Hope Ink Magazine » How about that?

Lauren Nelson — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 16:42:43 +0000

GrindTV reports that Jodie Nelson had a surprise visitor on a nine-hour paddle from Catalina Island to Dana Point, which the California surfer made in support of breast cancer research. A 30-foot minke whale rode alongside her for two hours.

An answer to prayer, perhaps? At the start of the journey, Nelson and her crew prayed that “God would reveal his beauty and creation and nature, and allow me to endure this long trek.”

Hope Happens

Lauren Nelson — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:41:12 +0000

Laurie Hayes, Director of Development for International Justice Mission, sent out this update about a rescue in Chennai, India.

“Last Friday, IJM’s Chennai team rescued 13 children, women and men from slavery in a large rice mill. Forced to live in tiny shacks within the compound, the slaves were desperate for release. One of the victims, Mukesh*, was suffering from tuberculosis and had been forbidden from leaving the mill for treatment. At rescue, he had not eaten for four days.

Today, he and the rest of the slaves are free. Mukesh is receiving medical treatment, and he and the other former slaves will receive funds and supplies from the government to build their new lives. IJM aftercare staff will provide them with continued assistance as they resettle in their home villages.”

International Justice Mission works in countries where there is a functioning legal system that allows them to prosecute people who are trafficking in human lives, along with other injustices. The process is a slow one, but when criminals are punished for breaking laws, others are more likely to think twice before committing the same act. Over time, an entire culture can be changed.

This is the hope we are talking about with Hope Ink. Hope for people in slavery. Hope for the downtrodden and those living in extreme poverty. It’s a gut-wrenching, one-person-at-a-time operation to begin with, but like a snowball, if we can get things rolling, the impact gets larger with each turn.

You might not be a lawyer, but you can help rescue people condemned to a life of slavery. See how you can get involved by visiting IJM’s Website.

Speechless

Lauren Nelson — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 19:49:44 +0000

As computers and satellites and television shrink the world, language is becoming more homogenous. There are 473 nearly extinct languages in the world, according to Summer Institute of Linguistics, a faith-based language development organization. Why should we care? Because language, SIL says, is one of the elements that makes us who we are. Reed more about the importance of language here.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

Lauren Nelson — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 07:42:23 +0000

William Kamkwamba created electricity for his village in Malawi using some bits of old junk, brain power and one of the nations few resources: the wind. You can read more about his journey bring hope to his village in his upcoming book The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.

Lauren Nelson — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 22:26:44 +0000

“He just gave up all of the material things that we think we have to have. You know, I don’t know how we gauge happiness. What’s happy for you might not be happy for me. I never heard him complain.” – Nurse Rita Belle, speaking about Richard Walters, a homeless man who left $4 million to various non-profits, including NPR. Read the story here.