Support Locally With Your Christmas Shopping

Refuge For Women Chicago is a twelve-month holistic journey for women who wish to leave the sex industry.  They are opening a home in the Chicago area in 2016. You can support Refuge For Women just by shopping online with Amazon!  If you already have an Amazon account simply log in to www.smile.amazon.com and select Refuge For Women as your charity of choice.  You use Amazon Smile the same way you use Amazon. It has the same products and pricing as Amazon. You even use the same account, password, and other settings as Amazon. 

WAR Chest Boutique is an arm of Women at Risk International.  Traffic victims are given shelter and care in one of their 5 safe houses and trained with a skill to help them go forward in life.  The items are sold online at their website or one of 3 store front locations in Naperville, IL;  Wyoming;  and Michigan.  The website allows you to shop by the country where the product was made.


Anne's House is currently the only home in IL for minor girls who have been trafficked.  They provide a safe place where the girls can heal and receive counseling. Shop their website for a variety of handmade soaps.  Proceeds directly benefit the girls who live at Anne's House.

 
Ink 180 transforms the painful reminders of left from a former life in a gang or enslaved by human trafficking into beautiful art.  The Ink 180 Documentary follows the life and work of Chris Baker and the former gang members and human trafficking survivors helped by his tattoo ministry. The documentary recently won 2 Emmy awards!  You can purchase this award winning documentary
Here


New Moms provides housing for young moms who are experiencing poverty and homelessness in Chicago. Visit their Bright Endeavors social enterprise and shop a from a selection of handmade candles.


STOP IT operates s Drop In center for young women who have been trafficked or are at risk of trafficking.  The drop in center provides a safe place where they can rest, find resources, and build community.  Shop from STOP IT's online Christmas tree and help their participants celebrate Christmas.  Gifts must be chosen by December 4th and dropped off by December 18th

Anniversary of the TVPA (Trafficking Victims Protection Act)

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), has now been a law since 2000. For 15 years, this key piece of legislation has increased U.S. ability to protect victims and prosecute traffickers.

The TVPRA stands for the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act.  The TVPA is the centerpiece of all U.S. laws against human trafficking and created the first comprehensive federal law to address human trafficking and modern-day slavery.  It was first introduced in 2000 and signed by Bill Clinton

The TVPA was designed to combat trafficking in the U.S. by increasing the charges of trafficking from a misdemeanor to a felony crime.  It also provides assistance for survivors and visa protection for victims that have been trafficked across international borders. 

It also established a global minimum standard for confronting trafficking and slavery as published in The Trafficking in Persons report.  This report examines the status of 188 countries for both human trafficking violations and efforts to stop human trafficking. Those efforts include passing prohibitive legislation, arrests of perpetrators, and convictions following arrests.

TIP Report 2015 Summary

The National Human Trafficking Resource Center, which is partially funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is a critical piece of the government’s effort against human trafficking, with over 21,000 trafficking cases reported to the NHTRC Hotline since 2007. The hotline has been established to provide a safe number for victims and survivors seeking assistance, a confidential crisis and tip line, and a national resource and referral center. 

Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report 2015

The U.S. State Department's annual Trafficking In Persons (TIP) report for 2015 was released earlier this year. 

 

What is the TIP report?

The TIP report helps to identify countries where trafficking is most problematic.  It rates 188 countries and gives each nation a tier rating based on their compliance with standards outlined in the TVPA. These tiers are:

• Tier 1 Countries whose governments fully comply with the TVPA's minimum standards.
• Tier 2 Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the TVPA’s minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards.
• Tier 2 Watchlist Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the TVPA’s minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards AND: a) The absolute number of victims of severe forms of trafficking is very significant or is significantly increasing; or b) There is a failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons from the previous year; or c) The determination that a country is making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with minimum standards was based on commitments by the country to take additional future steps over the next year.
• Tier 3 Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so.

What Types of Trafficking are covered in the report?

