Update

So, I have been here for over a month. What does that mean? Well, it means that I only have eight weeks until outreach. And I only have six months till I need to figure out the next step of my life. Wow. I really want to give you a detailed update of what is going on here.  I’m fitting into the schedule here. It’s going really well. It’s funny because I always feel like I have so much time and everyone else is always saying that they don’t have enough time. Right now for example, I don’t have to do anything all day. I should probably work on my graphic design project, or just finish this blog post. I thought I was going to meet with some girls to talk about a project that we are supposed to be working on. I don’t know where they are. Uhhh, I feel so distracted. Lets see. Today I walked from Herrnhut to Berthelsdorf, just because I could. I love those days when you just need to get out and walk. I put my music in and started walking. It’s only about 2 km to Berthelsdorf, but it’s fun to say that I walked there. Yesterday, we had a Love Feast. Shannon can tell you more about what a Love Feast is. It was fun, but a little out of my comfort zone (aka I was tired from helping in the kitchen all day and I didn’t feel like being social). Every one was dressed up really nice, and there was music, and a photo booth, and the staff served us our food. Supposedly, we are going to have another Love Feast sometime, I just hope It’s not on a Saturday. So this past week we were talking a lot about human trafficking. We learned how to be a smart activist. It’s hard to talk about this past week. Human trafficking is one of those things that you have to personally choose to listen to and choose to be changed by it. All I can say is Human Trafficking is real! It’s in our world, it’s in our towns, and it’s in our lives, but it’s not something we need to be scared of. Yes, it is a big issue, but our God is so much bigger. Actually, the coolest thing that I learned this week is that even though it is such a big issue there are so many small things we can do to start to put a stop to it. Like buying cards that have been made by poor women so that they can have an income and not be tempted by pimps who would sell them into slavery (Hopecards.net). Or. Like writing letters to CEOs who’s company might be using slave labor but chooses to be blind to it. Something that really it home -because it is so close to home- is how there is so much slavery in the chocolate industry. In 2001 many of the major chocolate companies signed a notice saying that they would look into and stop forced labor and child labor in the cocoa plantations. While many did, Hershey’s did not. We watched a documentary called the “Dark side of chocolate”, which better explains it. It’s crazy to think that about all those times over the summer when my co-workers and I would complain about how small our paycheck was. I was working for Hershey’s Resort and Entertainment Company, but there are children not necessarily under Hershey’s name but still working for Hershey’s who don’t get paid anything. Does that make sense? Does that seem real? Can we stop it? Maybe if we all work together. There is an organization called “Raise the bar”. Basically, they are trying to make people more aware of what Hershey’s is doing (or not doing in this case) and they have digital petitions you can sign. All they want is for Hershey’s to start making fair trade chocolate one bar at a time. Do we know if signing a petition will help? Well what can it hurt? Personally, I don’t know what else to do. Hershey’s is good chocolate, but I might start to go without. I wonder if Wilbur’s chocolate is fair trade? Here is the real question.

Would you spend a few extra dollars if you knew it would save a life?

Wow. So that went a lot deeper than I was planning. I just hope you all can hear my heart. The gospel is simple: Love God, love others, love your enemies, and love yourself. It is so easy. Think about it. How do you love yourself? You eat yummy food. You take a hot shower. You do simple things. So love others the same way. Simple.

I guess I’m going to wrap this up. When people ask me how I am doing I say good. It’s hard for me because good is such a programed answer. Yet, when I think about it I really am doing good. God is Good, God is love, and God loves me, so how can I not be good?

~Bethany Graybill