The Voice of Truth

I was talking with a friend this past weekend about words from our past that were damaging to us.  We both had an example of something a teacher had said that had a detrimental affect on us even years later.  Those words, spoken by a teacher, made us doubt our abilities.  They made us overly sensitive to criticism.  Words are powerful.  Once they have been spoken they can not be taken back.  They can be apologized for, but the words are still out there threatening to haunt us if we let them.  Words can either build us up or tear us down.  Depending on how much value we give to these words, they can shape our personalities and mold who we become.

The conversation with my friend got me thinking about the voice we need to be listening to.  God's voice.  The voice of truth.  The voice of the world can tear me down and cause me to lose hope.  But the voice of God can build me up and instill hope even in a hopeless situation.  When the world tells us lies we need to remember that we are precious in God's eyes.  He's the one we should be looking to for approval. 

The voice of a pimp makes a girl feel like she is worthless.  Like this is what she was made for.  He creates an illusion that he is there for her to lure her in and then will verbally and physically abuse her to gain control.  He continually tears her down until she is hopeless for any other kind of life.  I pray that each and every one of these girls will be exposed to the voice of truth rather than the lies of her controller.  That someone could speak truth into her life and give her hope.  That she would know that she is precious in God's eyes and he loves her more than she could ever imagine.

I love music.  The lyrics can be so powerful.  I often use the lyrics of a song to demonstrate the point I am trying to make in my post.  So I present you with the lyrics to another great song...

The Voice of Truth - by Casting Crowns 

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes to climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves

To step out of my comfort zone
To the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He's holding out his hand

But the waves are calling out my name and they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again. 'Boy, you'll never win!'
"You'll never win"

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
And the voice of truth says "Do not be afraid!"
And the voice of truth says "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant
With just a Sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors
Shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out my name and he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
Time and time again "boy, you'll never win!
"You'll never win"

But the stone was just the right size
To put the giant on the ground
And the waves they don't seem so high
From on top of them looking down
I will soar with the wings of eagles
When I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
Singing over me

I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

A Cup Of Tea: Spotlight On Freedom Firm

A few weekends ago I attended an event hosted by Freedom Firm, an organization that rescues minor girls from sex trafficking in India.  It was a great event with dinner and silent auction called Captive No More.  There were interactive booths where you could have a beautiful henna design done on your hand or have your picture taken in an authentic sari. 

There are 27 million slaves in the world and 500,000 of them are in India.  Extreme poverty is a factor in girls ending up in the sex trade here.  Many times they are tricked by false promise of employment.  They are often sold by a family member who thinks they are giving their child the opportunity for a better life and an education when in reality they are being sold to a brothel.

The three part mission of Freedom Firm is to Rescue, Restore and seek Justice.  They actually have investigative teams that do raids on the brothels to rescue these minor girls.  They have an aftercare home which provides holistic care for the girls and they seek justice by prosecuting the trafficker or brothel owner.

The stories shared at this event were hard to hear.  Corruption is rampant.  The police take bribes, look the other way and often times will tip off the brothel owner about a raid.  After a girl is rescued, she is placed in a government run shelter "home" which is actually more like a prison.  According to the 2013 TIP Report:

A number of government shelters were overcrowded and unhygienic, offered poor food, and provided limited services. The lack of adequate security in one government-funded home in Hyderabad made it possible for a nine-member gang to break in and kidnap four trafficking victims; two previous kidnap attempts took place in the preceding months. Some shelters did not permit adult victims to leave,  contrary to international principles on the protection of victims. In some cases, traffickers continued to re-recruit trafficking victims by approaching shelter managers and pretending to be family members to get the victims released to them. NGOs report that government processes to refer identified victims to care facilities are not followed. In investigations, police sometimes treated victims as suspected criminals and subjected them to aggressive questioning.

But the one thing that choked me up more than the stories was a picture of a teacup.  Beside the teacup were a few little white pills and this note: 

Often a girl is offered tea by the traffickers as way to comfort her and gain her trust.  Because she is in a desperate situation, she accepts the tea.  In most cases the tea is drugged.  During the time the girl is not fully conscience, she is transported and sold to a brothel.

A cup of tea is a symbol of welcome, hospitality and soothing.  It brings to mind the image of peace, tranquility and friendship.  This poor innocent child accepts a cup of tea because she is afraid.  She doesn't understand what is happening.  I picture her cold and alone and wanting to sip the tea to warm herself and calm her nerves.  But little does she know that evil lurks in her cup of tea.  An evil that knows no boundaries.  An evil that will take advantage of a little girl to exploit her and make money off of her. 