1. Sex Trafficking:  When an adult engages in a commercial sex act, such as prostitution, as the result of force, threats of force, fraud, coercion or any combination of such means, that person is a victim of trafficking. Under such circumstances, perpetrators involved in recruiting, harboring, enticing, transporting, providing, obtaining, or maintaining a person for that purpose are guilty of the sex trafficking of an adult. Sex trafficking also may occur within debt bondage, as individuals are forced to continue in prostitution through the use of unlawful “debt,” purportedly incurred through their transportation, recruitment, or even their crude “sale”—which exploiters insist they must pay off before they can be free. An adult’s consent to participate in prostitution is not legally determinative: if one is thereafter held in service through psychological manipulation or physical force, he or she is a trafficking victim and should receive benefits. 
2. Child Sex Trafficking: When a child (under 18 years of age) is recruited, enticed, harbored, transported, provided, obtained, or maintained to perform a commercial sex act, proving force, fraud, or coercion is not necessary for the offense to be characterized as human trafficking. There are no exceptions to this rule: no cultural or socioeconomic rationalizations alter the fact that children who are prostituted are trafficking victims. The use of children in the commercial sex trade is prohibited under U.S. law and by statute in most countries around the world.   
3. Forced Labor: Forced labor, sometimes also referred to as labor trafficking, encompasses the range of activities—recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing, or obtaining—involved when a person uses force or physical threats, psychological coercion, abuse of the legal process, deception, or other coercive means to compel someone to work. Once a person’s labor is exploited by such means, the person’s prior consent to work for an employer is legally irrelevant: the employer is a trafficker and the employee a trafficking victim. Migrants are particularly vulnerable to this form of human trafficking, but individuals may also be forced into labor in their own countries.  Female victims of forced or bonded labor, especially women and girls in domestic servitude, are often sexually exploited as well. 
4. Bonded Labor or Debt Bondage: One form of coercion is the use of a bond or debt. Some workers inherit debt; for example, in South Asia it is estimated that there are millions of trafficking victims working to pay off their ancestors’ debts. Others fall victim to traffickers or recruiters who unlawfully exploit an initial debt assumed, wittingly or unwittingly, as a term of employment. Debts taken on by migrant laborers in their countries of origin, often with the involvement of labor agencies and employers in the destination country, can also contribute to a situation of debt bondage. Such circumstances may occur in the context of employment-based temporary work programs in which a worker’s legal status in the destination country is tied to the employer and workers fear seeking redress. 
5. Domestic Servitude: Involuntary domestic servitude is a form of human trafficking found in distinct circumstances—work in a private residence—that creates unique vulnerabilities for victims. It is a crime in which a domestic worker is not free to leave her employment and is abused and underpaid, if paid at all. Many domestic workers do not receive the basic benefits and protections commonly extended to other groups of workers—things as simple as a day off. Moreover, their ability to move freely is often limited, and employment in private homes increases their vulnerability and isolation.  Authorities can't inspect homes as easily as formal workplaces, and in many cases do not have the mandate or capacity to do so.  Domestic workers, especially women, confront various forms of abuse, harassment, and exploitation. 
6. Forced Child Labor: Although children may legally engage in certain forms of work, children can also be found in slavery or slavery-like situations. Some indicators of forced labor of a child include situations in which the child appears to be in the custody of a non-family member who requires the child to perform work that financially benefits someone outside the child's family and does not offer the child the option of leaving. 
7. Unlawful Recruitment and Use of Child Soldiers: Child soldering is a manifestation of human trafficking when it involves the unlawful recruitment or use of children (through force fraud or coercion) by armed forces as combatants.  Perpetrators may be government armed forces, paramilitary organizations, or rebel groups. Many children are forcibly abducted to be used as combatants. Others are made to work as porters, cooks, guards, servants, messengers, or spies. Young girls can be forced to marry or have sex with commanders and male combatants. Both male and female child soldiers are often sexually abused and are at high risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases.

