Soundtrack to this post: “Lean on Me” (Glee Version)
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUhR7CrI5GU]
Hello friends!
Click on that link as you read this post and let the sounds soothe you and set the mood.
As the month closes, Rebecca and I have both been so busy with getting school wrapped up: papers, exams, packing up our apartment. At the same time, we’ve been trying not to put Leaked! on the backburner. We’d much rather be working on Leaked!, but school calls! But guess what? SCHOOL’S OUT FOR SUMMER (or in my case, forever baha)
We thought we’d update you on what’s been happening with us even though it’s mostly been school. We’ve been contacting various organizations to get doors open for when we go. Nothing’s set in stone, but I think this is the way we’re going to approach the trip, to allow for God to move amidst these opportunities. We’re so freaking excited for this!
We contracted a few good friends who are artistic and awesome to help us take a promo picture for our support cards. Paint splatters, sticky feet, and a couple of laughs later, and we had our profile picture! So a huge thanks to Lindsay, Andrea and Robyn for helping us out.
At an attempt to fundraise, Rebecca and I came up with “Dancing for $$$$”, which sounds a touch more sketchy than it really is. At our friend’s show at The Basement (a cool organization too – so check that out at myspace.com/the_basement), we tried to set up a make-shift donation box (AKA a tissue box) by the door and dance awkwardly for money. One person donated a dollar. In fact, he donated a dollar on the condition that we wouldn’t dance. Har har. But again, a dollar stretches farther overseas, so it was well appreciated. We were also able to give away a few flyers, and like I’ve said, we truly believe God can move through any opportunity – this one included.
Throughout this month, we have gotten an incredible amount of support from family, friends and strangers. We are so in awe, humbled, and encouraged by you all. Last night was our last bonfire of the school year. Surrounded by frog noises, cold air on a clear night, and people we love, it made us realize how blessed we truly are. And if that wasn’t enough, our friends surprised us with notes of encouragement and money they had been collecting to support us. I can’t even express how much this means to us – that people believe in this project, in us, and the God behind us.
Rebecca and I are so ready to go. This month is going to be chaotic with the number of things we have to do in such a short time, but emotionally and spiritually, we feel ready for the things to come. No matter what, we are rest assured knowing that we have all of you to lean on.
“You just call on me brother when you need a hand. We all need somebody to lean on. I just might have a problem that you'll understand. We all need somebody to lean on.”
Much love,
Rebecca and Denise
4/29/10
4/6/10
We fly like paper, get high like planes!
Ladies and gentlemen,
I would like to formally inform you that Rebecca Young and Denise Frias are officially going to the Philippines, Thailand and Cambodia in the summer of 2010. After weeks of googling cheap flights, we finally made the voyage to TravelCuts with one goal in mind: Buy plane tickets!
And that we did, my friends... that we did. Thanks to Kim, our travel agent, we are leaving Vancouver on June 1 to Manila, Philippines. On June 30, we fly to Bangkok, Thailand. We leave for Pnomh Penh, Cambodia on the 23rd of July and head back to Vancouver on August 25. Whew, that was a mouthful!
Who knew buying plane tickets could give you such an adrenaline rush? My heart is still racing from the huge purchase as the reality sets in - this is happening and there's no turning back!
Details of this trip are slowly taking form, as God has provided us opportunity after opportunity of places to get in touch with, and organizations to work with. As we finalize these details, we will keep you guys updated!
Thank you so much for the support and the excitement you guys are sharing with us!
Happy Tuesday!
Rebecca and Denise
I would like to formally inform you that Rebecca Young and Denise Frias are officially going to the Philippines, Thailand and Cambodia in the summer of 2010. After weeks of googling cheap flights, we finally made the voyage to TravelCuts with one goal in mind: Buy plane tickets!
And that we did, my friends... that we did. Thanks to Kim, our travel agent, we are leaving Vancouver on June 1 to Manila, Philippines. On June 30, we fly to Bangkok, Thailand. We leave for Pnomh Penh, Cambodia on the 23rd of July and head back to Vancouver on August 25. Whew, that was a mouthful!
