Beautiful Dream Society | Getting Ready for More Beautiful Lives

Getting Ready for More Beautiful Lives

As I am getting ready fly on the plane from Johannesburg to Lesotho for the 6th time, I am reminded of the Beautiful Dream Society slogan “Our dream is to see lives made beautiful”. I can hardly wait to see the beautiful lives at our shelter in Maseru. I think of one of our residents who as a single mother of two, was promised a job in South Africa if she could get the money to cross the border. After she saved to take advantage of this opportunity, once she arrived in the town, she was sold to a 56 year-old-man who enslaved her for two and a half years. After bearing his child and suffering unspeakable conditions, she finally had a chance to escape to the police and was taken to the BDS Shelter. After being cared for, loved, valued and trained at the BDS Shelter, she will begin a new job next week as the sewing instructor for a program at Victory Church Maseru for orphans. Her life is being made beautiful.

I think of one of our Chinese young residents who was promised a better life in Lesotho, but once she arrived, she was forced to be a prostitute in exchange for her airfare to Africa. At the BDS shelter, she began to learn about Jesus Christ who loved her and to whom she has now dedicated her life. She recently created a lovely heart-shaped note describing the beautiful life that she is beginning to have which I want to share with you.

Thanks so much to all of you who are making beautiful lives!

Posted on Tue, December 6, 2011 by Jennifer Crow filed under

14 comments (Add your own)

