The blog home of speaker and writer Mindy von Atzigen

The blog home of speaker and writer Mindy von Atzigen I am a lover of words, Jesus, and His church. I am also a wife, a mom, and a friend. I hope you'll consider me yours...

Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Denise Boynton!  She is the winner of the "Treasure the Ordinary" blog book that's fresh off the presses.  Denise is a longtime friend, so when her name was drawn, I was thrilled to be able to send her a copy. 

Is there a friend in your life who needs some treasure?  If you'd like to order your own treasure book, please click here.  I've been so delighted with the way the book turned out, and I'd be happy to send you one for someone on your Christmas list.

Blessings to all treasure readers, and have a very Merry Christmas season!

Author's Note:  For those of you who are in my area, Treasure the Ordinary, Volume One is on sale at the Growth Central Bookstore at Emmanuel Fellowship Church.  You can pick up a copy there without shipping charges.

India (Part Two)

I have wrestled with how to share of what impacted me the deepest in India.  I have even wondered if I should.  Because I will not be able to relay the beauty of what God is doing in the lives of the broken there, hidden in a city of twenty two million people. 

But, I feel I must try.  Because people need to know.

The current statistic for people who are suffering from human trafficking worldwide is 27 million people.  But, there is no statistic that can even come close to communicating the depth of pain in the face of one woman caught in the sex trade.  And there is no number that can describe the innocence lost of her child now being brought up in an orphanage with AIDS.  There are no graphs or charts that can move the heart with the enormity of injustice more than seeing it with your own eyes.

And that's what I saw. 

I saw women whose bodies have been freed, still working out the freedom of their souls.

I saw children who have been snatched out of harm's way, only to fight for their lives from disease.

I saw courageous warriors who are risking everything to save those who have no voice.

And I saw so many more who need to be fought for.  So many more...

If you've ever wondered if the seemingly small things you do to help fight social injustice really help, let me be one voice to say they do.  I saw what transformations are happening in the lives of the broken with the help of ordinary people just like you and me.  And they are transformations on such a deep, profound level that I am honored to be counted in the host of people who are joining together to say human trafficking must end, and I will help end it.

So, don't grow weary in the helping, my friend.  If you've never given of your time or money to use your voice for those who have none, find a group you can support.  There are many wonderful people around the world who are doing the work and just need our resources to take it to the next level.  If you already have a group to support, don't stop.  Lives are depending on you.

So remember them.  Don't forget them. 

Because God hasn't. 

And what he remembers should be remembered by me.


Author's Note:  Here is a list of Christian ministries I am aware of that are currently actively helping those who have escaped or are trying to escape the sex trafficking trade.  If you need a place to invest in, these would be a good place to start.

Sower of Seeds International

Rescue Her

Eternal Threads

India (Part One)

I've returned from a twelve day trip to India, and it's taken me a little while to adjust back to my home time zone, the amazing softness of my own bed, and the ability to turn on the faucet and drink water without wondering if it's clean or not.

Such a simple thing...water.  I use it three or four times an hour throughout my day without giving it a second thought, but for great parts of the world, it's a precious commodity.

During our first day in India, our group walked the streets of a slum in the city of Mumbai, passing row upon row of houses made from whatever supplies were available.

I can't really describe the scene I witnessed except to say it's poverty on a level one simply does not see in the western world.

And then it happened.

We turned a corner, and there in the middle of the slum neighborhood, was life.

It was color.

It was vibrant.

It was smiles.

It was sounds of children singing.

It was just alive.

And after we had been there a few moments, I realized the life was coming from the water. 

The story I learned was the village had only had one dirty, contaminated water source until recently.  But some people who wanted to help partnered with a church in the slum and dug a new well, a well with multiple spouts running down the length of this street that now teemed with life.  Instead of walking a far distance to wait in a long line for dirty water, the people in this slum could now access it right here...here in front of this pastor's house and church.  A pastor who, bent over from the waist, loves his people day in and day out, giving them water from the well and water from the living well.

And it was this water and this love that made life in the desert.

"Jesus answered, 'Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.'"  - John 4:13-14