One Year Down...

Greetings to friends and followers! My name is Mackenzie Jones; I am an English major at Covenant College, near Chattanooga, TN. I am honored to be the curator for the One Million Thumbprints blog for this season. At One Million Thumbprints, we have one goal, which is to connect you with the stories and lives of women experiencing gender-based violence in countries like Iraq, South Sudan, Syria, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as the lives and voices of women and men who support them worldwide. It's often so easy to take for granted the liberties and comforts we are afforded, especially if you don't live in a war zone. We can't overlook women who live in constant danger due to the oppression of war.

These women are deprived of the security and confidence necessary to live as respected and treasured individuals. In Galatians 3:26-28, the Apostle Paul urges us to remember we are all equal in God’s eyes and should not have to endure discrimination due to gender or race. Having been created in God’s image, we should rest in the assurance that our Heavenly Father wants us to treat our sisters with respect and dignity.

With today’s unrest, it is as important as ever to enter into the global conversation regarding the safety of women and children. To guide us into these conversations, a host of guest writers will be sharing their stories about ascending Mount Kilimanjaro last year. Our founder, Belinda Bauman, recruited several women to tackle this challenge. The bloggers who climbed will be voicing their reflections and experiences throughout the journey-- what they learned and how they were impacted.  On International Women’s Day (March 8th) 2016, this group reached the top of the summit to emphasize the following mission: honor the strength and courage of the women living in the most dangerous places to be a woman. These women are persevering through and actively resisting adversity. They believe that something will change if enough people know what is happening to them.

Here, at One Million Thumbprints, we are dedicated to telling the stories of brave women world wide. Why? When these sisters tell their story of overcoming, and we bare witness to it, we become identified with each other, both in our strengths and weaknesses. We just can't stand at a distance any longer-- we become bone of each other's bone, flesh of each other's flesh.  In Genesis 1:28, God gives Adam and Eve dominion over the earth. God intended for this “dominion” to result in guarding and keeping the earth. However, in too many areas of armed conflict today, we see women-- considered the heart and soul of the village, town, community-- caught in the middle of horrific violence, becoming what has been called “the most effective weapon of war”. This is not God’s desire. This is not God’s plan.  As sisters we rise up to join  brave and beautiful women in some of the most dangerous areas of the world-- letting them know we hear their stories, we see their faces, we know their names  and we stand with them.

We plan to post weekly on Wednesdays, so follow the One Million Thumbprints blog and stay tuned for our next post! Soon we will be exploring the various stories of the women who climbed to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro to shout at the top of the world, “VIOLENCE AGAINST THEM IS VIOLENCE AGAINST US.”  Come be a one in a million thumbprint for the sake of your sisters! We can’t wait to tell you more…  For more updates, follow us on Twitter (@1MThumbprints) and Instagram (@onemillionthumbprints), and like our FaceBook page!