"Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast"

written by Sarah Wauterlek

As a newcomer to LA, as well as to WOGA, I wasn’t sure what to anticipate when I walked through the door to Cheryl’s warm and inviting home that cool Wednesday evening. What I found was a group of women who were brought together by their common interest in helping women around the world.

I was initially met by Lori, one of the designers at Raven + Lily, who graciously welcomed me in. Cheryl, the founder of WOGA: LA, greeted me soon after and introduced me to the group.

The smell of homemade food filled the home and the genuine smiles on the women’s faces warmed my heart. I placed my potluck contribution down on the table. Soon after we filled our plates, as well as our stomachs. Sitting around the dinning room table, some of us having never met, we shared pieces of our lives together. It felt comfortable, encouraging, and right.

After dinner we moved into Cheryl’s living room and Lori made chai tea for everyone. The agenda for the rest of the night was to pray for the impossible to be made possible through Christ. We were to each share a seemingly impossible prayer request for women in the world, as well as, a personal one.

Cheryl began by sharing about her recent trip to SE Asis. Although there are concerns for the people there, she was inspired by the joy and hope that she encountered in the women. She asked us to pray for the country and specifically for a young girl Cheryl had met on a previous trip who told her that she was worried for her future. She had good reason to be too because her parents have now sold her into prostitution.

One by one the group shared their prayer requests. There were prayer requests for the war in Afghanistan, a cure for HIV/Aids, Christ's love to spread in India, the rape happening in Congo, forced prostitution in Cambodia, the elections in Burundi next year, the homeless women at Hope Gardens in LA, for ten very specific women in India to come to know God's love for them and for local women who are struggling with unemployment, divorce, and raising children alone. It was inspiring to hear how different issues and different cultures were placed on our individual hearts to be brought to a collective group. It was also encouraging to pray to the God of possible for what we feels impossible to us.


In addition to the prayer time, future events for WOGA LA were discussed. Ideas for panel discussions, a retreat, and a study group to explore the issue of human slavery were brought forward. Please keep posted for details.

At the end of an evening saturated with discussions of sobering matter, I somehow found myself feeling uplifted, inspired, encouraged, and energized. In the ugliness of the world issues brought up that night, I saw the beauty of unity among these women. God brings us together to serve because we can do so much more together than we could ever do alone. I felt empowered and fulfilled. I’m anxious to meet again and I would encourage anyone who is at all interested to attend the next meeting.

"It is not enough for us to say: 'I love God,' but I also have to love my neighbor.
 St. John says that you are a liar if you say you love God
 and you don't love your neighbor.
 How can you love God whom you do not see,
if you do not love your neighbor whom you see, whom you touch, with whom you live?

" Mother Teresa

Launch of WOGA: Seattle!

WOGA: Seattle launched on Sunday, October 11 with lots of enthusiasm and a desire to connect women who are concerned about justice issues facing women globally.

The meeting began with a showing of "The Girl Effect" video (look for it on You Tube) which demonstrates the beneficial domino effect of dedicating resources to girls.

One of the women in the group is the Mom of a woman in WOGA:LA. The woman from WOGA: LA had come up to us earlier in the year to say she thought her Mom would love WOGA. At that time, there was no WOGA: Seattle. How neat that we were able to reconnect with her and that she joined us at our first meeting!

Welcome to WOGA, WOGA: Seattle - we know great things are ahead for you!

WOGA North America Chapter Leaders Meet in Colorado Springs

Leaders from five of the eight North America Chapters of WOGA met together in gorgeous Colorado Springs (home of Women of Global Action's Executive Office) to cheer each other on and share ideas for the coming year. States represented included: Washington, Colorado, Texas, Florida and California.

Cathy Schmidt, WOGA: Tampa Bay's leader, shared with us how she'd gotten excited about what God is doing through women across the world. Before starting her chapter she had been to a WOGA meeting where WOGA's global leaders were talking about their ministries and Cathy said to herself, "These women are putting their lives on the line - what am I doing?" Then she went back home and started WOGA: Tampa Bay which has been going strong now for almost two years.

Two members of the WOGA: Colorado Springs leadership team had similar stories of returning to the United States after fantastic trips to Africa and wondering how they would keep their newly found global passion alive. They connected with WOGA: Colorado Springs, joined the leadership team and are now inviting other women to join the journey.

We're all looking forward to another good year of connecting with women who are passionate about what God is doing through women globally.

WOGA Chapters Coming in Seattle and Glendora

WOGA North America is soon to welcome two more chapters! WOGA: Seattle will hold their first meeting on October 11 and WOGA: Glendora (35 minutes east of LA) is in the planning stages.

Katey Sherbondy of Seattle went to the Trafficking Forum held by WOGA : Colorado Springs and felt God was putting it on her heart to do something! Namely, to bring WOGA to Seattle If you have any friends there - tell them about this chapter!

