Free. Free. Set Them Free... a Five Minute Friday post.

I was in and out at the Twitter party because I am getting prepared to host my first ever MercyHouse Home Party (and I am trying to not buy all. the. things. before anyone else can see them!)  So - with MercyHouse and Fair Trade Friday fresh on my mind, the prompt tonight is perfect!

This is Five Minute Friday (- a five minute timed free write) and our One Word Prompt for the day is: Free

{GO}

"Free. Free. Set them free..."

You know how it goes, right? If you love somebody... set them free.  I know we always interpret it this one way, but as I was busy unpacking and setting up for my first MercyHouse Home Party on Saturday... that is the song that I found myself singing under my breath. 

Set them free from poverty, from lack, from risk... set them free from the limitations that block them from walking out their destiny. (And us, too... of course!)

I have said it here before... I grew up in a small town, and for a huge chunk of my life, I lived pretty small.  I thought it was safer... hidden. But there came a time that I no longer wanted to hide... I no longer wanted to just be safe!  It has only been a handful of years that I have broadened my mindset and looked at things beyond my borders.

An International traveler, I am not! (Yet...?) However, my heart and soul began to wake to the world at large and while so many global issues feel hopeless and overwhelming and just too big... I came to the glorious realization that even a little help can be multiplied and used for good.

Something about loaves and fishes...

So I began to get passionate about bringing awareness to the global issue of human trafficking... and I began to be more and more aware of my white privilege and first world problems and the reality of poverty and how we all can make a difference and change the world - across the street, and across the ocean.

We began to sow into ministries and organizations who are doing the work... meeting needs and following the Spirit and setting the captives free!  We fell in love with places that we have never gone and with people whom we have not yet met.  We threw what little we had to give to MercyHouse and Women At Risk... to build a Community center, plant a garden, do laundry with sisters in Africa... we began to have a passion to set people free - all because we truly believe the call on our lives is the call on everyones' life:
To Speak Life.
  To Be Love.
    To Shine On!

To set them free...

And how can we do that? Well - if you can go and are called to go - Go!  But if you're like us and live paycheck to paycheck and don't really have a passport, a budget, or maybe you don't even feel a pull to travel... you can still make a difference and change the world, one life at a time!

{STOP}

We have been with MercyHouse in Kenya for several years, and I am so excited about this new way to help make a difference! These Home Parties are super fun... as fancy or chill as you want to make them and it helps to raise awareness, as well as funds. I love that 100% of the proceeds go right into the hands of the women who made the products, helping them to stay free... empowering them to overcome and to thrive.  I am hosting a MercyHouse party but you can also sign up to host a Fair Trade Friday party, where you get to pack your own one time bag!

And how could I wrap this up without a little Sting,

because of course!

*Images are courtesy of Fair Trade Friday

Linking up with Kate Motaung and the #fmfparty Community today.  Five Minute Fridays gives us the chance to dive right in and share what He puts on our hearts! Click here to read what others have to say about "FREE"

{The FMF lowdown: I can't say it enough, really - I love my tribe! The gathering happens on Twitter on Thursday nights and then  we write our hearts out and hit publish all over the interwebs on Thursday and Friday (and sometimes on Tuesdays!) It's where we encourage and uplift... where we share prayer requests and praise reports... where we talk food and friends and we find support and kindred hearts and we are reminded that life is good and God is good and we are not alone... and then we all write for five minutes flat, a flash mob of wordsmiths letting our hearts and our fingers do the talking tapping and we hit publish before we can second guess it all away. We'd love to have you join us!}

Have you heard of Mercy House in Kenya or of Fair Trade Friday?  What ministries or organizations are you involved with that help set people free? I'd love to hear!