So what do 31 days of wearing dresses, winter weather, backpacking, and the Middle East all have to do with each other and why would you mix them? Yes, I had a similar thought praying into whether or not to participate in Dressember again this year from the field. But advocating for freedom and ending human trafficking simply has my heart and my passion, so here I am once again wearing a dress every day with my besties back in the states and I could not be more honored.
What is Dressember again and why are you wearing dresses?
Dressember started in 2013 as a simple fashion challenge with the hopes of raising money for anti-trafficking organizations like International Justice Mission and A21 and it has grown into a global movement for ending modern-day slavery. The challenge is simple: wear a dress every day in December and share about why you are doing it in order to help raise awareness and funds for the organizations that are actively working to rescue and protect victims of human trafficking. I started participating in 2014 with my sister and have done it for the past 4 years with some of my best friends. Now wearing a dress everyday in the winter in Idaho certainly has some major drawbacks. For a jeans and yoga pants kinda girl it’s actually a big sacrifice of comfort, but it is the heart of the issue, the conversations, and the tangible difference that we are making that has continued to draw me back each year. Since 2013, Dressember advocates have raised over 5 million USD to support anti-trafficking organizations in tangible ways such as case management, rescue operations, and aftercare services. Just last year, I was one of 4,000 advocates from all over the globe covering 6 continents participating.
This year I debated hard about whether or not to participate again. I mean there are some almost comical issues this year. On the World Race, all I have is a backpack and in that pack I honestly have 2 and ½ dresses. 1 is black, 1 is beaded and bright pink (from Morocco), and 1 is a skirt. I know you are technically only supposed to wear dresses, but I mean this year I made the call haha. WiFi is also quite an interesting thing as far as posting about Dressember goes. Any ways, on top of that it is December and though I have not encountered snow yet, leggings and a dress are not the most practical for dodging street puddles in the cold and walking everywhere we go.
Right, why am I doing this again? 😉 Honestly in praying about whether or not to participate, the Lord showed me the only reason for saying no was the challenge and inconvenience of it this year, and challenge is not a good enough reason to abandon something that you are passionate about. Moreover, what really got me was this picture of being able to love and share with women here in the Middle East in such a unique way. I have been advocating for global freedom and justice for these past 4 years, and now I get to do it while sharing with women from the other side of the world. My hope is to simply share God’s heart of love, restoration, and freedom in tHe small choice of wearing a dress this month.
Cultural differences have definitely impacted this year for me. You see, long dresses and skirts are quite common here in the Middle East, so wearing dresses in December truly is not anything out of the normal on the streets like it was for me in the snow of Idaho. I have also noticed that I am received a little differently by the women and men here. I have noticed some curious stares as I don’t quite fit the “foreign tourist” mold anymore. Anyway, will have more reflections on the cultural differences at the end of the month.
If you would like to get involved, learn more, or donate towards Dressember and the organizations it supports, I included the link to my page at the bottom.
I have about $3,600 to go until I am fully funded for this year of ministry and would love to invite you to partner with me in the field by donating. My hope is to be fully funded before the new year!! I also need to apologize, I have found it to be quite a struggle to balance staying present in each country each day while still being disciplined in making time to share about what God has been doing with everyone back home through writing. But right now I am excited about developing an newsletter to send out with a broader picture of what each month has been like. So stay tuned for that haha.
Again, thank you so much for joining me in this journey. Your support and messages mean the world to me. I love just staying in touch and hearing about things in the states. Let me know if there are any ways that I can be praying for you!
Blessings,
Bre
