and force me to pay you $1400 again, with only the comfort of the standard “oh yeah, cheque’s in the mail” promise that a refund request was initiated a month earlier and would soon be sorted out.

“If your company’s system can make a problem that it can’t also rectify, do not continue to use that system.”

A company should not persist in making their customer’s experience miserable.

There is some degree of comfort in knowing that their safety checks didn’t use the same customer service ideals as their ticketing process.  Although it was irritating at best that we would have been asked to board the plane and prepare for take-off only to be told that while we’d done a great job of preparing to fly, the plane couldn’t fly after all… 

Mechanical failure happens.  Twice in one day, even, as our 4th travelling partner, Debra, also experienced mechanical failure in her connector flight with United.

What shouldn’t happen is for United to then proceed to book us into overbooked hotels, leaving us waiting more than an hour outside in the cold in the middle of the night for shuttles to those overbooked hotels, and giving us meal vouchers that the hotels will not honor…  only to wait 40 minutes in the hotel lobby for someone to say there is no room at the inn.  Makes me grateful Mary and Joseph went by donkey and not by United.  It was far better to ride around on a donkey for days while 9 months pregnant and in labor...  without an epidural.

Where were we?  Oh.  After finally getting a room at 3am after the second attempt… 

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, Back to The Airport We Go!!!

When we return to the airport the following day in order to spend two hours repeating the entire process all over again, do not continue to impress us with your incompetence by not drawing the two straight lines with a pen, as required by security on our boarding passes.  I know you may have thought we enjoyed dragging all their carryon luggage back to the ticketing counter only to have to start the whole process again, but the only reason we did so was that we, once again, were being forced to accommodate for your mistakes.

Over, and over, and over again.

It is within a company’s best interest to not steal from their customers.  A company’s reputation is important to attract business.

When you tell me that a request for the refund you owe me has been initiated on October 3^rd, and that we can expect a refund, don’t expect us to not be upset when you then proceed to tell us, once you’ve forced me to overpay you, that a refund won’t be forthcoming because you never received my money to begin with -- even though you did receive it, and you have proof.  Of course you received my money, the credit card charge in the company’s name appeared on the credit card statement, and it was paid in full.  How else did you ever issue the ticket you later chose to revoke months later?

Don’t continue to insist that you’re keeping the money you’re not entitled to, that you don’t know what happened to it, that you can’t issue a refund, and that this is not your problem.

Don’t tell us to call at a specific time when a supervisor is available, only to then advise us that we can not speak to a supervisor.  

Don’t tell us to go to our credit card company when they did not cause any of this and you hold the power to correct it.

Don’t send us a “please accept our apology” certificate for the inconvenience of the flight delay that falsely claims that you take pride in being a reliable part of our travel plans, and that you regret the inconvenience we have experienced. 

Don’t ask us on an online survey to assist you with making our experience with United better, when you have no intentions of responding to our concerns.

Don’t kill me with humor by offering me a $200 voucher for United or a 20% discount, as though I would EVER willingly choose to fly with United again.  If I can raise $30,000 to build a school for rescued child slaves in Ghana, surely I can raise enough to pay the extra to fly on another airline.

A company understands that without customers, it can not survive.  Do you understand, United, do you? 

Do you honestly think anyone who hears about this ridiculous treatment by United will choose to trust your company or fly United? 

How exactly do you plan to survive when you’ve managed to turn all your customers away?

If you object to how United handled this situation, or you've had similar experiences with United that you'd like to share, please let your voice be heard!  Since dozens of attempts to rectify this through United directly did nothing to get these issues resolved, we would like to have a turn at seeing how quickly they'll respond once this post is made public, and preferably viral.

Please share liberally on Facebook, Twitter (@United, @CompassionCan), via Email, billboard, and any method you can think of.  If anyone would like to purchase some space in their in-flight magazine to share this story, by all means, be my guest.  I'll even pitch in a few bucks to defray the cost.

Yours truly...

JD Richardson

P.S.  For your convenience, since I like to make life easy for MY blog readers -- I have created a TinyUrl for you to share this blog post with ease.  I'm nice like that...  :o)  You're welcome.

http://tinyurl.com/UnitedProtest

P.P.S.  United, I'll say hi to Dave Carroll for you... another fine and talented Canadian.