The 2015 Report Summary:

• There are 31 countries that received the highest rating of Tier 1.
• 89 Countries received a Tier 2 rating.
• 44 Countries are on the Tier 2 Watch List that could lead to sanctions unless their records improve.
• 23 Countries received the lowest rating of Tier 3 which means they are found not to be taking the affirmative steps necessary to fight human trafficking.
• Out of those that received the Tier 3 rating, 2 of those were countries that were automatically downgraded to that rating.  Automatic downgrades were introduced in 2013 to prevent a country from remaining stagnant on the Tier 2 Watch List. After 2 years of being on the Tier 2 Watch List they are automatically downgrades to Tier 3.  The countries downgraded were Belarus and South Sudan. 

For the full report visit: US State Department

If you want to learn more about what human trafficking looks like globally this is a great place to start.  Choose a country (they are all listed alphabetically and read what trafficking looks like in that country.  If you're not sure which country to choose, read the report for the country you live in.  If you're not sure how to read a country narrative This page will help.

An Open Letter to Cale Guthrie Weissman, a Brooklyn-based Reporter.

I am writing in response to an article by Cale Weissman titled

"The Young Woman Who Created a New Way to Bust Sex Trafficking Rings."

Thank you for this article and for highlighting technology that has the potential to have a huge impact in the fight against sex trafficking.  Statistics are as high as 90% of women who advertise for sex are being controlled by a pimp.  The names of the women and the phone numbers used to contact them change frequently in an effort for the pimp to remain virtually untraceable.  Until now.  The technology highlighted in this article will give law enforcement a way to track these ads and potentially the movement of the women to different cities and states at the hands of their pimp. It could be a game changer. 

 

But there is one glaring mistake in this article.  Cale Weissman states, "This operation was working to find and rescue underage prostitutes."  Mr. Weissman, I wish to inform you and every other person in media and journalism, that there is no such thing as an underage prostitute or child prostitute.  You even state this further down in your article when you quote, "Under US law, any minors working in the sex industry are considered trafficking victims." 

Federal law defines them as victims and we must change the mindset of our culture and those in media to change their terminology to accurately reflect this as well. In a previous post, I talked about the need for accurate terminology and how detrimental inaccurate labels can be.  Labeling a minor child caught in the sex industry, as a child prostitute is harmful to the child and to the mindset of the community around her. 

A 14-year-old girl is not a prostitute.  She is a victim.  A 14 year old isn't legally old enough to consent to sex.  In any other situation, this would be considered child rape, but because money has exchanged hands (most likely into the hands of a pimp) these poor children are being arrested and treated like a juvenile delinquent. Rather than being punished and treated like a criminal they should be supported and offered services.  Our terminology should reflect this as well. 

 

Currently, there are a number of organizations fighting to end the use of this term.  Just this week, Los Angeles Sheriff Jim McDonnell asked his staff to Stop arresting children on prostitution charges and stop saying 'child prostitute'

This petition at Change.org addresses this very same issue and it currently has close to 92,000 signatures.  The organizer of the petition, Withelma “T” Ortiz Walker Pettigrew is a survivor and explains it this way:

“I, with the Human Rights Project for Girls, understand it is the media’s job to convey a situation or an issue with precision and clarity.  ‘Child prostitute’ may seem clear because it conveys the fact that money is exchanged for sex, but it is also MISLEADING because it suggests consent and criminality when none exists. Many of us are not even of legal age to consent to sex. I was 10. And girls like me are beaten, kidnapped, gang raped, and tortured into selling our bodies to adults, every night. This is not about choice. This is about abuse and rape.”

The McCain Institute and the Human Rights Project for Girls (Rights4Girls), with support from Google, have joined forces to launch the No Such Thing Campaign.  Its mission is to make it clear that there is no such thing as a child prostitute. There are only victims and survivors of child rape.

So Mr. Weissman, on behalf of all the children who have been victimized, I ask that you stop using this misleading and inaccurate description to refer to them.

Sincerely,

A Suburban Abolitionist

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Domestic Violence is a pattern of behavior used to establish power and control over another person through fear and intimidation, often including the threat or use of violence. 