Shelley Ulrich in Glendora has been globally connected through her work as Mission Director at Glenkirk Church in Glendora. Although she knew about WOGA, she didn't know we were active in North America as well as around the world. When she went to WOGA's website and discovered that we had local chapter in North America, she thought - I want to start one of those in Glendora!

Welcome Katey and Shelley! We look forward to great things from WOGA : Seattle and WOGA: Glendora!

WOGA: LA Hosts Raven + Lily Travelers

In a whirlwind tour of 3 countries, 2 Raven + Lily designers, 2 WOGA staffers and a film-director-Raven + Lily-spouse met the leaders and artisans of WOGA's East Africa women's coops to begin their fabulous partnership (see blog entry below).

Brandon Dickerson (aka film-directing-spouse) and Lori Fox (Raven + Lily designer) shared from their trip at the recent WOGA: LA meeting.

Ever wonder how men's and women's lives change when their countries are racked by war, genocide and AIDS? Brandon told us that on Sunday in Burundi, the pastor had three points to his sermon: Rape, murder and forgiveness. He encouraged women who had been raped to bring their pain to Christ and challenged any men who had brought knives into the service to turn aside from violence. This is the daily reality of the women in WOGA Burundi's sewing and salon cooperatives.

Lori shared from the heart about how her own faith was strengthened by the faith she saw lived out by the African women artisans.

We had a great time connecting with each other at the meeting as there were women present from the soon-to-be-forming WOGA: Glendora (35 minutes east of LA) as well as our own WOGA: LA members.

Thank you, Brandon and Lori, for sharing your trip and your hearts with us so enthusiastically! Stay tuned for the opening of Raven + Lily's online shop (www.ravenandlily.com) for uniquely creative jewelry, house goods and more crafted by WOGA artisans in East Africa and India as well.

Women on the Agenda!

Groups that work with women received an incredible affirmation of purpose in the recent issue of the New York Times Magazine. Following are excerpts from the article, "The Women's Crusade":

"IN THE 19TH CENTURY, the paramount moral challenge was slavery. In the 20th century, it was totalitarianism. In this century, it is the brutality inflicted on so many women and girls around the globe: sex trafficking, acid attacks, bride burnings and mass rape.

Yet if the injustices that women in poor countries suffer are of paramount importance, in an economic and geopolitical sense the opportunity they represent is even greater. “Women hold up half the sky,” in the words of a Chinese saying, yet that’s mostly an aspiration: in a large slice of the world, girls are uneducated and women marginalized, and it’s not an accident that those same countries are disproportionately mired in poverty and riven by fundamentalism and chaos. There’s a growing recognition among everyone from the World Bank to the U.S. military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff to aid organizations like CARE that focusing on women and girls is the most effective way to fight global poverty and extremism. That’s why foreign aid is increasingly directed to women. The world is awakening to a powerful truth: Women and girls aren’t the problem; they’re the solution."

Yes! This is a powerful truth - investing in the lives of women and girls is the way to go if you want to make an impact on the world! And if something else is true these days, it's that we want to be investing our resources in those things that will bring lasting impact for good!

Raven + Lily with WOGA in East Africa!

Kenya - Maasai artisans with Kirsten Dickerson, founder/director of Raven + Lily, and Judy Mbugua, WOGA Africa Director.

Raven + Lily's work began in Kenya where they met Maasai women who are supporting their families through jewelry-making. Together, they will work to enhance design and marketing and share the women's amazing stories.

Kute in Kenya! Kendra Bailey, WOGA: Colorado Springs, and Lori Fox, WOGA: LA

Kendra, who heads up communications for WOGA, captured photos and stories, while Lori, who's on Raven + Lily's design team, worked with WOGA's East African artisans.

Burundi - Lori and Kirsten strategizing with Peace Nihorimbere, WOGA's Central Africa Director

Raven + Lily will be partnering with the WOGA Sewing Cooperative in Burundi to create some wonderful things - but you have to wait until October to find out what they are! That's when their online store will be up and running (stay tuned at: www.ravenandlily.com)

Ethiopia: Emily Voorhies, WOGA Director, and Kirsten cutting yummy welcome cake in Ethiopia - Pastor Zeb Mengistu (from Beza Church - WOGA's Ethiopia partner) in background

Raven + Lily will partner with Beza's Entoto Outreach to women whose lives have been impacted by AIDS and are making jewelry as a way to earn a living and strengthen their sense of purpose.

For more exciting stories from this trip, check out the Raven + Lily website and their blog at: http://ravenandlily.wordpress.com/.

If you live in Los Angeles, stay tuned for our next WOGA: LA event which will feature Kirsten and Lori as they tell us about the blossoming partnership with our sisters in East Africa.

