Category Archives: life

HELP!! Social Media Etiquette for Dummies

Posted by Amy W in Business Talk, life, Random Thoughtz and tagged with , , , , , ,

Or maybe it’s just for me…

Over the past few months, two people I know were recruited and offered job promotions through LinkedIn.  The first story I thought was a rare occurance, but after hearing the second story I thought there might be something to this professional social media/networking thing and decided it was time to “complete” my profile.

Up until the last few weeks, my profile had no picture, no great details about me or my professional experience.  I may have had my undergraduate and graduate programs and my current employer listed so that I could connect with classmates and current colleagues, of course.  That’s about it.

I’m not actively looking for a new job right now, but considering the changes that are coming forward in my company and specifically at my specific location, I figured it would be prudent to start preparing for changes should they become necessary in the future.

So I signed into my linked in account.  Added a picture, updated my resume, and accepted a few friends.  I clicked a few companies and groups I’d like to follow and the rest has been history.

Then last night happened…

(disclaimer – To date I have been a long-time blogger (not consistent as of late), active on Facebook, and participate in a few other online discussions where my identity remains relatively disconnected from my career and livelihood).

I found this one particular LinkedIn group that seemed to have interesting conversations pertinent to my industry and interests.  I loved the content so I jumped in on the discussions.

One technical question that was posed had some good responses, and one response that summed the issue up really well.

I did what any millennial Facebooker would do and I “LIKED” this comment posted the LinkedIn Group Page.

Then I came across another conversation where someone posted an article.  There were a few responses to the article, one of which I disagreed with.  Well, most of it was okay, but there was one rather grandiose assumption of the secondary effects of this major change highlighted in the article.

I did what any net-active blogger/commenter/social media-ite would do and I challenged it by posting my own comment to the article/the comment I disagreed with.  I emphasized other market forces at work outside the US… blah, blah, blah.  Really, I had researched this very thing earlier in the fall and was excited to be able to apply what I learned from my research to a real conversation.  Or to even have that kind of conversation with others in like-industries was exciting for me.  (Silly?  Possibly.  Nerd?  Definitely.)

My concern after the fact became this…

Over the past 24 hours, people I don’t know, who saw this “challenge comment”, have looked at my profile.  I know because LinkedIn tells me this.  Then when I look at their profiles, I can see that they know some of the same people I know.  Suddenly my comments and activity on this new LinkedIn group thing take on a whole new dynamic that I’ve never before experienced through blogging, facebook and other social media channels.

Usually, I either don’t know who’s “looking” at me, or they can’t look at me because of security settings.  BUT the whole idea of LinkedIn is networking…i.e. finding connections through other connections, connecting through interests, industries, etc.  Here, people can check my profile without “friend requesting” me (what does LinkedIn call it?), and that’s perfectly okay.  But I’m seeing some traffic to my profile as a result of my comment with no responses/feedback to said comment and I’m getting all paranoid inside.

Was I spot on?  Was I  wrong?  Was I awesome?  Was I a jerk?  I don’t know, I don’t know!?!?!

I mean, if I totally botched my comment, are these people going to contact their people who are also my people and tell them to check their employee who’s spouting off all kinds of stuff on some social media site?  I wasn’t rude to the guy (I don’t think) and (obviously) I think the point made was relevant…

Moral of the story is that I need help.  I want to continue collaborating and conversing in this place, but I don’t know the ins and outs of this professional social networking business.  Do I just need to get used to people looking at my profile and not make a big deal out of it like I am right now?  Are there rules that I need to abide by?  Is there a different etiquette that I must learn for LinkedIn that is different from Twitter, or Facebook or YouTube or other social media channels?  Is it okay to disagree with someone on a linked in group thread, if you’re tactful about it?  And what exactly does “tactful” look like in this instance?  Or are we supposed to not say anything if what we have to say disagrees with what everyone (or just someone) has already said?

I need a crash course in professional social media for dummies…can anyone help me out?

Another Reflection From Haiti

Posted by Amy W in Christianity, Jesus, life, Missions and tagged with , , , ,

It’s taken me some time to figure out what I wanted to close with on this site (this post was originally posted a few weeks ago on the team blog…so it’s a bit dated).

Short term missions have a lot of value – not only for the staff and organizations that are served, but also for the individuals who are going.  Sure, that seems selfish, but it’s a reality that can not be ignored…after all, if you are truly going with a “learner’s heart”, how can you expect to not receive something about God and His Global Kingdom when you go?

I hope and sense that our efforts to serve Child Hope were valuable.  The house we provided, the things we built and organized, the care we provided with the kids – all of those efforts were to serve the staff working there for long-term and the community and kids they are caring for.

