Just a few facts and figures...

Poverty:

• Every minutes 12 children under the age of 5 die because of malnutrition (source: FAO, State of Food Security in the World, 2003)
• The richest 20% of the world uses 86% of the worlds natural resources (source: UNDP 2003)
• More then 1.2 billion people earn less then $1 a day. That’s 23% of the world’s population (source: UNDP 2003)
• 1.1 billion people suffer from obesity
• 2.7 billion people don’t have a restroom (source: World bank)
• A poor African receives $8 compensation by the EU, the compensation for a cow is as high as $913 (source: UNDP 2003)
• There are 42 million people in the world infected with AIDS, 39 million of them are living in developing countries (source: UNDP 2003)
• The rich countries spent $56 billion to help developing countries, $300 billion to help their own farmers and $600 billion on the military (source: World bank, 2003)
• Three companies dominate 83% of the coca trade, six companies dominate 85% grain trade and another three companies dominate 80% of the banana trade.
• Every year Europeans and northern-Americans spend $17 billion on food for animals and $18 billion on makeup (source: World Watch, State of the World 2004)

Nature:

• Every year an area of the jungle as big as the country of Portugal is cut down, with the main reason of growing cattle-fodder and tending cattle
• One-third of the grain in the world is used as cattle-fodder (source: World Watch Institute)
• To produce a kilo(about 2 pounds) of potatoes 500 liters(about 130 gallon) of water is needed, the produce a kilo of meat 10.000 liters (2650 gallon) are needed, coming mainly out of parched areas (source: Colin Tudge, So shall we reap)
• According to NASA the Northern ice-cap will be melted in a hundred years if we keep on going the way we’re going right now (source: NASA, 2004)

The Netherlands:

• One million people in the Netherlands claim to have no friends (source: Salvation Army, 2004)
• One-tenth of the labor-force is suffering from burnout symptoms (source: CBS)

The Naked Christian

The other day I was reading in 'The Naked Christian' by Craig Borlase, and I thought I should share this little part with all of you...

"As a person who worked with drugaddicts once said of the events in the church in Toronto: 'When we heard that people were catching the plane to go to the place where the laughter was, we didn't understand. But we thought that if this was God it wouldn't be long before they would caught the plane to come to the place where the crying was too. -- We waited. You didn't come' "

normal?

It doesn't hurt to take a hard look at yourself from time to time, and this should help get you started.

During a group tour to a mentalasylum, one of the visitors asked the Director what the criterion was which defined whether or not a patient should be institutionalized.
"Well," said the Director, "we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the patient and ask him or her to empty the bathtub."
"Oh, I understand," said the visitor. "A normal person would use the bucket because it's bigger than the spoon or the teacup."
"No." said the Director, "A normal person would pull the plug. Do you want a bed near the window?"

the tens things I need

Sue did it, so I wanna do it too...
Type your name followed by 'needs' and see what google says you need.

I was lucky that this other girl named Christina already did it for me, these are hers, but I've found some of my own too:

1. Christina needs to wear clothes ON TOP of her underwear
2. Christina needs to be "thanked" for her comments
3. Christina needs a hand
4. Christina needs to name-drop
5. CHRISTINA NEEDS TO SLOW DOWN
6. Christina needs our votes!
7. Christina needs to advance to the next tier of accomplishment
8. Christina needs to advance from good to great
9. Christina needs to own her whiteness and stop trying to be a rapper
10. Christina also needs to eat healthy meals at regular intervals

11. Christina needs a loving and structured family
12. Christina needs to advance from good to great
13. Christina needs someone who can handle her behaviors in a patient, consistent and loving way and who can demonstrate an appropriate role model
14. Christina needs to quit losing weight
15. Christina needs to hear from you right away
16. Christina needs deeper drawers and some wall-mounted shelves
17. Christina needs nearly 80 minutes to express herself
18. Christina needs to buy some more paints and research the proper way to paint
19. Christina needs help
20. Christina needs to clean up her act

Ok, we already knew most of them to be true, so maybe it's in the name

well... (2)

Ok, again a short update...
I'm still working at my homeless shelter and loving it!!
I haven't got the results of my ADHD test yet.

And I'm moving to Utrecht in about two week, I still need a computer, but I'm probably getting one soon, so I'l have internet in Utrecht and more time to post new items on my blog...

well...

A short note for the people who are wondering why there hasn't been an update on my blog for a while...
I moved back to my parents for a short while (until somewhere in February). My parents have the worst internet connection known to mankind.

In the meanwhile this is what happened in my life...

I got a steady job, the homeless shelter where I was doing temp work offered me a job, so I'm doing graveyard shifts. It's a lot of fun, sometimes hard to stay awake, but that's ok. I'm the only girl in the team, so no pressure there?!?

And tomorrow is the big day, I'm gonna have my ADHD test. I'm kinda nervous... It might take a while until I'll post again so if you wanna know how it went: give me a call or mail or something.

Romans road, revised version

What if, instead of telling non-christians the rules of christianity (the Romans road) we would tell them something different:

You are the bride to the Bridegroom, and the Bridegroom is Jesus Christ. You must eat of His flesh and drink of His blood to know Him, and your union with Him will make you one, and your oneness with Him will allow you to be identified with Him, His purity allowing God to interact with you, and because of this you will be with Him in eternity, sitting at His side and enjoying His companionship, which will be more fulfilling than an earthly husband or an earthly bride. All you must do to engage God is be willing to leave everything behind, be willing to walk away from your identity, and embrace joyfully the trials and tribulations, the torture and perhaps martyrdom that will come upon you for being a child of God in a broken world working out its own redemption in empty pursuits.

With thanks to Donald Miller "searching for God knows what" page 162, taken without permission.