Opportunity to Meet with Congress Members

WOGA members in California, Colorado and Florida are taking the opportunity offered by the International Justice Mission (IJM) to meet with our congress members. New legislation has recently been introduced which will increase U.S. support to eradicate child trafficking in countries that have the will to end the crime but lack resources. “The Child Protection Compact Act of 2009” will provide $50 million over three years to select “focus countries” through the U.S. Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (G/TIP); focus countries will receive support in building public justice systems that investigate crimes against children and prosecute perpetrators in numbers sufficient to deter and eventually eliminate the crime. The legislation also authorizes increased assistance for care for survivors of trafficking.

IJM has a process for training those who are willing to meet with their congress members. Two WOGA: LA members will be meeting with their congress person this month.

As bills work their way through to final passage, it is very helpful to have as many congressional co-sponsors as possible. This is the goal of IJM's current campaign - to have people meet with their congress members and ask them to become co-sponsors of the bill.

There is still a long way to go for this bill, so please pray for its passage as it moves through the many stages. And pray for many co-sponsors! For more information and for ways to get involved in the campaign, go to the IJM website at: http://www.ijm.org/justicecampaigns/cpca#learn_more

WOGA: LA Summer Study on the book, Why Not Women?

This summer 18 women gathered to work through the book, Why Not Women? written by Loren Cunningham and David Hamilton. The book presents a great case for why women should use all of their gifts to the fullest extent within the church and world.

We had great discussions while looking at biblical passages that have been interpreted by some to say that women should only fill certain roles. Lots of "ah-ha's" were heard as we came to understand these passages in light of the weight of Biblical support for women in leadership. We looked at how these views on women have serious consequences in our world today and how critical it is to value, support and encourage women as they seek to pursue God's call on their lives.

Casandra, one of the study members, had this to say about her experience in the study:

"I think the amazing thing about the study for me is that for many years I read all those scriptures that seemed to indicate the Lord thought less of women than of men and felt deflated. Then I'd feel guilty for being "contrary" to His Word in any way. It was a painful loop. I strove to be obedient but I wondered how those scriptures about women being silent and apparently mindlessly submissive could mean what they seemed to mean. I wondered if I was somehow in sin for feeling conflicted and not receiving them at "face value".

"The study has been a revelation because it's presented those difficut passages in a way that confirms what I've always believed in my heart -- that God loves us all, men and women, equally, without preference. It is like a burden has been lifted from my heart! That's given me such a boost to be who He wants me to be. The study was really like a love letter from the Lord. What a gift!"

By Tiffany Kunz (of Raven and Lily - who graciously allowed us to include this update for our blog)

While Sarah, Sophia, and Kirsten were in India, Amy and I (Tiffany) had the pleasure of hosting Peace from Burundi, a strong and amazing woman of God who had dedicated her life to care for her sisters in desperate need. Peace, who is the director for Women of Global Action in Central Africa, came to visit the Raven and Lily Studio with Cheryl Lovejoy (the founder of Women of Global Action: LA). She was here to raise awareness and support for the impoverished women in her country, and Raven and Lily is seeking to start a partnership with with her women’s empowerment programs. A little background on Peace…

Peace is originally from Burundi, a small country in Africa that has been plagued with genocides for the past couple of decades. (All of the terror that was publicized in Rwanda has happened in Burundi as well.) Peace, her husband and their three children fled Burundi after the third genocide began and became citizens of Canada. She stayed in Canada until she heard the undeniable voice of God calling her back to her home country.

Through WOGA, Peace teaches impoverished women how to sew and become self sufficient to support themselves and their families. At the moment there are 100 women involved in Burundi and Rwanda, and over 350 more women that are on a wait list to join her program. Their needs are great, and we are asking God to show us how best to support Peace’s work. So many stories - women who can’t pay rent for want of $5 (which is what one room’s monthly rent is!) and who can’t eat as they don’t have the $2 necessary to pay for food that day. Peace told us that she often fasts for a week - eating only dinners - so she can give the money to the women for their meals. Really desperate stories - helping these women will help their families and literally save lives.

Our weekend with Peace started with her visit to our studio on Friday where she showed us the beautiful items made by the ladies in her program. We shared our personal stories and like-minded visions to support disadvantaged women, and Amy discussed pattern ideas and different ways that we could help out and partner with Peace's sewing cooperative. Peace was then taken to Hope Gardens, a local Los Angeles based transitional housing facility for women and children that had been living on the streets of Skid Row. These “homeless” women were so touched by the story of the women in Burundi that they asked how they could help and if they could give some money. Amazing.

On Saturday, Peace was our guest of honor for a WOGA: LA brunch at the R&L studio. It was a beautiful sunny morning that was blessed by many intelligent and wonderful, strong ladies. The event came to a close with an inspiring time of prayer and then we all had fun snatching up all of the goodies Peace brought to sell. All in all, it was a huge blessing to have met Peace and an eye opening experience to hear about life in Burundi. Please be praying for her, her family, and the women in her program…that God will protect them, provide everything they need, and show Raven + Lily how we can partner with these beautiful women.