On a personal level, I came back from Haiti with some conviction that I had to take to the Lord.  I’m used to being the odd person out.  I usually know how people are going to respond when they start asking questions about my parents or life growing up.  I know my story is a little awkward or sad for people to hear, but I’m okay with that.  For the first time in my life, and by going to an orphanage, I found myself surrounded by kids who have stories that carry more similarities than I’m used to finding in the people I typically encounter.  I didn’t really feel like the odd person out because I knew they too experienced loss and had to grow up far too early.  In some cases I felt like I was staring into a mirror – seeing in others tendencies others have brought to my attention (that I couldn’t really see in myself).  In other cases, I felt like being there with those kids was God’s way of showing me there was something beyond the mirror into which I was staring.

let me explain…

I don’t for one instance claim to know or understand the full experience of life that these kids have, but in some ways I relate. I know what its like to be abandoned and unwanted by one parent, only to watch the other die at a young age.  I struggled to make sense of justice and love in the midst of some really bad experiences.  This is the mirror that I’m speaking of.  It is different from the lives of these kids, but perhaps more relatable and similar than any other community of people that I’ve ever met.

What I noticed and rejoiced with the Child Hope kids is that regardless of their circumstances, they loved to praise and worship God.  I saw pure joy exuding from them at times…simple excitement, thanksgiving, and praise to the Lord.  And this is where God started showing me what was beyond that mirror.  I think it is best described as “joy”.

Coming home, I was very convicted at my own lack of thankfulness toward God and was led to repentance. Beyond the circumstances that have defined our past or are shaping our current reality, there is God and through His Holy Spirit, joy is possible.  There are opportunities to be thankful and to worship God that are not circumstantial.  In Philippians 4:8 Paul exhorts us to focus on what is good and worthy of praise.  I speculate that we are more prone to look at the trials and difficulties we face than we are to the good things, especially when things aren’t necessarily “good”.  It takes effort to look beyond those harder realities into the character of God and worship Him.  God challenged me to do that during our week in Haiti using kids who exuded joy.  He left no room for the exemptions that I usually conjure up when I see joy alive in the lives of others.  I couldn’t find a single “yeah, but…” as I tried to understand what was before my eyes.  They have experienced the harder realities of life, but they had something different…something I wanted.

In a place where I expected to see pain and sorrow much more manifest I found Joy…and through that experience God is challenging me to be more thankful toward Him and through Grace, He is ultimately leading me to experience more joy.

I will never forget this opportunity, and I am so thankful to those who helped to make it possible.  Every time I share, I tell a different story and realize a different way that I saw God move.  The staff of Child Hope do a wonderful job at loving these kids and pointing them to Christ…Maison de lumiere is truly a house of light in this nation.

now stop reading and go PRAISE God for them and PRAY for the work they continue to do there :-)

Remembering My 20′s

Posted by Amy W in Jesus, life and tagged with , , , , , , , ,

“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Col. 3:17)

While in Haiti, and on reflecting after the trip, I have been challenged to bring more thanksgiving into my life.  I have a tendency to be a bit of a Negative Nancy, focusing of the bad…or expecting the bad, because sometimes I guess I think that’s all I’ll get…bad things.  As I enter into a new decade of my life (the 30′s), I feel that its only right for me to reflect on my 20′s praising God for the work he’s done in the past 10 years.  I was originally going to post this as a “high-low” of each year, but in light of the verse above, I’m going to focus on the “highs” – and for all of these items, the Glory goes to God.

20 years old (2001) – On September 2, 2001 God revealed to me the Truth of what His Son Jesus did for me, I came to Him and He gave me a new life (2 Cor 5:17) – and started this journey with Him, which has been absolutely amazing.  Hard at times, but always beautiful and for His Glory.

21 years old (2002) – 1st Missions Trip to Japan.  God opened my eyes and heart for His people…all His people, to the ends of the earth.  During this time he specifically broke my heart for the unreached in Japan. 

22 years old (2003) – Graduated College – By the grace of God I not only was able to go to college, but also graduated…and I had 2 job offers!!   I attended my 1st Urbana Conference.

23 years old (2004) – God opened my eyes to the idolatry that had consumed my life and connected me with a solid, missions minded church that would become a major influence on my development as a woman of God. 

24 years old (2005 ) – Mission Trips to Poland and Japan – It was during this time that God solidified my missionary heart and confirmed it through several people, without me even asking. 

25 years old (2006) – Accepted by an organization to do Church Planting in Japan.  Started a Missionary in training program with an awesome pastor at my church.  God “forced” me to go into counseling to deal with stuff that I had been avoiding my entire life – the result completely changed my understanding of who I was and the value I have as a Child of God.  I attended my 2nd Urbana Conference. 

