I used to kindly roll my eyes at those espousing the importance of fair trade. I never really understood it, and, honestly, living on a youth pastor’s salary with three kids is no joke when it comes to stretching the ol’ family budget. I know what it’s like to try purchasing decent Christmas presents for your 17 [...]
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“We stop at the stoplight, me and my blonde children in our air-conditioned van, and she appears at my window. She holds up the flowers she is peddling, and she looks at me through the glass with brown eyes that have seen far-too-much already. My kids are dancing to Hannah Montana in the backseat eating [...]
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I wanted to share this quick illustration of the three different components of the fight against human trafficking. This word-picture could be applied to many social justice issues, and I heard it first from our friends over at ZOE Children’s Homes. Call me crazy, but I just do better with simple analogies I can understand. . [...]
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It’s hard to communicate what it’s like to live in an environment surrounded by stories of sexual abuse, human trafficking, and rampant prostitution. Thailand is seeped in the darkness of it, as are so many other countries around the globe. Just before we left for the States, in fact, Matt and I were sitting outside [...]
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Asking for money is not something I enjoy. Nor is it something I do all that often. In fact, over the past year and half of blogging here, even though our family’s salary is completely donor-based and even though we are surrounded by poverty on a daily basis, to the best of my memory, I’ve only [...]
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Heads-Up: The following is a more mature post about prostitution in Thailand, potentially inappropriate for younger readers. The girl in the story moved to the city to work in the bars, of her own accord {not being forcibly trafficked}. She was born into a world of poverty, little education, and a culture that in many [...]
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This past week I heard another story. Not a pretend, theoretical one about a nameless girl in some country I can’t really locate on a map. But a real story, about a real girl, sold underage into a brothel, right here. And this girl, this story I rubbed shoulders with this week, is only one [...]
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We watched this 3-minute video this week, and we were reminded of the ripple effects the life of one girl can have, for generations. And I sit here, and I think of my own daughters. And I think of myself. And I am floored by the realization that I so seldom stop to give thanks [...]
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And, now, for an admittedly heavier post {in conjunction with the upcoming Idea Camp: Orphan Care Conference}. The following is about human trafficking, child labor and how complicated these problems really are. Please know that I claim no ‘expert status’ on the issue . . . They walk the streets selling roses– flowers in the [...]
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Every puzzle piece counts. Every. Single. One. And maybe you don’t have a heart for adopting an orphan, Or perhaps you don’t possess a burning passion to buy fair-trade. {funny article from a chic in Costa Rica} Maybe you are not called to live in the jungles with backyard snakes the size of 18-wheelers, {wild [...]
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We found ourselves there by accident. By miscommunication. And ignorance. And impulsively hopping off the taxi-truck too early. We thought we were headed to a pedestrian walking street, with ice cream shops and t-shirts for tourists. But one wrong alley later, Matt and I found ourselves with our three little children in the heart of [...]
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ALifeOverseas.com / LauraParkerBlog.com.
My family is living overseas in Thailand, where my husband is directing a Christian Humanitarian Foundation. This blog is the honest recording of our journey– squatty potties and all. 
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Destined Traveler.
Mentoring Young Adults, Hosting Teams, Educating about Human Trafficking.