• 1 in 4 women will experience domestic violence during her lifetime.
• More than 3 million children witness domestic violence in their homes every year
• Girls who witness domestic violence and don’t receive help are more vulnerable to abuse as teens and adults.
• Boys who witness domestic violence and don’t receive help are far more likely to become abusers.

Domestic Violence can have a devastating ripple effect into the next generation. 

If feel that your partner is becoming abusive or if you are concerned that a loved one’s partner may be abusive, there are a few behaviors that you can look out for.  According to the nation Domestic Violence Hotline these are the warning signs and red flags to watch for:

• Telling you that you can never do anything right
• Showing jealousy of your friends and time spent away
• Keeping you or discouraging you from seeing friends or family members
• Embarrassing or shaming you with put-downs
• Controlling every penny spent in the household
• Taking your money or refusing to give you money for expenses
• Looking at you or acting in ways that scare you
• Controlling who you see, where you go, or what you do
• Preventing you from making your own decisions
• Telling you that you are a bad parent or threatening to harm or take away your children
• Preventing you from working or attending school
• Destroying your property or threatening to hurt or kill your pets
• Intimidating you with guns, knives or other weapons
• Pressuring you to have sex when you don’t want to or do things sexually you’re not comfortable with
• Pressuring you to use drugs or alcohol

Once the violence begins it can become a vicious cycle that is hard to break free from. 

 

Why Don’t They Just Leave? 

 

Perhaps you've wondered this yourself.  It's a question that is commonly heard in both domestic violence and trafficking situations.  Women in these types of relationships can both experience the same feelings of isolation, helplessness, and lack of resources.  Often, their fear of leaving is greater than their fear of staying.  To help get a better understanding of this, I encourage you to watch this powerful Ted Talk where Pam Taylor, co-founder of Dress For Success tells her story. If you want to skip to where she begins telling her story, skip to the 5:06 mark.

 

 

 

 

 

One of the tragic things that really stands out in this video is the fact that no one spoke up or stepped up to intervene in the story she tells about being at the mall.  This is heartbreaking.  As Christians we are called to love what God loves, and hate what God hates.  We must refuse to be silent about the things that matter...and women's lives matter. 

Book Review: Nobody's Girl by Barbara Amaya

Nobody’s Girl is a story that is hard to hear, but is a must read for anyone wanting to learn more about sex trafficking. It is an excellent book for raising awareness of the dangers of runaways and pimp tactics.

Abused as a child and ignored by a mother who refused to believe her, Barbara’s pain is so deep that she leaves home at the young age of 12.  I could not put the book down as I journeyed with Barbara through the horrors she experienced as a child growing up on the streets and falling into the hands of a pimp.  Unfortunately, Barbara is able to educate us on the numerous manipulation and violent tactics pimps use to control their victims because she endured them all. 
 
But Barbara’s story didn’t end there.  She does find a way out and this book does a great job of showing how difficult it is for someone even after they've been "rescued" or have walked away from The Life.  Several quotes from the book had me in tears as she clearly describes her struggles to live a normal life.

“I never learned how to do basic things like cleaning a house or doing laundry.  I don't remember celebrating any birthdays or holidays.”

“Reuniting with my family during Christmastime was like sitting with strangers in a bus station - or being stuck in an elevator - with people you never saw before, standing in uncomfortable silence and counting down the stops until it's your turn to get off.  The trouble was that I didn't know when my stop was.”

"No one asked me where I had been or what I had been doing for the last several years, not once."

"I had gone from being a child of twelve to a women in her twenties and had missed all those years in between, all the learning and experiences that make a person a person."

Through her own words, we see how incredibly difficult it is to put the pieces of your life back together, to move beyond the pain and trauma, and to learn to trust again. But Barbara has done that.  Her story is ultimately one of hope, courage and strength. And she now uses her story to educate others.  The back of the book contains excellent resources for teachers and counselors, law enforcement, medical personnel, and for the average person who wants to make a difference. 

 

Thank you Barbara for your willingness to share your story so that others may learn and be moved to action.  You are no longer a victim, but a victor!  You are more than a survivor.  You are an overcomer.  You are incredible.