26 years old (2007) – Went to Ghana in 2007.  Gave my first full message on the freedom we can find in Christ and prayed with many girls who wanted to know the freedom that God’s truth brings.  Became a Youth Leader and finished out the senior year of several amazing students that had been on the Ghana trip.  Finally believed that God’s love for me was unconditional.

27 years old (2008) – Spoke on the value of mentoring (Titus 2) at a woman’s seminar and helped to plan a women’s training event under the leadership of some awesome women at my church.  Applied to and was accepted to be part of a core team for a church plant that my church was sending out.  

28 years old (2009) – Started a church plant with a group of 28 others from my church.  Started my MBA program. Shared the gospel with a random man in my town with two of my friends.  Went to El Salvador to celebrate a friend’s wedding (she’s a missionary there). 

29 years old (2010) – Met regularly with a few girls to read God on Mute.  Started a prayer gathering with some awesome friends.  The group has changed from its beginnings, but we continue to meet to pray for friends, the world, and the churches working in our area.  God brought me to a new church and started to bring about some unexpected changes in my life. 

29 years old (2011) –  Went to Haiti on a Missions Trip and was reminded that my heart for the nations is still very much alive, even though He uses it in ways I didn’t expect when I planned my life several years ago (ha!).  God called me to start a prayer ministry at my church and He has brought together a group that I absolutely LOVE to pray with on a weekly basis.  Had several girls talk to me about doing a girls study or group for several of the women at my church.  We’re now going through Believing God this summer and I’m very excited for how we’ll all grow in our Faith. 

If someone told me this would be the life I would live in my 20′s, I would have laughed in their face.  Actually, someone did.  I was still an atheist at the time and I literally laughed in their face.  Praise God for lives that are radically changed through His Son’s sacrifice!!!  Walking with Him hasn’t always been easy, but looking back I can see clearly that God has been at work and I am so blessed to take a small part in what he’s been doing over the past 10 years.

I have no idea what my 30′s will bring.  He’s done crazy things with the last 10 years…I’m sure the next 10 will be just as Glorifying to His name.  I know many constants in my life are changing over the next year.  I will go to China in a little over a month.  When I return, I have 6 months left of my MBA.  Lord willing I will graduate in Feb 2012.  My company will complete its merger and the plant I work at will be sold.  This is where the unknown kicks in…there is so much that is not seen, but the possibilities of what God can do are endless…I just hope that He continues to allow me to be part of what He’s doing here on earth.  For now, He reveals just enough for me to take that next step.

“By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called out to a place…he went out not knowing where he was going.” (Heb. 11:8)

They Have Names…Just Like Us

Posted by Amy W in Christianity, Jesus, life, Missions and tagged with , , , , , ,

This is one of what may be several posts on my recent trip to Haiti.  I was impacted and challenged in ways far beyond what I expected, and continually find myself drawn back to what I experienced…seeking God’s purpose in it all…this is one story about one kid I met while I was there.

Earlier this year I was taking an International Business Class.  Our big project for this class was to study and present on a hot topic in the realm of international business.  One of my teammates suggested that we use “human trafficking” as our topic of study.  As a christian I know such injustices exist and immediately jumped on the idea.  I only really thought of sex trafficking, as that seems to be the most widely thought of when it comes to modern-day slavery.  To research the project I dug through the CNN Freedom Project website and read Disposable People – New Slavery in the Global Economy by Kevin Bales, and referenced Sex Trafficking – Inside the business of Modern Slavery by Siddharth Kara.  I also read Good News About Injustice by Gary Haugen.  It was also during this time that I had been praying about and finally decided to go on the mission trip to Haiti.

It is estimated that about  27 Million slaves exist today, most of which are women and children.  I was surprised to find out that Haiti had its own form of slavery; they are called restavecs.

Fast forward to June 23.  I was climbing trees with one of the girls in the orphanage (I’ll share about her in another post).  We started in one tree…got yelled at because we seemed to attract older kids to a park that was meant for younger kids.  We relocated to a second tree, just as climbable, but closer to the “big kid” playground.  After 5 minutes or so in this tree…several other kids followed up after us.  Seriously, these kids are like monkeys!  They definitely put my tree climbing abilities to shame.  I’ll blame it on my age :-)

Most of the other kids climbed up, but quickly jumped back down.  One kid, however, lingered in the trees with us.  He didn’t speak English, and the only word I could understand from him was belle, which means pretty.  Ti-Junior, was everywhere all week.  If we were with the orphanage kids (as was the case that day) he was there.  If we were at the feeding program (meant for the neighborhood kids) he was there.  If we were traveling through the neighborhood…he was there.  All week this kid (along with a few others) would show up.  I never knew who he was…local, orphanage kid, or what.