Ghanaian Keyboard Cleaners

Although I was equipped with a macro lens, they were so tiny and the lighting in our room so minimal that I knew I wouldn’t be able to capture the moment in a photograph.

Ants.

The tiniest ants I had ever seen, living in the largest anthills I had ever seen!

Dozens, perhaps hundreds, crawling from the window of our room at the guest house, down the wall, and onto my laptop which I had set down on the floor. 

Fascinated, I watched as the ants crawled under the maze of keys on my keyboard, emerging carrying traces of crumbs to carry back to their colony.  

Although dirt and dust covered us day in and day out in Ghana, my keyboard has never been so clean.  

Isn't it just like God to provide sustenance for life, out of our crumbs, our extras...  life, out of the bits and pieces that when we really stop and think about it, we can do without?


Isn't it just like Him to include us into His provisions so that we can learn from Him?

The Weight Of Slavery -- A Letter To Richard

My Precious Richard,

When dawn breaks gently from the east, it will have been twenty full days since we met face to face on a desolate island of Lake Volta, where you are enslaved.  Dawn is still hours away, it is nearly 4am and sleep can’t reach me.  My bones are aching, my soul is weary, and yet when I close my eyes, all I see is you, halfway across the world, paddling a boat as the dawn breaks, bones aching, soul weary, and I ask myself, how does rest reach you, and what do your eyes see?

They play like a broken reel on repeat in my mind, the brief memories of standing facing you, my heart trying so hard to grasp the overwhelming reality of what my eyes were seeing, my legs trying not to crumble under the weight of your world, my eyes searching yours for a spark of life...  

Surrounded by a group of boys your age, the quietest of the group, you silently spoke volumes about the brutal effects of slavery on a boy of such tender years.  Our attempts to bring a smile to the boys’ faces and convey that we were not a threat was met by curious smiles, laughs and relief by all except you. 

It was as though you weren’t there, your spirit long ago having checked out in the face of such perpetual darkness.

Did their laughter feel painful to you as you continued to feel invisible?  Did your surroundings cause you to further attempt to disappear into another dimension where nothing could reach you, not pain, joy, or the concept of hope?  I knew all too well that in that situation, feeling nothing was an involuntary defence mechanism...  numbness prolonged survival.

It was in those moments that I realized that we weren’t seeing you, Richard, we were only seeing the shell of the boy whose heart, mind, body and spirit could no longer bear the weight of slavery.  How much longer before the sins of this world crushed you, as they crushed our precious Savior on the cross?  How much longer would you have to endure the darkness man had pulled you under?

From your seat on that wooden bench, what did you hear?  How many times had someone come and attempted to set you free, only to leave empty handed?  How many times had someone come, expressing concern over you, perhaps causing you to grasp on to hope by the little strength you had left, only to lose that grip as the negotiations were thwarted once again by the enemy?  Did hope even flicker this time around, or was it too painful to contemplate that hope was even possible?  

Peace only finds me when my mind takes me back to where you are, and this time, I do what I failed to do the first time we met...  I take you in my arms, gently lift your face until your eyes see mine, and I do everything in my power to pour Christ’s love into your spirit.  There are so many things I failed to share with you, precious boy...  that you are loved and treasured far more than the heart can ever imagine, and that the Lord made you not by the word of His mouth as He made the entire world, but by the work of His hands...  you are Handmade, special, unique, and His beloved, and not one of your tears has fallen outside of the Creator’s care and concern.  

Understanding all too well that these words would have stung and fallen empty on this side of freedom, I would have gently told you never to lose hope, that our only hope is in Christ and Christ alone, that God knew of your suffering and that He would watch over you until the day of your rescue...  knowing in my heart that your first taste of freedom could very well be your first breath of heaven.  Having known the desperation of abuse, we both would have understood all too well if this blessed mercy was all we had the strength left to pray for.

Beyond the eternal Living Water that I would have shared with you, it pains me to know that I had little to offer your immediate physical needs...  to have quenched your thirst and satisfied your hunger would have helped me teach you of the One who sustains us all.  Such things wouldn't have needed translation; feeding His sheep needs no familiar words as it is done through the universal language of love.