 

These previous post were inspired by a talk Barbara Amaya gave:

Barbara's Story - A poem

An Unwavering Promise - An Open Letter to a Survivor

 

12 Tips When Working With A Survivor by Jennifer Unangst

I am not a doctor or a counselor but from my own experience as a trauma survivor and through research and hands on mentorship, I believe these 12 simple tips can aid in the healing process of a survivor. Often times, we can re-victimize or trigger an already broken spirit by our words or actions. My hope is that these simple steps can help us, help them. ---Jennifer Unangst

 

1. Don’t say “I understand” to a survivor because you probably don’t.
2. Don’t give unsolicited advice: Instead, review options with the survivor and then support her decisions. Allow her to take control over their own life, even if you believe you would do something differently or if you believe she may regret her decision.
3. Don’t gasp or grimace when hearing a traumatic story (and you will). Be prepared to hear possible stories of child rape, torture or even murder.
4. Don’t over talk a survivor. Its important to let her speak and get her feelings out without us trying to have an answer for everything. She may for the first time in a long time have her voice back, let her use it.
5. Don’t tell her not to get a tattoo or piercing or cover them up. This tells the survivor she should change and gives her the message you don’t accept her as she is. Tell them their blue hair and black eyeliner is cool! We love with no conditions.
6. Don’t put down a survivors pimp. Often times there is a trauma bond that we don't understand. She may love her pimp. She will learn over time she was actually victimized by him. This must be a gentle slow process and can be very painful.
7. DO NOT ask the survivor about her story. Trust me, she will tell you but only what she feels comfortable telling. Don’t ask question like, “why didn't you run? Just don't ask. It’s important to focus on the future. What are her dreams and aspirations?
8. Try not to call nicknames. Refrain from words like sweetie or honey that may have been used by johns, pimps and abusers and could trigger her. Always helps to ask first.
9. Don’t grab a survivor’s hand or touch her without permission. Also, you don’t have to lay hands on her to pray for her. Trust me, that’s very uncomfortable the first few times. You’ll get to know who likes hugs and touch and who doesn't. It's important to ask.
10. Don't press the survivor to report her trafficker to the police. Don't insist that she talk to someone about it. Doing nothing is a valid option and needs to be supported.
11. Don't be afraid to say no! Its important to instill healthy boundaries. Just because she's a survivor doesn't mean you give her everything and say yes to anything she asks for. It’s a hard thing to do but will teach healthy relationships and instill trust.
12. Don't treat her like a victim. The minute she leaves or is relocated from her pimp she is no longer a victim but a survivor. Try to focus on her future. Let her counselors deal with the past.

Local Event: ShoeLaPalooza to Support Refuge For Women

 

Come and shop from our huge selection of New and Gently Used Women’s shoes for all your casual, work and party needs. Accessories and a nice selection of coats and work clothing will also be available. Cash and check only. All proceeds to help Refuge for Women open an after care home for sexually exploited and trafficked women.

Saturday, October 10th

Early Bird Sale
Admission $5
12 – 1 pm

General Sale
$1 admission
1 – 3 pm

Questions can be directed to Donna.refugeforwomen@gmail.com

Local Event: Ink 180 Tattoo Removal Demonstration

Join us as we hear from Chris Baker of INK 180.

INK 180 provides free tattoo cover-ups or removals for victims of human trafficking or tattoos left from a former life in a gang. Chris transforms the painful reminders of the destructive situations into beautiful art and gives them a fresh start without that painful reminder. Chris will share with us the work of Ink 180 and will demonstrate a tattoo removal LIVE for us that night.

Chris provides his time, supplies, artwork, entirely free of charge to the victims. He is currently linked up with virtually every police depart in Northern Illinois and receives referrals from the FBI and Homeland Security. His work has been featured in numerous articles, documentaries, and was highlighted in the U.S. State Department’s 2013 Trafficking in Human Person’s Report.

Event Cost is $5. All proceeds benefit Ink 180.

