Our Journey - Step One

I've always been an avid fan of flourishing where you are planted. There's something to be said of going against the current trend of needing to be somewhere else, somewhere bigger, somewhere supposedly better. I've been steadfastly sure of the fact that Hamilton is my home and I will raise my children and mould my life around this city. And that's been my sure thing. I've even started looking into which high school would be appropriate for my daughter, who is currently six months old. So, you could say I'm quite settled. 

But something calls me away. 

When friends of mine use the word "calling" I just put it down to "Christianese." You know, those words that Christians use that just sound stupid to other people. It's seems to be an excuse to just up and leave and go do something glamorous but under the guise of it being a spiritual journey in order to justify it to ourselves and our friends. I'm so judgemental, I know. But I like to pride myself in not backing down from the truth. So chin up. 

Well, I have been called. Summoned. Asked to act.

I'm a firm believer that everyone has that one thing that makes them shake with passion whenever it comes up in conversation, especially with someone who has a different opinion on the subject. Maybe life is as easy as finding out what that thing is, and then doing something about that thing.

Well, for me, that thing is human trafficking and I can honestly say I have never hated something more. A shaking rage. A burning fire behind my eyes. It would be an understatement to say that it is seeping into our world. It would belittle the millions of people affected by it to say that it is a hole in our bucket. Here in the western world, in little old New Zealand, we have the cheek to justify a lot of our decisions because of our "freedoms" here in our little corner of the world but they actually affect and feed into this massive seeping wound that is human trafficking. We buy the clothes, we watch the porno, we pay the prostitutes. We feed this culture that sex and the human body are commodities to be traded. And that might be justifiable with our little blinders on, with our laws protecting our right to choose, but these laws don't protect the most vulnerable and the most needy. And I'm no longer okay with that.

So I'm going on a trip. Me, my husband and our daughter are going to be packing our bags, selling some stuff and going overseas. Some people are meant to stay. Some people stay beautifully. They help the vulnerable. They fight for the underprivileged. They do my faith proud. But for some reason we are meant to go.

My aim is to work with people that have been rescued from human trafficking and I want to help them rehabilitate back into society and to heal. Glyn wants to work with kids on the street that have run away from home and help them to have a better survival rate than 10%. This rough draft of a plan may be amended, rewritten, adjusted. All we know is we're going to be doing this somewhere in eastern Europe with an organisation we haven't found yet. But we're going to do it.

What does this have to do with you, you might ask?

We want to start the ball rolling by starting where we are. And we're here in Hamilton. So from now until our trip, I'm going to be offering photoshoots. Family sittings, couple shoots, individual shoots. I won't be charging normal rates but you can make a donation, anything you want to give. All proceeds from all shoots are going to go towards our trip and towards our mission. We're hoping to be super open about the whole thing and share what's happening so you can be a part of the journey. 

So this was our Step One. Sharing it with you all. 

Step Two. Action.

Wanna ask questions? Comment below or drop us a line here.

Wanna book a shoot? Book here.