In the tree that day, however, I started to see a different side of him.  He braided my hair, and pretty much kept his hand on my arm.  It wasn’t weird or creepy at all…just childlike affection.  When I got out of the tree to sit on the swings, he followed…holding my hand and wanting to push me or be pushed on the swings.

After a few minutes, the “house mom” for the boys home came over.  She’s american, so I was able to ask her what Ti-Junior’s story was.  The other kids that were in the trees came over and were able to translate so that we could understand more of his story.

Basically this kid was a restavec who was able to run away and become free again.  His parents died, we think, in the earthquake that hit Haiti in 2010.  Apparently, he was found by a man who lets him sleep in a school each night, having to leave in the mornings before students arrive.  He’s 11 years old and has no one, and the fact that the man allows him to not sleep on the streets is a blessing.  Right now Child Hope doesn’t have room to bring him in, but according to the house mom, they have their eyes on him for when space opens up for more kids.

As the house mom shared with me his story, everything started to make sense.  I have no idea when the last time was that this little boy felt the hug of a mother or was ever told that he was loved…or even felt love.   I couldn’t help but wonder what goes on in his mind over the hand he’s been dealt in this life.  My heart broke.  It still breaks.  I can only hope that he felt the love of Christ as we played in the trees and on the swings…That he feels loved by the staff that remains in Haiti and by the other blancs (white people/americans) that come on short-term trips.

When I got back to the guest house that night it was time for dinner, but immediately afterward I ran up and sat on the roof.  I needed to be away from others so that I could just breathe and process the hurt I felt for this kid.  I must have cried for a total of 3 hours that night…praying, talking to God and sharing his story with my teammates.

I had studied the crazy reality of modern slavery, I presented on it…wrote about it.  I knew going there, that the issue was real.  I knew some of the kids in the orphanage were ex-restavecs.  But none of that fully prepared me for the moment that one of those kids went from being a statistic to being a real kid…a kid with a name, holding my arm, smiling back as I smiled at him.  In that moment I realized that each person that makes up that statistic has a name.  They are real.  They are like all other kids, wanting/needing affection and attention.  They want to know that they are loved and special.  Even as I type this, I’m not sure that I can do justice to the emotion welling up inside…nor to the gravity that this one experience…this one kid…has produced in my life.

One of the scariest, but often most rewarding things we can pray is to ask God to give us the eyes to see what he sees and the heart to feel what he feels toward the people we encounter.  I pray that often…and prayed it every day leading up to and during my time in Haiti.  Ti-Junior was just one example of how that prayer was answered during this trip.  My heart breaks for that little kid, but I would have it no other way.  I feel helpless in looking at his situation, but I know it has/will change me forever…even if I’m just barely scratching the surface at what that change is today.  God used him in an incredible way, I can only pray that one day he will know and believe the Love that our Heavenly Father has for him…that he would realize he IS special, regardless of what lies the enemy may feed him as he processes the circumstances that have come to define his life thus far.

Back From Haiti

Posted by Amy W in life, Missions and tagged with , , , ,

I came home from Haiti last night.  It was about 11:45 PM or so when I walked in the door.  I dragged myself out of bed this morning to go to church.  Walking there I noticed that about half of my 10 minute walk to church included a trail of blood stains, culminating (at least for me, in the direction I was walking) with a large splatter of blood.  I’m thinking the point at which the fight…or most likely the stabbing occurred.  When I walked out of church, I found myself surrounded by men in skirts…or Kilts as they are formally called.  Apparently the annual Irish Festival is happening in my town today.  I went into Starbucks…unable to decide what coffee I wanted to order.  Now I sit quietly at home, doing laundry…and trying to process what I just experienced with my team…and with God in Haiti.  Tomorrow I go back to work. Apparently life didn’t stop because I left the US for a week to share God’s love with others.

Haiti connected with my heart in a way that rivaled the feelings I experienced in Japan…as no other trip or place has in the past.  Maybe I’m tired, or maybe it will take a little while to actually make sense of the things I struggle to find words to express today.  Was it always this hard?

Hopefully over the next few posts I will be able to share my experience in Haiti…the eyes that God gave me.  The moments His Spirit came alive.  As well as the lessons that The Lord wove into my heart.

The only thing I really know for sure is that the descent into our first US airport ushered in a sense of sadness.  This is usually the case for me.  I never feel like this is home, but I have to leave that with God to reconcile for Himself.