Register here:
https://ourcommunity.willowcreek.org/default.aspx?page=3965&event=7941

Barbara's Story - A Poem

I was inspired to write this poem after hearing Barbara Amaya speak and then later attending a discussion of her book Nobody's Girl.  Her story reflects the tragedy of a typical case of child sex trafficking.  Sold from one trafficker to the next, she was trafficked at the young age of just 12 years old.  Barbara's story was one that was hard to hear and even harder to read.  But her story didn’t end there. She is no longer a victim, but a victor!  She is more than a survivor.  She is an overcomer.  Her story is ultimately one of hope, courage and strength.

Visit Barbara's website Here
Purchase Nobody's Girl Here

Barbara's Story

Me and my daddy

At home all alone

But he starts to touch me

And he starts to moan

 

I tried to tell mom

But she refused to believe

So I made up my mind

That I had to leave 

A lady befriends me

One day at the park

I decide to go with her

Because it’s getting dark

 

But her caring for me

Was not what it seems

And soon I am sold

To a man on the streets

  

Wear this, eat that

Bring this amount home

I don’t get to make choices

All on my own 

Reading a book

that gets ripped from my hands

“How dare you take time

away from your man?” 

I just want to read,

I want to learn more

“Selling yourself

is all your good for.” 

Survive without him?

I’m not sure I could

Surely he’s right

When he says I’m no good 

No one will want me

And no one will care

It was torture at home

So I can’t go back there 

I turn to drugs to numb all the pain

How has my life become such a mess?

I soon meet a nurse

Who sees I need rest. 

She offers me hope

And I find a way out

Of a life that a child

Should know nothing about 

Now I’m stepping up

And using my voice

I want to tell others

That there is a choice 

We must educate

And make better laws

So no other child

Falls prey to it’s claws 

The monster called Trafficking

Must be brought down.

We must raise awareness

And smash the pimps crown 

So that’s what I’m doing

I’m using my voice

I’m compelled to others

That there is a choice.

Drops of Dew

After an evening of outreach, our group began talking about how we sometimes get discouraged because we want so much for these precious women to be freed from the life they are living. I began to picture these women as beautiful flowers and the words of love we speak to them as drops of dew on their petals.  I pictured our words as a drop of refreshment into their dry world.  It refreshes them at the time and place they are right at that moment.   

Perhaps our words are all they can “drink in” at the moment.  Any more would drown them. 
 

We have to trust that God is placing other drops of dew on their petals and that in His perfect time, when they are ready, he will pour out his flood of love to them.  Love that is perfectly satisfying, perfectly quenching, life giving.
 

Drops of Dew

 

I stand wilted in the hot sun

My petals dry and parched

A moment of relief

A drop of dew

 

Moist, Refreshing. 

but does not penetrate

It clings and lingers,

A glimmer of hope

 

Drops of dew collect on my petals. 

They pool together

They form a stream

that runs down my stem.

 

The water penetrates

and sinks deep into my roots. 

Bringing refreshment

Hope rises up

 

Now comes the rain 

perfectly quenching,

perfectly satisfying

I am beautiful again

 

The End Times for Human Trafficking

Our message at church recently was about Apocalyptic Compassion.  Our pastor talked about our fascination with post apocalyptic movies.  These movies all have the same dark plot where the End Times have come.  The world as we know it has been destroyed and is marked by violence and chaos.  In these movies, the people have learned to just live in the circumstances of their situation.  They have learned to accept that this is the way things are and do nothing to change it.

Sometimes I think we have this attitude toward the issue of Human Trafficking.  The problem is so bad what difference can we possibly make?  We think this issue to too big and runs too deep. We say, well it's not affecting me personally.  We think that there will always be a demand for sex, and a hunger for power and money.  How could possibly eliminate this issue?

But we need to change our mindset from "I can't" to "How Can I?"
If we can't envision the world without Human Trafficking then how can we ever expect it?

If we fall victim to a defeatist attitude we will do nothing. But if we expect that God will do something, then our perspective and actions will be different. We will be motivated to be active in the great work that God is accomplishing.

