Really, though. I have met some VERY cool people. As I was pondering who to mention first, a post popped up on my reader that totally sealed the deal. I’ll get to that post in a bit, but first, I’d like to introduce you to one of the Peeps I Know.
Blog Title: Tasting Grace
Blog Author: Jade Keller
I actually met Jade first through her photography. She’s a regular You Capture participant. That link leads right to her You Capture entries. She also happens to be a very talented writer.
Good images coupled with strong writing will suck me in every time. I can’t help myself. I am compelled to learn more about the person.
If I remember correctly, first I just bookmarked Jade’s blog. I think it was this Chasing a Dream post that really intrigued me and made me want to follow this young woman.
I mean, how cool is it to drop everything and go to the other side of the world to do something you feel moved to do? It’s VERY cool.
It’s also sort of interesting that she ended up in one of the places in Thailand that Shannon liked the best.
Honestly, I have really enjoyed following along these last few months as she and her husband left everything they know to move to Thailand.
In case you didn’t read that Chasing a Dream post, I’ll tell you why they moved to Thailand. In her words, she’ll be “working as Project Director for the SOLD Project, an advocacy group in Thailand dedicated to preventing and helping victims of human trafficking and sexual servitude. I want to do what I can to help the girls (and boys) who go into the city trying to find work in restaurants or bars to support their families, but then end up abducted into prostitution. It is a black market so large, it competes with drugs and guns. It is so pervasive, numbers so large we can’t even comprehend – numbers of little girls and sold into slavery every day. It even has an impact, not only on national health, but also on GDP and terrorism. It is a problem we know about. But we don’t really know.”
That post that popped up on my reader yesterday was this one: Coming to SOLD. It brought tears to my eyes. It made SOLD real. Not that I didn’t believe her already. It’s just that seeing the faces of those kids is pretty powerful.
Sometimes I wonder if it’s a waste of time getting to know these people in my computer. I’ll probably never meet or even speak to most of them. But then I realize how much richer it makes me feel knowing there are people like Jade out there in the world. And I’d never know about her, or the cool things she’s doing, or get to enjoy her pictures, general writings on life, etc., if I didn’t do this whole blogging thing.
I don’t think I’ll be stopping any time soon.
If you do go and poke around on Jade’s blog — and you really should — be sure to tell her that ToadMama sent you.
