Our Story

Lovemine started because of stories.

In 2008, Tim Jones heard a presentation by the founder of an organization that provides immediate medical relief to people affected by violence in the jungles of Burma. He was astounded that such a wrenching conflict was going on virtually unnoticed, and began sharing the stories he had heard. That same year, Rachel Ryon and Lauren Hartley spent a semester living in northern Thailand. They heard about the violence happening just a few hours away and returned to the States wondering, what, if anything they could or should do to help.

Groups from Malibu Presbyterian Church and Pepperdine University began working together, first organizing as Project Burma, telling stories and running awareness campaigns on Pepperdine’s campus to educate students about Burma. Lyz Burden was one of those students. Later activities included transformational time on the Thai-Burma border, where the team heard from refugees, victims, and advocates first hand, and two college campaigns, the Ignite Project (2009) and the All Hands In Campaign (2010). These years included building key relationships with a number of wonderful organizations working on various facets of Burma issues, learning from them and investigating what could be and needed to be done.

After much searching and prayer we- Tim, Rachel, Lauren, and Lyz- decided to found Lovemine officially in the summer of 2010, recognizing that it was “our” story in the big sense of “our”- its an “our” that includes Burmese, ethnic groups, Thais, westerners, victims, refugees, relief workers, advocates, and many others.

We call ourselves “Lovemine” because we believe in the transformative power of love. A landmine explodes pain and destruction; a lovemine explodes- well, love. We also know the power of stories. We hope that, by telling the stories of Burma, love will be stirred in the hearts of those who hear. We recognize that love alone cannot bring change. Love without action is empty. Our goal is connection. It’s not just their story, or Burma’s story, or Lovemine’s story. It’s everyone’s story. We hope that by telling the stories Burma, by connecting you to Burma, you will join us and our partners in the long road to transformation and restoration.

Now, it’s your story too. What will you do?