Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts

Sunday, 21 October 2012

11 years of freedom.

Mid-September, Freeset celebrated its eleventh birthday, which is truly an amazing thing - for 11 years, this business has been working for the freedom of women who have been trafficked, exploited, and sold into the sex trade.
11 years of community.
11 years of providing women with a choice.
11 years of returning dignity to those who have been abused.
11 years of working towards breaking the cycle of the roles passing from grandmother, to mother, to daughter.
11 years of a reason to smile.

Daily I remind myself just how lucky I am, that I have been given this opportunity to work alongside the most incredible people, both the women Freeset hires, and the close-knit group of international staff.
To be around a group of people who have been called from the corners of the earth by God, who have sacrificed years of their time, money, and skills, is really quite inspirational.
Not only am I blessed to be here, but when I have lived in an environment that is an assault to the senses, I really begin to be thankful for the privileges I have back home in New Zealand... I could list the differences in the quality of life back home in comparison to here, but each is on a completely separate scale. It is easier to just acknowledge these differences, and understand that the society of the life we all live today is the way it is, and there is no immediate 'fix'... which is why we are working towards freedom, for a greater quality and equality of life, and for His love to enter the homes of the oppressed and voiceless.
This is why Freeset is still 11 years young, and will continue to fight for the freedom of the women our hearts have been captured by.

Here are some photos of the celebrations that took place at Freeset - colours, sarees, music, dancing, and plenty of food! Initially the music + dancing side of things wasn't going to happen as we felt that it might be too soon after Shanti's sudden death (two weeks), but in the end it was decided that the women needed something to enjoy and be happy about - a chance to celebrate their freedom.

x

Sunday, 29 January 2012

Parachute 2012!!

The two week countdown is on!

To start it off, here are photos from my time at Parachute's Indie Craft Market:
Welcome to my stall!
Thank you Britty for letting me use this owl-house!
I was stoked that I was able to see so many of the people I hold close to my heart! Made my day that much more amazing.
And the lovely Laura! :)
I ended up shoving some paper into my typewriter for people to have a play on - the kids were probably the most excited about this! It was funny how many people I had to turn down when asked if it was for sale.
The beautiful sunset; cute decoration/father-son at Jono + Geneva's performance; Rose excited for The Rocket Summer!
Super stoked to see The Rocket Summer live! And to top it off, Relient K followed after! Eeee!
Ascend The Hill's performance. So amazing. This photo makes me think that it looks like God's presence is raining down... love it.
And now I will just show some photos from the days leading up to Parachute - the rest of the crafts/bit-n-bobs I put together with help from such generous friends.
DIY stamp-a-message onto reels of fabric to do at the stall.
Bunting waiting to be finished off, a floral pin-board (that Christine bought!!), and some decorative items for the stall.
Smokey thought he would help out... by ankle-tapping me throughout the night.
Bags waiting to be sewn and pressed for the chalk-board necklaces!
Some of the bags that Kirsten made for me - legend!
I thought that I had better start my final drawing at 2am...
The subjects of previous image.
Final drawings!
The super cute chalk-board necklaces! Thanks Sinead for the adorable bows! And Uncle Black Beetle's for the chain :)
The selection of collar guards I made! I was also so happy that Jahnea and Jessi bought one each! I love that they went to people I appreciate.
And finally, these are some of the collars I was selling! Haha awkward self-portraits much?
This year's Parachute was probably my favourite thus far... I was surrounded by the people I love, doing what I love, and getting 'paid' for it! I feel so blessed to know the people I do. You all know who you are (pretty much everyone I saw at Parachute), and I want you to know my love for you is so great, and you never fail to astound me at how generous, and caring you are.

So, back to the Indie Craft Market - it was the best event!
And to make it even more amazing, from the generosity of Parachute punters + friends, I was able to make just over $700, all of which is going to help me fund my trip, and cover my accommodation etc. The majority of this was made purely from purchases of my items, and the rest so kindly donated by a few people I had never met, but who had the greatest hearts. To those people, if you read this, thank you. Thank you so much.

Right, so now I am going to list off my favourite moments of my day, mostly so I can come back to this post to reminisce.

- driving to-and-from our cars with fellow crafters, on the back of a small open-sided freight-truck: we looked like a side show, and we made a big deal of making out that we were famous to one kid who believed us, as we were driving through the site at walking pace... haha
- Jessi Mee taking over my stall at one point, and selling a few items like a boss! (mostly involved her stepping in front of me, telling people why/what they should buy, and convincing them to make a purchase :) Love it!)
- Relient K + The Rocket Summer, with Larissa, Rose, Renee, Joshy, Christine + Jacob, Anna, Kaitlin, and Laura!
- Larissa telling a guy who had his sweaty armpit resting on my shoulder, "Escuse me, but will you be paying by the minute?"
- Hot chips/dogs with Larissa + Josh to keep warm
- seeing my reflection at Hunter Gatherer after a day in the sun, and being mortified at how sunburned my face was
- not really a 'favourite' moment (because it made me super sad), but saying farewell to Josh, Suze + Marcus until next year, and then Keegan, were emotional, yet treasured moments, resulting in me reaching my car at 12am in tears
- cracking up with Josh at our weird head-bobbing moves + looks during Relient K
- hearing the excitement in people's voices and comments when looking through my crafts
- meeting people who knew people from FS
- Sending Chalice + Stacy to get me an EP of a band they had just listened to, but bringing back a piece of deep-fried bread that resembled a lump of fat, because the EP had sold out! Hahahaha, but it was actually so yummy...
- many of the moments where you see someone you haven't for a long time, and excitedly jump up and hug them!
- getting to catch up with Marcus at random points throughout the day

In one day, so many amazing moments were shared.

One word of advice - don't drive at night if you are exhausted.
To be completely honest I shouldn't have driven home last night at 12.30am, after 2.5 hours sleep the night before... I eventually made it home, but I have learnt my lesson. Next time I am taking up the offers to crash in someone's tent for the night! It's too scary to drive that tired.

Thank you all for being so cool. No really, you are.
You're even cooler if you read through all of that.

x

Wednesday, 25 January 2012

Music for my kaleidoscope mind.

So I think I will follow yesterday's theme of what can inspire me - and music is a huge part of that for me! As cliche as it sounds...
But when I listen to music, I think. And when I think, I see pictures.
My mind is one giant kaleidoscope of colours, images, and patterns.
And snapshots.
I tend to take a lot of snapshots of memories with my mind, there for me to flick through like and album.

Okay, enough about that... here are some of the songs currently inspiring me! Enjoy!
x

Monday, 2 January 2012

We Are Stars

I thought I would treat you all to a nice song to kick start the morning off!
I absolutely love this song.
We Are Stars - The Pierces

And this is what happens when I am bored at 2.30am with a camera and a Christmas tree. (Don't ask why I was up this late, I don't even know myself).




And finally, a photo of the fireworks on New Years Eve :)
Now I am off to Auckland for a few days!
Have an awesome week.

x