INHERITANCE seeks to promote unity among Asian American Christians through written reflection and discussion on issues relevant in our communities and churches.

Our hope is that Asian American Christians will be able to find commonality in the struggle for clarity and coherence in our identities, and thus, will take up the responsibilities that come with greater realization of whoGod created us to be.

Thanks for everyone who came to my art show!  I really appreciate it. More to come.  Thanks to my friend CJ for hooking it up, and for Kevin Shen at GoodPoint Media for the pictures.

A message on a Starbucks cup: The Way I see it.

via aybeibei

Freeset exists specifically to provide freedom for women from the sex trade, women who were forced into prostitution by trafficking or poverty. These women didn’t choose their profession — it was chosen for them.

Now, they’re being offered a real choice. When they choose to work at Freeset, they can start new lives, regain dignity in their communities, and begin a journey towards healing and wholeness.

All profits from Freeset in Kolkata benefit the women (salary, health insurance and retirement plan) and are used to grow the business. This means more women can be employed and experience freedom.

The great thing is, when you buy a Freeset product, you directly participate in a woman’s journey to freedom.

Pick up their new magazine! www.inheritancemag.com

100 years ago, Milton Hershey, yes the founder of Hershey’s chocolate, started his legacy. He established the MILTON HERSHEY SCHOOL (MHS) and gave opportunities to generations of poor children confronted with insurmountable societal challenges on the path to adulthood.

As they celebrate their centennial year, be a part of their legacy in providing opportunities for poor children to overcome poverty and continue a tradition of giving back to those in need.

Buy and enjoy your favorite Hershey’s chocolate and you give an opportunity for a young child to receive first rate education!

About two months ago I found out Charity Water and wrote this post “Any September Birthday’s out there?”

Charity Water is about a man named Scott Harrison who wanted to do more for his 32 birthday than just recieve gifts. So instead, he asked everyone instead for $32 to help bring fresh water to Kenya. One year later, Charity Water is encouraging all September born people to instead of recieving gifts for themselves, to encourage their friends to give $33 to support this cause. As soon as I heard this, I was convicted and stressed. I’ve always recieved gifts for my birthday and it was hard for me to imagine not getting anything.

Tomorrow I will be turning 21, and I’m asking anyone who wants to give me a gift to instead give $21 to Charity Water. My goal is $210, so only 10 people.

DONATE HERE

$20 means one person can get clean water for 20 years.

$250 means two families of six can get clean water.

$5,000 means clean water for a community of 250.

A little while ago, I read the powerful account Banker to the Poor by the founder of the micro-lending system, Professor Muhammad Yunus.

His idea is pretty ingenious – the idea that you can loan one person a couple dollars (or less) and change their life forever.   It makes sense though.  After all, 40% of the world lives on $2 a day or less.  A good many of them have the determination, skills and smarts to succeed but what they are never given is the opportunity to do so.  They’re stuck in a cycle of making just enough money to survive, unable to save and invest for next year, or even next week.

Straight out of Yunus’s account is the story of how he stumbled across the potential this miniature loan in the Bangaladesh countryside and began a journey that at the time, no one believed would succeed:

Sufiya Begum earned two cents a day [in profit after borrowing money from loan sharks to purchase raw materials and produce ]. It was this knowledge that shocked me. In my university courses, I theorized about sums in the millions of dollars, but here before my eyes the problems of life and death were posed in terms of pennies. Something was wrong. Why did my university courses not reflect the reality of Sufiya’s life? … Her children were condemned to live a life of penury, of hand-to-mouth survival, just as she had lived it before them, and as her parents did before her. I had never heard of anyone suffering for the lack of twenty-two cents…

Yunus goes on to talk about how he loans the twenty-two cents himself to Sufiya and forty others, sees the dramatic change that takes place, and eventually establishes the Grameen Bank (literally, “of the village”) to provide micro-loans all over the world.  A very powerful story about one man who sees something wrong with the world around him, and has the imagination and perseverance to do something about it.

This September, I will be turing 21.  I’ll keep you updated on what I’ll be doing.

The September Campaign Trailer – www.borninseptember.org from charity: water on Vimeo.