1. Abigail Hampton wrote:: WOW!!! That is so awesome! Makes me smile and cry. :)
Sun, December 11, 2011 @ 10:22 AM
2. Nana wrote:: Dumela Lena!Mein Papa hat mir deine Blogadresse weitergeleitet. Er hat mir erze4hlt, dass du einen Freiwilligendienst in Lesotho mhcsat! Ich find das toll! Hab grad deinen Blogeitrag gelesen. Ich war selber ein Jahr in Sfcdafrika, in Lesotho direkt war ich nicht, aber in den Drakensbergen hab ich mal Urlaub gemacht, da wars sehr schf6n. Wenn ich lese was du so schreibst, krieg ich wieder richtig Fernweh nach Sfcdafrika. Vieles ist bestimmt sehr e4hnlich, z.B. we4re ich gern mal wieder bei einem richtigen Braai dabei. Ich werde auf jeden Fall weiterhin deinen Blog verfolgen.Ich wfcnsch dir viel Spadf! Geniedf dein Jahr!Liebe Grfcdfe,Verena
Tue, April 3, 2012 @ 2:28 PM
3. Nagy wrote:: Hallo Lena,wir haben gerade deine Blog-Eintre4ge geeslen wann schreibst du das alles??Ist total schf6n, so auf dem Laufenden gehalten zu werden. Wir sind schon auf die ersten Fotos gespannt.Wie waren deine ersten Arbeitstage?Liebe Grfcdfe!!Mama und Babba
Tue, April 3, 2012 @ 4:51 PM
4. Mario wrote:: I am absolutely lpaplaed that these advertisements are available to the public eye. The fact that it is reaching the eyes of young children who may not even be aware of the matter, let alone the eyes of adults is just simply mind blowing. As much as I agree that this is a very crucial matter in our society today, I do not agree with the fact that advertisers feel the need to publicize the problem on billboards or the sides of school buses where we will pass by them every day. Human sex trafficking is a terrible and distressing issue, but however I do feel that some of them are capable of finding a real job or better life, it just takes determination. It may be hard for some sex workers who are only aware of that type of lifestyle, but some of them have the opportunity to escape this existence and do not take advantage of it. I agree with the right to freedom of speech, but this is taking it far and beyond that. Ads of women and young girls whom are victims to this trafficking should not be legal to post for everyone to see. I believe it should be illegal to post these advertisements, this is an unfortunate concern but I do not think we should approach fixing this problem in the form of pictures and billboards for the public eye.
Tue, April 3, 2012 @ 9:47 PM
5. Pawan wrote:: I can't even believe some of these demartisevents are making it out into public. They're completely ridiculous. The way they portray these women is trashy. If you want to say that someone who is a sex worker can be a mother, daughter, or sister of someone why would you portray them as so? Just because this is their job does not mean they are a drug addict or dress in crazy outfits and overdone makeup. On the other hand some of these demartisevents were done very well and have a shock point. They may not be family friendly so I wouldn't put them on city buses but they could have their place in the media.I think these ads could be considered perfectly legal. I don't see them as directly supporting the sex trade. That is something you would really have to read into and that's not the point they were trying to prove here. The point is these people are just like you and me, they just happen to work for their money in a way we would never consider.
Tue, April 3, 2012 @ 10:57 PM
6. MCarmen wrote:: The legal concern sholudn't be the main concern, regardless the Ads placed in these city bus stations are protected by the First Amendment for the most part. The main focus should be if the ads are family-friendly and suitable for the public eye to see. It's the ethical concern that is raising eye brows. As discussed in class on Friday, maybe the ad should be reworded or possibly have the creative director of the campaign take a whole new approach for the ad campaign itself. Looking at it through a child's prospective, when they see these above-reference ads placed on the walls of the cities bus stations some kind of an awareness is created. Now having the initial message be completely understood might not be the case all the time. Confusing could be the only effect the rubs off the ad, i.g. they might possibly think that its ok to do this depending on the age group as also discussed in class. I believe the message isn't ethical. In my opinion, this kind of campaign should be made to be understood within the first glance. It sholudn't cause negative reactions on how the message is trying to get across.
Wed, April 4, 2012 @ 4:50 AM