Richard, not having held you breaks my heart more than my mere words could ever express.  As a mother of sons who have never outgrown the joy, safety and comfort of a gentle snuggle, a mother’s touch, I long to know that in this lifetime, you have known this kind of love at least once.  Knowing that as a human, a mother and a Christ follower, I failed to share that love with you keeps me awake night, after night, after night.  I can't help but wonder if you even know to dream of such things -- when was the last time you were held, Richard, and do you know a mother's love?  

Where is your mother as you continue to languish here on this island, and does it tear her up to be apart from her son like it tears me up to have had to leave you behind?  

While it's crushingly painful to see you and carry you with me everywhere I go, I pray that pain never lessens, never heals, never becomes numb by the world’s endless pressure to fit subtly in the deceptive trap of the middle ground.

I simply and ever-so-complexly can not choose to return to the life I once knew.

No, I beg the pain to remain, the pain that serves to remind me that Jesus calls on us to live radically, to eschew the world’s dangerous blindness and to open our eyes to what breaks His heart.  

You are now mine, Richard, not having grown in my body, but having been indelibly engraved upon my heart...  you, chosen for me, and I, for you.

You have become, to me and to many, the personal, heartbreaking face of slavery.   

Even though my words may never reach you on this side of the veil, your voice has been heard, Richard, your voice has been heard around the world, and it will not be extinguished until every man, woman and child you represent has been set free.  

May God deal with me ever so severely if I should fail you again.

Love, beyond measure,

JD

"It is the children the world almost breaks who grow up to save it."  -- Wess Stafford, Compassion International

Ghana: Day 10 -- Bittersweet Rescue

As we came around the gentle bend of the island's shoreline, recognition hit me -- I knew where we were, even though we had only been there once before, just two days prior.  Then again, how could we forget?

The last time, we had walked to the shore from within the island, but this time, we approached the shoreline by boat, praying that this would be the day that the slave masters would agree to release the child slaves whose freedom we had fought so hard for.

At first look, we didn't see them, just a few adults.  Would they cause issues?  Were they waiting for us?  The woman kept looking to the trail behind her.  Had the children hidden from us?

Then, a flash of turquoise moved from beyond the tall grass...  it was him, it was Patrick*, one of the three child slaves we had negotiated for.

Two more children followed, along with their slave master.  Who was the third child, a girl?  We hadn't seen her when we were here on Saturday, why was she here this morning?

The three children waited quietly, staring at us while we continued the negotiations for the release of Patrick and Innocence*.  Given that the other girl had come with a yellow bucket, we were surprised not to see her working as her slave master continued to talk with George Jr. and our team.

Looking into those children's faces broke my heart.  The uncertainty, the mistrust, the inability to communicate with them and ask them what was going through their minds right in that moment... all we could do was comfort them without words, through kind eyes and a compassionate demeanor, until, God willing, they were released to us.

Still aboard our own boat, we were too far to reach out to them.

Without warning, the tides turned to our favor...  we were asked to find paper and something to write with, as the slave master was agreeing to provide us with the children's information -- their full names, their ages, where they had been trafficked from, their parents' names.

Last but not least, we had to obtain the price that had originally been paid by the slave master to "purchase" them -- oh, how my heart wrings itself sick just speaking those words...  one should not be able to purchase a child as though they were a dishwasher, a machine, a piece of property...  Lord, what has humanity come to, that precious children should be bought and sold like commodities?

The price paid for these children by the slave masters?

150 Ghana cedis each, which is the rough equivalent of  $100 USD per child.

My heart further broke... knowing that these children provided labor for these slave masters for at least three years...  14+ hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, no sick days, no time off, no rest, no love, no nurturing, no education... nothing received in return but pain and suffering...  and the price placed on this was less than $33 a year each.


My head was swimming, my stomach was turning, and had it not been for the fact that things were happening so fast and I did not want to miss one moment, I would have leaned overboard and proceeded to throw up.


All of a sudden, a set of strong arms grabbed Innocence and swiftly lifted her into the boat.  The sudden move took us by surprise, leaving us stepping back to make room so that she wouldn't be overwhelmed.  Debra grabbed her and held on to her, and she began to cry, understandably afraid and overwhelmed.  The relief of freedom is never immediate for children released from slavery.  It is a process, a transformation, a healing.

We continued to watch to see if Patrick would be released to us as well.

It didn't take long for them to finish negotiating his release, and he, too, was freed onto us.

Tia, holding Patrick's hand.  He seemed more at ease.