Who knew buying plane tickets could give you such an adrenaline rush? My heart is still racing from the huge purchase as the reality sets in - this is happening and there's no turning back!
Details of this trip are slowly taking form, as God has provided us opportunity after opportunity of places to get in touch with, and organizations to work with. As we finalize these details, we will keep you guys updated!
Thank you so much for the support and the excitement you guys are sharing with us!
Happy Tuesday!
Rebecca and Denise
3/9/10
Yes, we just name-dropped Justin Bieber
Hello friends!
Wow. Thanks for the support! Our procrastination has turned to checking and re-checking our links - numbers of group members, video views and blog views. It’s a little ridiculous and maybe bordering obsessive. I wish you all could fit in our living room and observe us get as excited with every view as teenage girls watching a Justin Bieber music video (that really is how thrilled we get about your support!) For real, thanks so much to everyone that has checked out our stuff, posted and shared links, invited friends to our group, or sent us encouraging messages and comments. We feel the love and it helps confirm for us that this project is not only real, but possible too.
A new video is coming soon! We did some filming today, so hopefully we can get it posted ASAP. Without giving too much away, let’s just say this afternoon felt awkward. I mean, it’s already kind of uncomfortable filming and watching yourself, but approaching a stranger to interview and film is just as awkward as watching the Olympic torch malfunction. Nonetheless, it was fun and I’m excited for you all to see it. We also promise more information is coming soon regarding plans for the trip. Some networking opportunities have been popping up, so we’re just trying to get that stuff worked out. We’ll let you know as soon as we do!
OH! We are participating in AdSense. If you haven’t heard of it, we are trying to make money by letting google post ads on our blog. The more views we get, the more money we make. I’m pretty sure we’ve made a penny thus far. (But hey, I’ve heard a penny stretches farther in SE Asia anyway – so every little bit helps!) We’re trying to get AdSense on YouTube too, but apparently you have to be invited to participate (and thus, we need to make YouTube notice us!) This means we need you to do one simple thing that requires you to lift literally only one finger: click to watch, re-watch, read, re-read, and share these links with all!
Thanks for the love. Until next time, let it leak and spread the word!
Wow. Thanks for the support! Our procrastination has turned to checking and re-checking our links - numbers of group members, video views and blog views. It’s a little ridiculous and maybe bordering obsessive. I wish you all could fit in our living room and observe us get as excited with every view as teenage girls watching a Justin Bieber music video (that really is how thrilled we get about your support!) For real, thanks so much to everyone that has checked out our stuff, posted and shared links, invited friends to our group, or sent us encouraging messages and comments. We feel the love and it helps confirm for us that this project is not only real, but possible too.
A new video is coming soon! We did some filming today, so hopefully we can get it posted ASAP. Without giving too much away, let’s just say this afternoon felt awkward. I mean, it’s already kind of uncomfortable filming and watching yourself, but approaching a stranger to interview and film is just as awkward as watching the Olympic torch malfunction. Nonetheless, it was fun and I’m excited for you all to see it. We also promise more information is coming soon regarding plans for the trip. Some networking opportunities have been popping up, so we’re just trying to get that stuff worked out. We’ll let you know as soon as we do!
OH! We are participating in AdSense. If you haven’t heard of it, we are trying to make money by letting google post ads on our blog. The more views we get, the more money we make. I’m pretty sure we’ve made a penny thus far. (But hey, I’ve heard a penny stretches farther in SE Asia anyway – so every little bit helps!) We’re trying to get AdSense on YouTube too, but apparently you have to be invited to participate (and thus, we need to make YouTube notice us!) This means we need you to do one simple thing that requires you to lift literally only one finger: click to watch, re-watch, read, re-read, and share these links with all!
Thanks for the love. Until next time, let it leak and spread the word!
