I've been in Thailand now for less than 24 hours, and have already had the opportunity to see many friends, eat great food, use the squatty-potties, suffer the humidity, ride the bus ($0.09/ride!), and do some emailing and journaling. I really enjoy this city, and much of what i learned about how to get around and how to speak the language has been coming back to me. This will make a nice transition out of US culture. Tonight, I'm meeting with a local missionary who lives in the slums, and a friend of his who was recently working in the slums of Mumbai. I look forward to learning from them, and further thinking and praying about the upcoming challenges that Mumbai will present.

These next few days are unscheduled and should be pretty easygoing, and singularly focused, as i mentally prepare for Mumbai. This will be a welcome change from the past 3 weeks that were very busy wtih moving and work and stuff. All prayers are appreciated!

And be sure to see what Troy has been up to, waiting for the rest of us to join him in Mumbai.

for the joy,
+brooke

Tomorrow I leave for Mumbai. My time here in Bangkok has proven to an excellent transitional step as I move out of Western culture. These days here in a non-Western setting that is still familiar should reduce the negative impact of culture shock in Mumbai. Pray that i handle that transition well!

I go feeling an exciting mix of anticipation, fear of the unknown, trepidation, and eagerness. My experiences wtih red-light districts in the past has been limited. Now we will likely be attempting to infiltrate and report brothels that offer sex with children. Troy has been talking about acting with Jesus' boldness so i am praying for the courage to DO to bring about the change that human dignity and biblical injunctions demand.

I have been thinking lately that if Christians on earth are the "body of Christ", then it is up to us to accomplish within the physical realities of our world what God desires for his creation. In the same way our minds control our bodies should the will of Jesus guide my actions. God has no other physical representation, no other recourse for re-creating the world as it is supposed to be aside from the present activities of you and me. And thus i serve, counting on the Holy Spirit to lead me in having an effective role in doing what NEEDS to be done on this planet.

I'm so grateful for all those of you who are supporting me through encouraging words, similar passions, prayers, and gifts. Knowing I'm not alone in this endeavor makes it manageable. Knowing that there is a significant group of people who want to see the same things accomplished empowers me to step out where my personal concerns would otherwise hold me back. The Greek refered to those who placed concern for themselves over concern for society at large as idios. Thank you for choosing to invest in something beyond yourself, that you don't directly benefit from, that the rest of the world may consider a foolsih waste and fruitless, in order to seek more and greater life for those who so desperately need it. Having seen what i have, i'd rather be called a fool than an idiot.

finding and passing on the abundant life,
+brooke

I have been in Mumbai just over a week now, and have been learning and doing a lot! Here is a quick summary, and some thoughts on it all.

With a group of 4 others, we spent the first few days getting oriented in this exciting, hot, rainy, colourful, noisy, dirty city. It is such an interesting mix of grand Victorian architecture and intense, grinding poverty. In the midst of it all are a few areas of towns filled with "legal" brothels. But many of these places offer sex with young children that have been trafficked in from Nepal, and northern Indian states. This is an unfortunate situation the police don't do much about. There are some NGO's that fight this evil, and we came here to learn more about this situation, and offer our assistance, and in general kinda see what happens.

We have visited girls who have been rescued. We joined the efforts of NGOs who help locate trafficked girls and coordinate with the police to get them out. We met and talked with children on the street, and spent a weekend at an orphange that provides an alternative to the streets. We learned a lot about the powerful systems and structures that support the prostitution industry, that trap young girls, that reform their thinking until they know no other reality than sell themselves, and that keep these women in the industry until they die of disease or are throw in terrible prisons for their "crimes".

It has been a full two weeks: sometimes hopeful, often overwhelming. I have been very thankful for the people who live in this city who are committed to fighting these evils. If you would like to learn more and support them, please visit The Rescue Foundation Website , read their stories, and consider a financial gift. Please do continue to pray that these evils come to an end, and these girls and the city at large experiences "shanti", or peace.

Thank you all for your prayers. I will write more with some exciting specific stories when i return to the states. Please stay tuned!

+brooke

Since I graduated in 2001 from Harevy Mudd College in Computer Engineering, I've been working as the System Administrator for the Engineering Dept. Although it sounds very similar, the work i've been doing isn't really what I studied in school. But it has been very enjoyable, and enabled me to do many of the things I wanted to do with my life, like continue to work with the on-campus christian groups (InterVarsity and Pathfinder) on campus, and play Ultimate with my friends on the Braineaters (the 5-College team). But now, after 3 years, I'm turning the job over to my friend Drew, and finally gettin' out of Claremont. I'm very grateful for the work experience and the supportive environment that exists at HMC, and especially in the Engineering Dept.

With all this stuff going on, this summer will be a busy time, full of much change and transition. But in the midst of it, I have an amazing opportunity to go to India for two weeks (July 17th - July 30th). This will be an exciting chance to further pursue my personal passions and seek freedom for those who are trapped in an earthly hell.