As we thanked the slave master and pulled away with both children on board, my heart couldn't help but think of the third child, a girl, having been left behind.  

Her situation was just as desperate, yet, this was not the day she would be released.  Would she now do the work of three?

Although I know that this is a long process that must be handled sensitively as to be sustainable and successful in breaking this cycle rather than simply putting a bandaid on a fatal wound, it still hurts to the core to leave a child behind, much less the estimated 7000 children still held in slavery on these islands.

Looking into her eyes then, and even now in this photograph, I can't help but ask questions I will never know the answer to on this side of heaven:

What is going through her mind, seeing two children granted freedom, while she isn't lifted "over the fence", as Shaun Groves so aptly put it...  

Jesus, come quickly.  These children...  please come.

Our boat returned to where we had initially came ashore two days ago, the place where we had seen children scramble into the woods in terror.

Since we now had two rescued children on board, we volunteered to stay behind with them, as it was not wise to walk back onto the island with them, placing their rescue into jeopardy.  Tia and the German lady opted to stay behind to continue to comfort the children and keep them safe.  

We had come prepared to minister to even more children we made our way to where Richard* was being held.  This precious little girl received one of our dresses, and while she was a little timid and perhaps afraid of us, she clutched her dress tightly, and we hoped that the cheerful design would brighten her days a little.

Since I remembered where Richard was being held, I hung back from the rest of the group until all children had received either new shorts/boxers or a pillowcase dress.  The mothers made sure each child was tended to -- at least this way, we were able to leave no child behind... every child was made to feel special and receive something.  Several older girls walked along with me as I left to rejoin the rest of the group, where the negotiations had already begun.  

The team sat in the shade, surrounded by curious onlookers, as they sat across from the man in the pale striped shirt, Richard's slave master.

At first, I sat in and observed the negotiations going back and forth, back and forth, back and forth...  

Seeing that it would take longer than usual, I turned my attention to the children who had begun to surround our group.  One particular baby, with her naked and dirty body and her big curious eyes, made me wish I had a bucket of clean water to gently wash her with -- I so would have, right then, right there.  

I could have gotten lost into her beautiful dark eyes, so shiny, so alert, so attentive.

We had smaller dresses, so I handed her one, and she clutched it in her arms, never breaking her intense gaze.

As other children saw the dress being handed out, they quietly but persistently and curiously gathered closer to us in hopes of receiving one too.

We handed out candy to waiting hands, as well as dresses and shorts to children whose clothes were either threadbare, or missing altogether.



This little naked boy was so sweet and precious, he grabbed his shorts, showed them to all his friends, and rather than put them on excitedly as the other children had, he continued to walk around, baring it all.  


So thankful that these children don't suffer from sunburns...  :o)

The negotiations continued as the children continued to warm up to us, but it did not sound very promising.  So many lies being told to us, so much deceit, so many tangled webs to untangle.

All the dresses and shorts having been handed out, I stood up in search of the little naked boy, so that I could help him put his new shorts on.  It seemed too late, he was already wandering off with his friend -- still unclothed.  

A few of the girls stood by, eating the candy we had given them.  The girl on the left recognized me from Saturday, and followed me around everywhere.  Her skin was flaky and dry, little spots covering her entire body.  I wondered what would cause that, and whether or not it caused her any discomfort.

Nearby, in the shade of a home across from where the negotiations were taking place, a few mothers and a group of children had gathered to observe us.  They talked excitedly among themselves while tending to their babies and young children.  This girl wasn't too sure what to think of us "obruni".

This mother was so gentle spoken with her children, and spent most of her time breastfeeding her little girl while we interacted with her and the children.

This sweet baby did not take kindly to us being there, and proceed to burst into screams and tears each time we approached, which sadly made the mothers burst into laughter.  It was bittersweet entertainment.  I had hoped that in time, she would grow a little more comfortable with our presence, but short of coming toward me as I extended my water bottle to her, she kept her distance.

Meanwhile, her brother sat quietly nearby, watching everything calmly as it unfolded.  

This baby was watching us too, but unlike the other babies, she was gazing at us without an ounce of fear.  Dare I approach?

Much to my delight, the little girl reached back as I reached out to her.  This time, the tears were mine.  See her tiny, beautiful toes?