3/3/10
Meet us.
Meet us. Rebecca and Denise. Sometimes known as those two Asian roommates.
And this summer, these two Asian roommates plan to conquer Southeast Asia! Well, not really… but this is something we have constantly talked about - taking a spontaneous trip together. Sitting on our couch in our messy apartment debating life our futures and college-like things, it struck us – why not? Why can’t we take a spontaneous trip this summer? Since we couldn’t think of a logical answer, we’ve decided to go in to this all or nothing.
So, from June to August of 2010, we are going to the Philippines, Cambodia and Thailand. Inspired by Invisible Children and The Buried Life, we realized we wanted to take part in something bigger than ourselves. Although our lives are ordinary, we want to do and see something extraordinary, without excuse and vicarious-free.
I’m sure most of you have at least heard of some of the social issues currently going on in these countries paired with chilling statistics that, let’s face it, most of us soon forget.
-40% of Filipinos and 40% of Cambodians live below the national poverty line.
-25.2% of Thai people live on less than $2 a day.
-Human trafficking is seen in all three countries.
-Much of this human trafficking targets children for the sex industry.
-At the rate things are going now, two children are sold every minute.
-Slavery is occurring more now than it ever has before. It is the second most profitable industry in the world – that’s about 27 million victims!
Don’t get us wrong; these are all unsettling statistics that should be taken note of. But the reality is, it’s hard to remember and relate to numbers. It’s the stories that truly grasp one’s heart and ingrains minds to remember what’s going on and whom it’s affecting. This is why we plan on documenting our every move: our before, during, and after, so that you can get the most intimate view possible on what we see and what’s going on.
Our mission is simple: to love anyone and everyone we come across. To be honest, our plan isn’t intricate because we want to leave room for anything, depending on whom we meet and the needs we see. Things are still falling in to place, like exact dates, places, organizations to work with… but our hope is that you can join us on this incredible journey as we begin to fill in the blanks.
We’re going to update this as much as possible. So please keep reading, watching and learning with us!
Let it leak. Spread the word.
And this summer, these two Asian roommates plan to conquer Southeast Asia! Well, not really… but this is something we have constantly talked about - taking a spontaneous trip together. Sitting on our couch in our messy apartment debating life our futures and college-like things, it struck us – why not? Why can’t we take a spontaneous trip this summer? Since we couldn’t think of a logical answer, we’ve decided to go in to this all or nothing.
So, from June to August of 2010, we are going to the Philippines, Cambodia and Thailand. Inspired by Invisible Children and The Buried Life, we realized we wanted to take part in something bigger than ourselves. Although our lives are ordinary, we want to do and see something extraordinary, without excuse and vicarious-free.
I’m sure most of you have at least heard of some of the social issues currently going on in these countries paired with chilling statistics that, let’s face it, most of us soon forget.
-40% of Filipinos and 40% of Cambodians live below the national poverty line.
-25.2% of Thai people live on less than $2 a day.
-Human trafficking is seen in all three countries.
-Much of this human trafficking targets children for the sex industry.
-At the rate things are going now, two children are sold every minute.
-Slavery is occurring more now than it ever has before. It is the second most profitable industry in the world – that’s about 27 million victims!
Don’t get us wrong; these are all unsettling statistics that should be taken note of. But the reality is, it’s hard to remember and relate to numbers. It’s the stories that truly grasp one’s heart and ingrains minds to remember what’s going on and whom it’s affecting. This is why we plan on documenting our every move: our before, during, and after, so that you can get the most intimate view possible on what we see and what’s going on.
Our mission is simple: to love anyone and everyone we come across. To be honest, our plan isn’t intricate because we want to leave room for anything, depending on whom we meet and the needs we see. Things are still falling in to place, like exact dates, places, organizations to work with… but our hope is that you can join us on this incredible journey as we begin to fill in the blanks.
We’re going to update this as much as possible. So please keep reading, watching and learning with us!
Let it leak. Spread the word.
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