With a small team (including Jon Daehnke and Troy Anderson), I will be investigating issues of human trafficking: specifically child prostitution and sex slavery in one of the largest markets of the sex industry in Asia. We will go on walk prayerfully through some of the darkest places that you could imagine: horrific slums where women are literally kept in cages as they wait to be sold in prostitution and young girls are trafficked into death sentences in the brothels of India. We will visit ministries and organizations that are working to fight this evil and try to learn from them. As language barriers allow, we will talk with the men and women involved in different parts of the sex trade - pimps, brothel owners, enslaved girls and women, sex tourists, and local sex customers - and pray for their release from this bondage while possibly engaging in non-violent direct action against the brothels. We will try to document what we see and experience so that we can communicate the truth of what is happening to the church and to the world. Most of all, we will try to discern what God may be leading us as followers of Jesus to do to fight this evil and seek release of the slaves.

These are issues that are very close to my heart. I still vividly remember an experience of being physically shaken and deeply disturbed as I considered the damage of the sex industry, and the cost in human souls. As I prayed, I became overwhelmed with grief, rage, and frustration. And I became even more convinced that I could and should do something about it. That day, the Holy Spirit planted within me the deep desire to see those oppressed by evil systems of sexual brokenness and slavery experience the fullness of freedom that only Jesus can bring. This trip will allow me to actively live out this conviction, while increasing my understanding of how these systems work, and how what role I can play in it all over the longer term.

But I should never take on a trip like this without a supportive community. I desperately need backup from those who are willing to pray for me, my protection, and the effectiveness of my brief time in Mumbai. Additionally, I am seeking financial assistance to help cover the approximately $1700 in costs for the plane ticket, living expenses in India, and contributions to organizations we visit. If you are willing and able to pray for me, please send me an email and let me know, and I will keep you up to date with my preparation and news from my time in India. If you would like to participate in this endeavor with me by contributing financially, please send a check made out to me (Brooke Bassage-Glock, should do it ;), to 1302 E. Kinsgley #30 / Pomona, CA 91767. Any extra money I recieve will be donated to an appropriate agency that is fighting this battle. All gifts are appreciated! Keep passing on the blessings, to the ends of the earth!

Would you like to see some links?

A helpful organization: World Vision's WILFund
Multimedia Op-Ed on Child Prostitution: NY Times
The original letter I wrote to my church: Brooke's going to India!

Wow, it's hard to believe that I have been here that long! Over those years, I have made MANY good friends (see pic), learned alot about loving the people around me, somehow got a degree, connected with a great church, and set up a good base of operations for trips to Thailand, etc. I know this town, how to get around, and where to find the best food, from Vietnamese to Mediteranean. So it's sad to move on, in many ways. I will very much miss everyone. You all give me great reasons to come back! I'm so grateful to all my friends for making my time here so worth it. I'm thankful for my church community, and all the ways they have supported me in the past.

After dating Sarah Riggio for over a year and a half, I'm very excited to be moving up to Seattle, to be closer to her, and to learn a little more about her corner of the USA (i've lived in the other 3 corners for about 7-9 years each, so this move feels inevitable anyway ;). While we have been dating, we have never lived in the same city as each other for longer than 3 weeks (and that was in Bangkok!). That hasn't been easy. It is our hope and prayer that living in Seattle, closer to each other, will help us more fully decide about marrying each other, the expressed purpose of the relationship. I look forward to getting to see Sarah regularly, and continuing to grow closer to her, and grow personally and emotionally as I learn to care for her well.

I will most likely be moving up in the first week of August.

I will be going into business for myself in Seattle, doing independant computer contract work. Know anyone with similar intrests or needs in the NorthWest? Let me know!

I have obtained a bit of office space from the nice folks at Rao & Pierce. I will be helping them out with their network a bit, running a server from there for a client, and using the office space to get work done when it is too hard to focus at the house.

I will mostly be working from home, with my brand new PowerBook G4 , a gift from a very generous family for whom I have done some computer work. Thank you so much, Clarke Family!!

My mom and my sister are moving to Brazil, to work with PAZ.
My father is getting remarried.
My brother is moving up to Seattle with me! We are going to participate in an urban service orgranization internship called Seattle Urban Intentional Community.

I have a new web site, and you found it! I hope to soon be adding a blog, and a photo gallery, so anyone who would like to can keep up to date with what i'm doing. Yeah, I'm a nerd, I know. The main page will be at www.wantmorelife.net.

I also now have a permanent email address at this domain. This is the best way to get in touch with me. My new email is brooke at wantmorelife dot net. This will eventually replace my old addresses, but for now I will still also be using my hmc address for as long as it lasts, and my despammed account will continue to be valid. All these addresses go to the same place. So any one of them should work for you.

I don't yet have my new address in Seattle, but i will be keeping my SoCal cell phone number for a while. You can call me at 909.758.6028. I'd love to hear from you.

My New address is:
5109 S. Myrtle St.
Seattle, WA 98118

Sarah's address in Seattle:
409 S. 23rd Ave #B601
Seattle, WA 98144