Happy 60th Birthday Dad!!!

So, I couldn’t be home for your celebration… but I will bring Greenville a little closer to home via video…

Love ya dad!

Jay

OLYL Documents

Have these so I can put them in emails:

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Floor Activities

 

FYI #0004

The President signed on!!! I’ve been meaning to get this up earlier, but have been a little busy. Check out this statement from President Obama:

Today, I signed into law the Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009.  The legislation crystallizes the commitment of the United States to help bring an end to the brutality and destruction that have been a hallmark of the LRA across several countries for two decades, and to pursue a future of greater security and hope for the people of central Africa.

The Lord’s Resistance Army preys on civilians – killing, raping, and mutilating the people of central Africa; stealing and brutalizing their children; and displacing hundreds of thousands of people.  Its leadership, indicted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, has no agenda and no purpose other than its own survival.  It fills its ranks of fighters with the young boys and girls it abducts.  By any measure, its actions are an affront to human dignity.

Of the millions affected by the violence, each had an individual story and voice that we must not forget.  In northern Uganda, we recall Angelina Atyam’s 14-year old daughter, whom the LRA kidnapped in 1996 and held captive for nearly eight years -- one of 139 girls abducted that day from a boarding school.  In southern Sudan, we recall John Loboi -- a father, a husband, a brother, a local humanitarian assistance worker killed in an ambush while helping others in 2003.  Now, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic, the people of Dungu and of Obo, too, have their stories of loss and pain.

We mourn those killed.  We pray for those abducted to be freed, and for those wounded to heal.  We call on the ranks of the LRA to disarm and surrender.  We believe that the leadership of the LRA should be brought to justice.

I signed this bill today recognizing that we must all renew our commitments and strengthen our capabilities to protect and assist civilians caught in the LRA’s wake, to receive those that surrender, and to support efforts to bring the LRA leadership to justice.  The Bill reiterates U.S. policy and our commitment to work toward a comprehensive and lasting resolution to the conflict in northern Uganda and other affected areas, including northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, southern Sudan, and the Central African Republic.  We will do so in partnership with regional governments and multilateral efforts.

I commend the Government of Uganda for its efforts to stabilize the northern part of the country, for actively supporting transitional and development assistance, and for pursuing reintegration programs for those who surrender and escape from the LRA ranks.

I also want the governments of other LRA-affected countries to know that we are aware of the danger the LRA represents, and we will continue to support efforts to protect civilians and to end this terrible chapter in central African history.  For over a decade, the United States has worked with others to respond to the LRA crisis.  We have supported peace process and reconciliation, humanitarian assistance and regional recovery, protection of civilians and reintegration for former combatants, and have supported regional governments as they worked to provide for their people’s security.  Going forward, we will call on our partners as we all renew our efforts.

I congratulate Congress for seizing on this important issue, and I congratulate the hundreds of thousands of Americans who have mobilized to respond to this unique crisis of conscience.  We have heard from the advocacy organizations, non-governmental organizations, faith-based groups, humanitarian actors who lack access, and those who continue to work on this issue in our own government.  We have seen your reporting, your websites, your blogs, and your video postcards -- you have made the plight of the children visible to us all.  Your action represents the very best of American leadership around the world, and we are committed to working with you in pursuit of the future of peace and dignity that the people of who have suffered at the hands of the LRA deserve.

Congrats to Invisible Children on all of their efforts and thank you to all those who signed on!

JDW

FYI #0003

Hello everyone! I just wanted to send a quick blurb quickly just to address one main issue: The LRA disarmament bill IS ON PRESIDENT OBAMA’S DESK!!! This is a huge victory, but it is still not enough! We want President Obama to make a public statement on this issue. Even if you are not in totally agreement with what President Obama has already passed, I pray that you will reconsider him on this issue. Check out this link from Invisible Children, the organization that has been successfully pushing this bill - http://bit.ly/d58tMu. On this blog, there is a link to the White House to comment on the bill… your job… COMMENT ON IT!!! The more people who tell Obama what needs to be done, the bigger the statement will be supporting this issue.

Also, here is a Thank You video from Invisible Children. It tells of some of the steps it took to get this to President Obama’s desk. Continue your support for this bill to pass! Keep standing strong for those in Uganda!

Thanks for listening! I’ll have an update really soon on what I will be doing and what has gone done! See ya!

JDW

FYI #0002

So this is just a quick plug-in for something I downloaded off iTunes last week. Music City artists united and created a song that will donate all of the proceeds it makes to recovery in Haiti. This is something the artists did for free. Probably features at least 50 well-known artists along with many more in a choir and a children’s choir. Very powerful! Here is a video with the song and various artists:

I have also added a link at the very bottom of the page where you  can download it off iTunes. So if you’ve been wondering about how you might be able to help with Haiti, begin by purchasing a song! Not only do you get the enjoyment of a song with many top recording artists, but also get to help people.

Also, I wanted to share something the Greenville College World Outreach and Missions Department along with the Greenville College Athletics did to aid in the recovery in Haiti. They had a Hoops 4 Haiti benefit that raised money in one night to aid in this recovery. It wasn’t even advertised for a week, but on the night they held this event, they raised a little over $3200 dollars. This only goes to show that God has his hands in things and it is truly amazing when you allow him to work in these ways.

Anyways, that is all for now. Tomorrow the GC Choir goes for a weekend tour, so I’ll try and get a post about that soon after. In the meantime, may God Bless!

JDW

The Rundown #0005

Hey everyone! I hope you are all having a great New Year, and had a great Valentine’s Day… what else did I miss :P Anyways, I thought I would post something quick and tell you what has been going on in my life. First off, I need to get this off my heart… I decided to scrap the Christmas/New Years Video Special :( I just have been busy and it will take a little too much time away from my life, so you will just have to trust me that it was a great time. But other than that, here is all the fun news! For classes, I’m taking New Testament Greek II, Cross Cultural Studies in Literature, Energy and the Environment, Self-Defense, Ethics, Ministry Seminar, Choir, Chamber Singers, and Band. I am, once again, on staff for the ministry team for Agapefest. I have revamped a little bit of the blog if you have noticed, which I am still working a few things out to make the blog look cleaner instead of having weird sized banners and such, so bear with me! Something that will be happening soon is our Greenville College Choir will be on tour on the east coast March 12-21. We will be touring from Ohio to New York, and through Philadelphia and Washington D.C. But the biggest news of all is that I HAVE AN INTERNSHIP! And guess where at… Brookings Wesleyan Church! So I’m very excited and am looking forward to this summer, even if it is going to go by fast with the many things I will get to do. But that’s all I have for now. Have a great week and weekend! Until next time, may God Bless!

JDW

Video Blog Post #0001

Hey everyone! Thanks for checkin’ the blog. I decided to do a video blog with my new webcam… see what you think!

JDW