7. Williana wrote:: BIN ICH?Ffcr dich bin ich mutig,sagst du – ich kann es nicht nachvollziehenffcr ihn bin ich ganz brosndees,grenzenlose Begeisterung – seine Empfindung erreicht mich nicht ffcr sie rede ich zu viel,hilfloses Schweigen – kfcnstliche Pausen als mein Madf ffcr sieffcr manchen bin ich arrogant,heimliche Ablehnung – von mir erffchltffcr uns leiste ich viel,wohlwollende Anerkennung – mein Labsalffcr euch frage ich zu viel,eure vere4rgerte Miene – meine Auslegungffcr andere bin ich Kamerad,Treue und Verle4dflichkeit – oft stodfe ich an meine Grenzenffcr manche bin ich Vorbildihr Bild von mir Wunschvorstellung von Ste4rkeffcr viele bin ich sichtbar,viele Ansichten – ist auch nur eine passende dabeiffcr alle bin ich etwasffcr jeden etwas anderesffcr mich bin ich ratlosbin ich, was andere von mir erwarten?bin ich, was andere in mir sehen?bin ich, was von ihnen bei mir ankommt? mein Selbstverste4ndnis nur ein Widerhall ihrer Empfe4ngnis?meine Wahrnehmung nur doppelt gespiegelte Wirklichkeit?mein Handeln nur vorauseilender Gehorsam?bin ich nicht immer dieselbe?Im Spannungsfeld zwischen Begeisterung und Ablehnung zerreidft meine Welt.a9 dru10.10.04
Wed, April 4, 2012 @ 11:49 AM
8. Viney wrote:: Dumela Lena!Mein Papa hat mir deine Blogadresse weitergeleitet. Er hat mir erzÃ¤hlt, dass du einen Freiwilligendienst in Lesotho machst! Ich find das toll! Hab grad deinen Blogeitrag gelesen. Ich war selber ein Jahr in SÃ¼dafrika, in Lesotho direkt war ich nicht, aber in den Drakensbergen hab ich mal Urlaub gemacht, da wars sehr schÃ¶n. Wenn ich lese was du so schreibst, krieg ich wieder richtig Fernweh nach SÃ¼dafrika. Vieles ist bestimmt sehr Ã¤hnlich, z.B. wÃ¤re ich gern mal wieder bei einem richtigen Braai dabei. Ich werde auf jeden Fall weiterhin deinen Blog verfolgen.Ich wÃ¼nsch dir viel SpaÃ! GenieÃ dein Jahr!Liebe GrÃ¼Ãe,Verena
Wed, April 4, 2012 @ 11:09 PM
9. dqywplnqaw wrote:: Ua31HD zmldhnsuelat
Thu, April 5, 2012 @ 12:43 AM
10. Katty wrote:: Hallo Lena,bist ja gut angekommen, Matthias hat uns schon erzÃ¤hlt. Hoffentlich war der Flug gut und du hast dich bei einem Glas Rotwein etwas entspannen kÃ¶nnen.Dauert wahrscheinlich einige Zeit, bis du dich da etwas eingewÃ¶hnt hast. Wir hoffen, dass es der Traum ist, den du dir so vorgestellt hast.Bei uns scheint heute mal die Sonne und wir kÃ¶nnen noch im Garten Kaffee trinken.Die Ferien sind morgen auch vorbei und fÃ¼r Lucas gehts wieder los, leider. .bei uns auch.Vielleichts hast ja mal Zeit zu schreiben, wÃ¼rden uns freuen.Nun liebe GrÃ¼Ãe von der ganzen FamilyUschi
Tue, April 10, 2012 @ 7:57 PM
11. Tassilyn wrote:: Hi Amber-Thank you so much for sharing pics of my tablescape- they turned out beautifully! It is so incredible to do one tablescape and see how different artists capture it with photography, each has their own take on it and interpret my design a different way. I definitely love your take on it! All you images are gorgeous- have enjoyed exploring your site. you are very talented! If you could please credit me that would be awesome Hope to work with you or see you again soon!xo laurenAdorned Event Design
Mon, April 23, 2012 @ 2:04 AM
12. Ollie wrote:: Dumela Lena!Mein Papa hat mir deine Blogadresse weitergeleitet. Er hat mir erzÃ¤hlt, dass du einen Freiwilligendienst in Lesotho machst! Ich find das toll! Hab grad deinen Blogeitrag gelesen. Ich war selber ein Jahr in SÃ¼dafrika, in Lesotho direkt war ich nicht, aber in den Drakensbergen hab ich mal Urlaub gemacht, da wars sehr schÃ¶n. Wenn ich lese was du so schreibst, krieg ich wieder richtig Fernweh nach SÃ¼dafrika. Vieles ist bestimmt sehr Ã¤hnlich, z.B. wÃ¤re ich gern mal wieder bei einem richtigen Braai dabei. Ich werde auf jeden Fall weiterhin deinen Blog verfolgen.Ich wÃ¼nsch dir viel SpaÃ! GenieÃ dein Jahr!Liebe GrÃ¼Ãe,Verena
Fri, April 27, 2012 @ 11:03 PM
13. Maisyn wrote:: Hallo Lena,bist ja gut angekommen, Matthias hat uns schon erzÃ¤hlt. Hoffentlich war der Flug gut und du hast dich bei einem Glas Rotwein etwas entspannen kÃ¶nnen.Dauert wahrscheinlich einige Zeit, bis du dich da etwas eingewÃ¶hnt hast. Wir hoffen, dass es der Traum ist, den du dir so vorgestellt hast.Bei uns scheint heute mal die Sonne und wir kÃ¶nnen noch im Garten Kaffee trinken.Die Ferien sind morgen auch vorbei und fÃ¼r Lucas gehts wieder los, leider. .bei uns auch.Vielleichts hast ja mal Zeit zu schreiben, wÃ¼rden uns freuen.Nun liebe GrÃ¼Ãe von der ganzen FamilyUschi
Mon, April 30, 2012 @ 10:42 PM
14. Melly wrote:: Hi Alan. Thanks for weighing in. I agree with you, and video certainly would have made my top 10 list. More video is uploaded to YouTube in one month tha...
Wed, May 2, 2012 @ 2:12 AM

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