Here It Goes Again

Not too long ago, I was sitting here responding to some emails and laboring through some homework when I was suddenly overcome with nagging guilt. I really need to update that blog, I thought to myself, but I'll do it... later.

I began to mentally revisit all my experiences of the past month, burying myself deeper beneath heaps of shame. I thought remorsefully of you, my loyal loved ones, eagerly checking the page for a new post, but as the days turned to weeks, your fingers seldom brought you back. My life has blasted onwards, but nothing of it has remained for you to read. I regret that the days of my blogging bliss are long gone, when I could write two posts in a week on even the most mundane things!

As with all my hobbies, such feverish devotion cannot last. You, however, mean more to me than any pastime. So here it goes again.

Okay. Enough rambling. Here's what you came for.

The month of March has been marvelous. As with all of you, I'm sure, there has been plenty to keep me busy. Friends have been friendly, teachers have been teaching, and schoolwork has been steady but not overwhelming. I've played in a few chapels (more on that later) and been challenged in a number of ways.

I went to an alternate chapel a few weeks ago in which we watched a movie entitled, The Day My God Died. Depressing, you think? Pretty much. The movie was an International Justice Mission production documenting the stories of girls trapped in brothels in Bombay (Mumbai), India. In essence, it was the same terrible story I've heard many times -- young girls kidnapped by family friends, sold to traffickers in Bombay, housed in unbearable conditions separated from all friends and family, beaten into submission, and forced to "serve" dozens of men a day. The girls in these brothels (there are thousands of them) refer to the day they were abducted as 'the day my god died.'

After the movie and short discussion, I waited until the auditorium had emptied and approached the man who had been leading it. I didn't really have anything to say to him, but I just couldn't bring myself to enter into the lives of these girls, talk about the hopeless existence of millions of women, and then saunter back outside to my friends and comfortable bed. I feel like now, more than ever, I have the opportunity to do something or get involved somehow. So I did, to an extent. Right now I'm on another mailing list, waiting for more information. But what else can I do?

I mean, is it wrong to live as I always have when I am very much aware of the conditions that others are trapped in? I don't know. Probably not. But I do think it's wrong to pretend that everything is okay. These girls are abducted as young as 8 years old, raped until they agree to cooperate, and cannot escape because they have nowhere to go. If they get pregnant, they endure hasty and unsanitary abortions and head right back to work for the next customer. They either die in captivity or are rescued and ostracized by their former communities.

And I get upset when I'm out of laundry detergent...

I have no conclusions to draw from all of this. I'm pretty convinced that God doesn't want these girls to be living like that, but he has yet to extend his mighty hand from the heavens to alleviate their pain. That, I believe, is where we come in. Somehow.


Oh boy. Everything else I was going to write now seems trivial and trite. Bear with me.

Well, on March 8, I went to New York City with a few friends on a school-sponsored trip. It was a college kid's dream excursion: we paid only $15 to get there, ate bagels stolen from the school cafeteria, and entertained ourselves feeding ducks in Central Park. Who says you have to spend money to have fun!?

As previously mentioned, I've been asked to play in chapels more frequently as of late. Any of you familiar with the Contemporary Christian Music scene might know the name Charlie Peacock. He's a producer and artist who has worked with everyone from Switchfoot to Amy Grant to DC Talk. He came to Messiah as a guest speaker/worship leader and yours truly got to play with him! Here's the best part: my favorite DC Talk song is In The Light, Charlie Peacock wrote the song back in the 90s, and he performed it at a Messiah chapel service with me on guitar! Thank you, thank you very much.

In other news, I just returned from Spring Break in Florida with my lovely family. We spent 5 days at Disney World doing everything the park has to offer and a few days at Grandma and Grandpa Goodman's house. We ate copious amounts of delicious food, walked many miles, and even kayaked 7 miles down the Weeki Wachee River. Anyone interested in more information should talk to Mama or Papa. They were there too... and they have lots of pictures!

My favorite part was, oddly enough, doing my homework. Now, before you gasp in shock (or swell with pride), let me explain. My final article for Magazine Writing is supposed to be 2000 words on something completely unrelated to Messiah. When I told Dr. Larry Lake that I wouldn't be going home until Easter and had absolutely no leads in Grantham, PA, he asked me what I was doing over Spring Break. From there, I developed a proposal for an article on the "faces behind the magic." At Epcot's World Pavilion, I interviewed four international employees to explore what it's like to work for America's largest theme park, and how/why they travel around the world to represent their countries to tourists in Florida. I talked to a Canadian, Norwegian, Japanese, and Morrocan. I left with an incredible appreciation for the diversity and culture found in this corner of a theme park, eager to write my article. I'll keep you posted on how it turns out.

There was more I wanted to say, but I have to head to an "All Callers Meeting" for Phonathon. I have no idea what it will be about, but it's absolutely mandatory. I'll keep thinking of things and add to this post as I remember.

Thanks for everything.
Out of time to edit.
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