Decided to start a Photo-A-Day project! This one is from 31 Bits, a jewelry company that uses fashion and design to empower women in Gulu, Uganda to rise against poverty, while gaining skills of self-sufficiency and developing artisanship.
Around this time last year, I realized I still had a heart for the fashion industry (I used to be obsessed in case you couldn't tell from previous posts on this blog), although I'd slowly drawn away from it after not knowing how I could be in the industry as a follower of Jesus who values justice and global reconciliation.
After watching "The Devil Wears Prada" one night, I got the feeling one gets after running into an old crush who things could have worked out with--so I prayed that if God saw it fit for fashion to be any part of my life, that He would bring it about, but I wasn't going to pursue it for fear of being distracted.
The next day, I found the social media profile of a woman who loved fashion, studied diplomacy at my university and felt called to empower women and girls as a follower of Jesus. Since then, she and I have become friends and we connected over 31 Bits.
This company is one I many I've learned about that see an opportunity in the fashion and arts industries to mobilized for good. Now, I work for 31 Bits as a campus ambassador at USC and I'm constantly being inspired by similar initiatives that use something creative for international development.
A lot of my 2013 involved being inspired by these types of social innovations, and my 2014 will likely be about putting my own ideas into action and helping others do the same.
God answered my simple, honest prayer in a way that encourages me to trust Him with more of my hopes and plans, and to learn how to use them to spread His mission.
Here's to a new year of dreaming big and chasing those dreams!
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