We are called to reach out to the lost, the hurting and the broken.  We are called to have compassion for them.

We can learn from Mary's example in John 12 where she uses an expensive perfume to anoint Jesus.   The story takes place 1 week before Jesus would die on the cross.  But Mary, knowing the End was near for Jesus did not despair and give up.  She chooses to use this time to pour out her heart to bless Jesus. She demonstrated apocalyptic compassion.

Isaiah 58:10 tells us that if we spend ourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then our light will rise in the darkness, and our night will become like the noonday.

Part of the reason these movies are so popular is that there is always a heroic restoration.  There is someone or some group who steps in to save the day.  To make things right.  To offer a new beginning.

We need to declare that this is the End Times for Human Trafficking! 

 

 

The world tells the victims "You don't matter." 

We can show them that they do!

We can reveal God's power to a hurting world. 

We can give them A New Beginning

We Stand Together

Remember the children's game Red Rover?  There are two teams and each team links hands with their teammates. The two teams would stand facing one another and one team would call out,

"Red Rover, Red Rover, send Billy over"

If your name was the one called, your mission was to run at full speed and attempt to break through the human chain that opposed you.  If the chain was strong enough you would not be able to break through. 

Imagine what the game would be like if everyone lined up and stood next to each other, but did not link arms.  Each person just stood with their arms down to their side, doing their own thing.  Maybe the person chosen to run is bigger that you and you're afraid of getting hurt.  Perhaps you don't like the teammate next to you and don't want to hold their hand.  Maybe you've never won at this game before so why should now be any different?  How easy would it be for the other team to break through?

Obviously, this scenario wouldn't work.  The object of the game is to link arms, making you stronger, and making it as difficult as possible for someone to get through.   

This simple children's game is a great illustration of what needs to happen in the fight against human trafficking. I picture each person as an organization with their arms linked to another.  Each one with a different name; churches, non-profits, government agencies, businesses, law makers, after care programs, individuals - all standing together, arms linked in a united front saying NO! 

"We stand together and Pimps and Traffickers are no longer getting through!"

Ecclesiastes 4:12 New Living Translation (NLT) 
A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. 

I love the NLT version of Ecclesiastes 4:12 because it says we can conquer.  It doesn't matter if the person coming towards us is bigger than us or if the traffickers have been the ones winning at this game for far too long.  We can create partnerships and work together and we can conquer!

We are actually beginning to see collaboration in the Chicago area.  Many organizations and churches are sharing resources and volunteers. It's a beautiful thing to see. 

No one person, organization or church can do it all.  We do what we can with how God has equipped us.  When we link arms and stand together, we create a barrier against the evil of human trafficking and together we can create change. 

The Power That Raised Christ From The Dead - Believe

These powerful words were recently spoken at a women's gathering and the sweet lady who wrote them gave me permission to share them with you.  The words resonated with me.

 

Come Awake.  Awaken to the needs around you and to a world begging to be seen.  

You have the power to breathe life into lungs that are weak.

Believe!

 

Today, may you be reminded that the same power that raised Christ from the dead

is available to you! To empower you to live for Him!

 

The Power by Alexis Shipman 

 

 

 

After believing comes the healing

And the promise of a king

To grow roots that run deep.

 

 So come awake,

 Breathe of glory

Breathing life into lungs that are weak.

 Death brought to life by the power of majesty.

 

 

Marked, branded by the one

Forever scarred with the mark of the cross

The call

By his will, his choice, his desire

To live through the life of these sinners

 What does this mean for our sisters,

For our loved

 for a world begging to be seen?

 The power that raised flesh from the dead,

What does it mean?

That made white of something red,

Dwelling in me?

 

 

The power of the throne

Alive in this heart

Breathing….pulsing

We must believe

This gift

Our new identity

Death brought to life

Marked

Now alive

The power of a cross

The power of the thrones of heaven

To move the mountains of the earth

Believe

That raised up death from the grave

And created from dust

Believe

Building a foundation for us to stand up

For us to rise up

And move forward

Believe,

Believe

 

 “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realm.”