Her mother graciously allowed me to hold her.  Ahhh, bliss...  she melted into my arms like butter.  Nothing quite like a tiny, precious baby content in our arms.  The only thing missing was Tia, she would have loved to have a turn holding baby Leah.  I wondered how she and the rescued children were doing back at the boat, waiting for us all this time in the heat.

The negotiations were still under way, but it looked more and more as though we wouldn't be taking Richard with us this time.  Lord have mercy on these children...

After what seemed like an eternity and yet just the blink of an eye, the negotiations were over and it was confirmed that they would not yet release Richard to us this time, asking us to come back once more.  

So frustrating.

We said our goodbyes to the children and mothers we had spent time with.

The little girls, now wearing their dresses, smiled for us as we began to leave.

The boys, no longer sceptical of us, began to pose for the classic silly photos all children love!

The girl we had seen cleaning fish when we had first arrived was still hard at work... such endless work for these children, both girls and boys...  such a hard life all around, for everyone here.

This smiley boy was the sweetest, most gentle boy I came across on the island.  He tenderly held my hand and smiled at me constantly with not only his smile, but with his eyes, as we walked back toward the boat.  I gave him the longest hug.

I got to hold a few more babies as we walked across the last of the group of mud homes.

Back on the boat, Innocence was resting quietly in Tia's arms, while the boat operator waited for us.  

Tia has such a comforting mother's touch, all children gravitate to her for comfort, calm, and playfulness too.

Nearby, Patrick watched us quietly, deep in thought.

We stopped by George Sr.'s home on the way to the Village Of Life to introduce the children to him and celebrate their freedom together.

Back at the Village Of Life, we offered the children lunch.  Innocence quietly ate two bananas, but barely touched the rest of her food.  She was warm to the touch and didn't seem to be feeling well.  We suspected she had a fever, her tiny body fighting off something.  She was lethargic and unresponsive.

Patrick ate a little more, seeming more and more to come out of his shell.  We saw him smile once or twice... a hesitant grin, but one nonetheless.

Although the children were now in the arms of safety, they were not yet out of the woods.  Healing would take months, even years.  What they'd been through would have to come to the point of peace, and that process would be long and difficult.

Providing for the rescue was one thing, but providing for the children financially for the rest of their childhood was another entirely.  Each rescue is a commitment and a responsibility to that child.  Children at the Village Of Life are provided for through sponsorship, and all sponsorships are done through the Touch A Life Foundation in the U.S. at a cost of roughly $150 / month.


By the time we were ready to leave the Village of Life mid-afternoon, we felt as though our day had lasted a lifetime.  We were emotionally spent, exhausted, but also overwhelmed with gratitude that these two had finally tasted freedom and would now have the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Still, our joy was bittersweet.

We couldn't forget this face.

The celebration, joy and peace won't be complete without his release and that of the other 7000 children like him on Lake Volta...  not to mention the 37 million modern day slaves currently in captivity worldwide.




What can you do?


1.  Pray.  
2.  Respond.  

• Prevent slavery by sponsoring a child through Compassion International -- simply click on the Sponsorship Photo in the header of this page.
• Send a donation to Touch A Life Foundation in the U.S. 
• Support those ministering to the needs of these children.
• Research the products you buy (chocolate, for example) ensuring that they do not perpetuate the issue of human trafficking.  How many slaves are working for you?  Find out more by taking the Slavery Footprint Survey today.
• Spread the word.  So many people do not realize that slavery is worse today than it's ever been.
• Get involved.  Knowing is not enough -- act on what you know.  Be the hands and feet of Christ.

______________________________________



Other Updates:
Day 1 -- Ticket Revoked?
Night 1 -- Altitude 0m
Day 2 -- The Adventure Continues
Day 3 -- (Pre-Posted) Dear Ato Sam
Day 3 -- Enyan Abaasa (Meeting Ato Sam)
Day 4 -- Precious
Day 4 -- (Pre-Posted) Double The Joy
Day 4 -- George & George (Meeting the twins)
Day 5 -- Back To Accra
Day 5 -- I Like Tacos!
Day 6 -- "Bobble Boobs"
Day 7 -- Breaking Ground
Day 7 -- Life In Kete Krachi
Day 7 -- Beyond The Surface
Day 8 -- Face To Face With Slavery
Day 8 -- Rooster Boy
Day 10 -- Bittersweet Rescue
Day 10 -- Tasting The Joy Of Freedom