Archives for category: community

Reports say tickets for President-Elect Obama’s upcoming inauguration are being sold for anywhere between $20,000 to $40,000.  I heard a radio report awhile back that mentioned hotels have long been sold out in the DC area for the inauguration, and local residents are offering the barest of bare-bones accomodations (read: you can set up a tent in their cold, cold backyard — and no restroom facilities) for $100/night.

Change.org has been running an online competition for ideas to change America.  Change.org will then launch a nationwide campaign to support the top ideas and will present them for the full consideration of the Obama administration.

Charles Lee, co-founder of JustOne and lead cultural catalyst of New Hope Church in the LA area, has made it the final round of voting.  His idea is to build more shelters around the nation dedicated to helping victims of human trafficking.  Here’s the full description:

In light of the recent growth of awareness and practice of reporting human trafficking suspicion around the country (which has resulted in more rescues and arrests), I would like to see our government help fund a national media campaign to build more trafficking shelters around the United States. In addition, our government could also award some of our private, recognized service providers with funding for building and operating shelters for trafficking victims.

You can check out Charles’ blog here or vote directly at Change.org to help build more trafficking shelters.  I strongly encourage you to raise your voice and help this worthy idea rise to the top of the list.

While the idea of Becoming a Contagious Christian has always kind of offended my OCD-ish sensibilities, I was extremely interested to learn that, according to recent research, happiness really is catching.

According to researchers from Harvard and UC San Diego:

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… and yet so far!

I recently heard this story on Morning Edition on NPR:

Scientist Douglas Prasher isolated a glowing jellyfish protein gene. When he lost his research funding, three other scientists built on that work. In October, it was announced that two U.S. and one Japanese scientists had won the Nobel Prize in chemistry.

The crazy this is, after Prasher lost his funding he ended up driving a courtesy van for a living.  But, perhaps even crazier, he says he’s happy doing it.  According to him, research is sort of a lonely enterprise.  However, driving a van gives him the opportunity to connect with people all day long and hear their stories.  Then again, maybe that’s just the story he has to keep telling himself to keep from losing his mind over being that close to winning a Nobel Prize!

There’s sort of a happy ending to this story:

The U.S. scientists who won the prize this week invited Prasher and his wife to Stockholm for the Nobel ceremony. They will thank him in their acceptance speeches and will pay for the trip.

A brief followup to the Yoon family tragedy that occurred earlier this week:  You can send donations directly to the Yoon family or through their church.  Here is the donation information from their church’s website:

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In a moment, Dong Yun Yoon lost his entire family on Monday when a military jet crashed into his home here in San Diego, killing his wife, two infant daughters and his mother-in-law who had recently come from Korea to help care for the newborn.

How does a person live through something like this?  During this interview on CNN, Dong Yun Yoon, surrounded by his church community, reveals his deep faith in Christ even as he reveals his broken heart.  When his voice breaks and he talks about his daughters, it is utterly crushing:

I can’t believe they’re not here right now.

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