anna hammond online

I've touted for awhile that blogs are dying. I don't read a single one anymore unless someone sends me a link to a particular post.

Part of the reason that I love to live simply is that it enables me to give. Even though I'm pretty poor (college is EXPENSIVE), I like to be able to give a little. Join me?

When you see the streets of Bangkok after dark, the situation can seem impossible. A handful of people can't do that much, can they? But if we truly believe that people have immeasurable value, that isn't going to stop us. See, when I say that everyone has incredible potential, I mean that.

Giving the difference is about giving up something from your own life to make a difference for someone else. Just 10 bucks. That's two cups of coffee at Starbucks or a lunch at Panera. Sure, it's a slight shift in the choices we make, but man, it is a cool feeling to know that you are doing something big by giving something small.

If we all give $10, we'll be giving over $1,000 as a cause. Talk about potential. Are you in?

You can donate to The Well Facebook Cause here. You don't need a Facebook account to give, but if you have one, join in! It's a great way to get plugged in and raise awareness, and it is easy to give and be involved.

I'm a fan of stories. So much so that if a story connects with me, I'll read it over and over again. When I got a copy of A Little Princess when I was nine, I read it in three days, got to the end, and started over. I have probably read that book thirty times over the past thirteen years, and I'll probably read it thirty more times before I die, because something in that story speaks to me.

Because I'm such a story fan, it takes me awhile to get through non-story books. I picked up Postmodern Youth Ministry by Tony Jones after my husband Ben read it, and I was pretty shocked by how postmodern my own thinking is (and always has been), especially where stories come in. Here's a quote:

Narrative is becoming the primary means of communicating beliefs. Since propositional logic has fallen on hard times, stories carry more weight in converying truths. Author and pastor Brian McLaren calls this abductive reasoning. As opposed to deductive or inductive methods, when you tell a story, you abduct listeners from their known worlds into another world. (p27)

If you want people's interest, give facts.

If you want to move them, tell them a story.

Hey Everyone!

It's been an awesome week here in lovely, hot Thailand. I'll give you the highlights:

Prang and Michaela visited from Buriram. Many of you had the privilege of meeting Prang when she was here last year. A former worker at Soi Cowboy, Prang has returned to her village in Buriram to reach out to the people in her hometown. Michaela, who accompanied Prang when she was stateside, has been working alongside Prang in Buriram for the past several months. The two are different in so many ways, but they make an amazing team. It was great to spend time with them and learn about what they do in that community.

I've been hanging out a lot at The Well, centers 1 and 2. These are where some of the women who have exited the industry live, and where the education, counseling, and job training for all of these women take place. The Well has grown significantly since I was here two and a half years ago, and now has three Bangkok sites as well as a site in Buriram. There are so many new faces, both of beautiful women and the amazing staff that work with them. I've begun shooting video with my Dad, and we've got at least two great stories to tell.

Of course, I've also been enjoying my family. Today Marquita did my hair, Sam and I played some baseball, and Jaimie and I sang songs into hairbrushes for the better part of an hour. It's been phenomenal. I'm about to watch Amazing Grace with my mom before bed, a great movie about people who loved Jesus so much that they changed their world. Kinda hits home in a big way here.

Tomorrow my Dad and I are heading out to Buriram to see Michaela and Prang and visit the women and children at center 4. I'll be assessing the needs of the community for my plan for church involvement and making connections with people in the community. Please pray for a safe journey, for health, and for protection while we're there!

I am still trying to raise money to pay for my trip here. I'd like to visit several villages, but without the funding I'm hesitant to go. If you feel led to give, please see my previous post for information on how to do that.

I'll post again after my trip to Buriram, and include some pictures!

I am back in Thailand! After finishing school and beginning to look for jobs, I felt God telling me to go for three weeks. The trip was hastily planned, but God made it work. I’m not here on a whim. As much as I love simply being here, I know that God has a plan for my time.