Just because this evil is happening "over there" doesn't mean there isn't something we can do.  Freedom Firm has opportunities to help wherever you live. 

• Consider hosting a jewelry party featuring jewelry that has been hand made by the girls who have been rescued. 
• Invite your friends over and host a movie screening of their documentary "Horse and Rider"
• Sign up for their real time updates and pray for the team as they are doing a rescue
• Donate to support their mission

Please visit their page to learn more about the amazing work they are doing and how you can be a part of it.  Freedom Firm

What It Means to Be a Girl in Our World

Do you know what the 3 most dangerous words are in some countries?

It's a girl.

Yesterday, October 11th, was International Day of the Girl Child.  In honor of this day that recognizes the unique challenges that girls around the world face, I am sharing this post from We Are THAT Family.  I love this woman's blog and this is such an important post.

There is a price on her head. She runs for her life because she knows they will kill her, she hides in dark corridors like a criminal, she sells her body for food.
What is her crime?
She is a girl.

The United Nations estimates there are 200 million missing just like her, killed, aborted or abandoned just because they are girls. Today, India and China eliminate more girls in their countries than are born in America every year.
It’s a quiet genocide.
But it’s not just a foreign issue: in our country we exploit, objectify and even traffic girls. Pornography is a 10 billion dollar industry. Sex sells and our daughters are the commodity. There must be a direct correlation to this booming practice when you consider trafficking is on the increase in our nation. Girls are trafficked in 49 states in our country and the average entry age for commercial exploitation is between the ages of 12-14 years old and many of these girls are punished for prostitution instead of helped as a victim.

In countries like Kenya, girls have been subjected to genital mutilation and polygamy and sent out to prostitute their bodies for food to help feed their families. And if they end up pregnant, they have to quit school and are often kicked out of their homes. Some are orphaned, some are trafficked.
It’s the main reason we risked it all and started Mercy House.
A day this week has been set aside as International Day of the Girl.
The Day of the Girl is a response to an urgent problem facing our world today: the neglect and devaluation of girls around the world.
You might have a daughter or two, a sister, you’re probably a mom reading this. And we are busy busy people with so much to do, so many demands placed on us. But we cannot ignore the plight of our sisters around the globe.
How can we help? Because this isn’t just a day, it’s a call to a movement, we can stand up for the girls in our world by boycotting places that sell pornography, getting involved locally in trafficking organizations like Not for Sale, become active in the fight to save our girls. Here are 11 tangible ideas for action.

“No act is too small; you may never know the full extent of your impact. Activism is contagious. While you may be one person, your voice and actions can touch others, whose voices and actions can touch still others, and so forth until we experience change. This is how activism works.” (Fight Like a Girl by Megan Seely)

We can also do something right now. Change begins with the opportunity for education.
I’ll never forget sitting on a blanket outside Mercy House in Kenya with one of the very first residents almost three years ago. This young girl had been rescued from unspeakable horrors. She gingerly reached out to touch my white skin and said, “Thank you for bringing me here.” I thought she was referring to sleeping on a bed, living in a clean home with plenty of food, a safe place to heal and become a mother.  But her next words surprised me. She thanked me for the the chance to get an education. “I want to learn. This is what I want the most. I want to be something,” and then she put her hands on her swollen belly.
“We know from study after study that there is no tool for development more effective than the education of girls and women.” Kofi Annan
Education is a fundamental right for all people, women and men, of all ages. Unfortunately in Kenya and many countries like it, education for girls still lags behind education for boys.
When girls are given the opportunity to learn, it not only changes their lives, it changes the world (facts based on research at womendeliver.org):

1. Educating girls raises lifetime incomes for them, their families and their countries. In particular, girls with secondary education have an 18% return in future wages, as compared to 14% for boys.
2. Educating girls and women fosters democracy and women’s political activity. Educated women are more likely to resist abuses such as domestic violence, traditions like female mutilation, and discrimination at home, in society or the workplace.
3. Educating girls and women saves children’s lives. Each additional year of schooling for girls reduces infant mortality for their offspring by up to 10%. Also, mothers provide better nutrition and health care and spend more on their children: girls and women spend 90% of their earned income on their families, while men only spend 30-40%

Local Event: Civilian First Responder (CFR) Training

Learn how you can recognize and fight human trafficking within your sphere of influence

Parkview Christian Church
11100 Orland Parkway
Orland Park, IL

October 26th 8:30am - 2:30pm

For more information or to register: Civilian First Responder Training