First, I’m here to encourage my family. If you read my Dad’s blog (www.servantworks.org/jim), you know that the year since I last saw them has not been easy. They work with women and men who are involved in Thailand’s sex industry, and living with so much on a daily basis can be tiring. Part of my reason for being here is to encourage them in a way I can’t do when I’m 12,000 miles away. We’ve had a lot of fun already. It’s hard to explain how special it is to come along side of family and purely enjoy working and living life with them in a way that is such a privilege that it feels like an honor. I know it means a lot to them that I’m here.

However, I’m here to do much more than visit. One of my main projects is to create a plan to involve U.S. churches in partnership with Servantworks to help reach and transform Thailand. My home church, The Orchard, has a passion to see people grow in a relationship with Jesus both locally in Illinois and globally around the world. During my time here I will be visiting different villages, making connections and creating a plan for a partnership with Servantworks and The Orchard with the ultimate goal of genuine life change and community transformation through holistic church planting.

My third large goal is to help develop media for The Well and Servantworks. I hope to create several short videos that feature some of the amazing stories from Servantworks’ work in Thailand. We would like to create a video that introduces the needs of young men in Bangkok. Reaching and training men as leaders is a key part in Servantworks’ strategy to help transform Thailand. Ultimately, these videos will be shared in the U.S. at churches like The Orchard in a way that connects with the unchurched, creating opportunities for churches in the U.S. and beyond to not only have a missional impact overseas but in their local communities.

Because this trip was planned quickly and I left in a hurry, I had no time to raise funds beforehand. I firmly believe that Jesus sent me, and I know that he calls me to love him and love people and that he’ll take care of my needs. In order to cover the airfare, expenses while I’m here, and some of my expenses at home while I am gone, I need to raise $2280. Your support with that would mean so much to me. Would you consider being a part of what I’m doing here by supporting my trip? Checks can be made out to my church, Orchard Valley Community Church, with Thailand Trip 08 designated in the memo—not my name. They can be mailed to Ben Hammond, 1144 S Batavia Ave, Batavia, IL, 60510.

Of course, I also need prayer. As much as I know that God wants me to be here, I know that other things do not, and they are going to get in my way. Please pray that I will be able to be a blessing to my family and do what God wants me to do, and that I will be safe, healthy, and protected from the enemy. Your prayers are incredibly important to me.

Finally, I will be keeping up regularly with my blog. If you would like to see what I’m up to in Thailand, feel free to take a look. I have had a lot of trouble with the internet so far, but it seems to be stable now and I plan to post daily. You can subscribe to receive updates when I post in a feed reader or in your e-mail.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and consider helping. Please feel free to shoot me an e-mail. I love hearing from everyone, and I’d love to fill you in on more details of my trip if you have questions.

"Every day, 25,000 people die from hunger-related causes. And when food accounts for more than half a poor family's spending, price rises can be truly devastating for millions living on the edge."

Gordon Brown
Prime Minister, United Kingdom

The children in Uganda are starving.

I just searched famine on Google News, and according to the headlines, they aren’t alone. With the recent hurricane, Myanmar is in danger of famine, and so is North Korea. Somalia is “a step away.”

What in America are higher food prices and cutting back on extras, in the rest of the majority world is starvation. But when millions of precious people are thirsty and hungry, how can I complain? Or even greater, how can I spend what I have thoughtlessly?

This question has been bugging me for weeks now and I really don’t have an answer. I feel awfully small when I face the daunting task of feeding the world, but I know that I have it in me to do something. I follow Jesus because I believe that his way is the best way to live, and he says to remember others and to give.

So I am on a journey to remember and to give. To love Jesus and to love people. Will you join me?

Speak up for the people who have no voice, for the rights of all the down-and-outers. Speak out for justice! Stand up for the poor and destitute!."

Psalm 31:8-9 MSG

Why a new blog?

Because it's spring and the world is screaming "I'm NEW!!! Look at me!!! I'm new and I'm green and I need to be explored!!!"

Honestly, I haven't touched the old one in months. Since September. I didn't have space in my schedule to blog, something I plan to change. I've been in duck and cover mode since, well, probably since September, and there are a lot of things inside my head that I'm ready to get out. I've been slowly reading more blogs as well, and when I read I like to write.

I'll start with the fact that the weather today is absolutely gorgeous, and that I should be fired for sitting inside on a computer when I could be out there. Wearing flip flops.