Local Event: Book Club "Refuse To Do Nothing"

Human Trafficking Book Club

October 21 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM

 

Willow Creek Community Church

67 E. Algonquin Rd

South Barrington
Room B205 is easily be accessed by coming in the "B" entrance. Classroom is on the left.

Book Description:

Meet the faces of the new abolitionist movement: ordinary moms
who refuse to do nothing. Hear the story of how they became "Abolitionist Mamas" and joined with other women at home and around the country to fight modern day slavery. Learn your personal power in the new abolitionist movement and how anyone, no matter where you are in life, can join the movement of abolishing slavery in our lifetime. Join us as we learn and provide resources for the "Everyday Abolitionist."

Read the book on your own and join us for this one-night review of this inspiring book by Shayne Moore. Share your insights and inspirations with others who have been motivated to "do" something in the fight against sex and labor trafficking.

Group discussion will be led by a facilitator.

To purchase the book for $10 email justiceservices@willowcreek.org to obtain a copy.

 

Register Here

A New Pair Of Shoes

Compassion International Blog Prompt:

Pick one of the photos as your inspiration.

Try to connect with the story behind the photo.

Imagine the life and activity that preceded that moment.

You can come at it from any angle you want

Compassion Blog Month

Hello, little girl.  I see you sitting there today with that big smile on your face.  A pair of tattered, worn shoes on your feet. 

I watched you yesterday as you walked over 1 mile in your bare feet down to the river so you could gather water for your family.  I saw you flinch from time to time when you stepped on something uncomfortable.  But, you did not complain.  You collected the water from the river in that old plastic jug.  The water was not clean like I am used to, but it's what your family uses every day.  I watched as you made the trek back. You were struggling to carry that filled water jug all by yourself.  You set it down on the dirt floor of the hut and then sat in the sun to rest a minute.  Your tiny feet were dirty and dusty.  There was a small cut on the bottom of your left heal from stepping on a rock.  Inside the hut, your mama was cooking your lunch over an open flame.  It wasn't much to eat by my standards. But you never complain about your little tummy growling to be fed.  Sitting outside you look across the field to the school room.  Oh, how you wish you could attend that little school like the other boys and girls, but there just isn't enough money for you to go. And besides, your family needs you to fetch that dirty water a few times a day.

I watched you again today as you stood in that line.  You were so eager and excited to get your first pair of shoes.  When you got to the front of the line you politely sat down on the bench.  The volunteer searched for a pair that would be close to your size.  They are a little big, but you will grow into them.  It doesn't matter to you that they are scuffed and there are no laces.  It doesn't matter that these shoes were worn many times by someone else and tossed away because they were "old."  To you, they are a treasure.  They will protect your feet tomorrow when you go down to the river.  Maybe that cut on you foot will heal instead of getting infected like the last time.  They say that tomorrow the volunteers will be back with food.  This is great news to you and your hungry belly. 

Yes, I see you little girl.  I see you sitting there with a glorious new pair of shoes on your feet. 

Want to change the world? Sponsor a child today!

Three Things About One Word: Poverty

Pov-er-ty:  noun

:the state of being poor

:a lack of something

a :  the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions

Poverty is relative

It all depends on your perspective.  What I consider to be poverty may be different than what you consider to be poverty.  The federal government has established their measure of poverty called the poverty threshold or poverty line.  Certainly, what the US considers as poverty stricken is vastly different than what poverty looks like in developing countries.  Consider this data from the US Census Bureau regarding those considered to be living in poverty: Source

80.9% have cell phones and a land line

58.2% have computers

96.1% own televisions

83% have some type of DVR

68.7% have a washing machine

In developing countries poverty looks much different.   Instead of lacking luxuries, they lack the basic life necessities.  Most don't even have the electricity it would require to have the luxury of a TV or computer. Many do not have access to the clean water required for a washing machine.  Compare these world wide statistics to the ones above:

1.4 billion people live on less that $1.50 a day

950 children die every hour from hunger or preventable diseases

884 million people don't have access to clean drinking water 



Poverty is destructive
And not just to the individual or family that lives in poverty.  It affects communities, cities and entire nations. Some of the things that poverty can affect: 

education, hunger, shelter, safe drinking water, medical care, adequate sanitation, life expectancy, homelessness, proper hygiene, sexual exploitation, forced labor, death. 

Poverty is one of the major factors in human trafficking in developing countries.  In some countries like Africa and Cambodia, it is common practice for impoverished families to sell their own children into slavery as a way to earn money.

The cycle of poverty is hard to break...but YOU can make a difference.
When children are born into a family of poverty, they often don't have the chance for a proper education.  The may lack the funding for the supplies or the required uniform.  Other times, rather than attending school,  they may be forced to go to work at a young age to help support the family with such basic needs as food.  Without an opportunity for education the cycle of poverty continues to the next generation.   Related Words:  Misery, Woe, Wretchedness, Emergency, Deprivation. If these words tug on your heart tug on your heart strings please know that you can make a difference.  You may not be able to change the world, but you can change it for one person.  Consider sponsoring a child through Compassion International.  You can choose the location, age and gender of your sponsor child.  For $38 a month, you can make a difference in the life of a child.  When you sponsor a child you give them an opportunity to an education, an opportunity to be healthy, and an opportunity to hear the gospel message and learn about Jesus.

Saving one child will not change the world, but surely for that child, the world will change forever.

Sponsor a Child Today!

Pimp Culture

I have had the start of this post in my drafts for a long time and have never wanted to finish it.  I would start and then my anger would rise up and I would have to take a break.  But after seeing this picture on someones facebook page yesterday with the title

"We were Pimpin when Snoop dogg was just a Puppy."  

 

I feel compelled to finish it.

 

Everyone is familiar with the muppets.  They're cute and they're funny.  But there is nothing cute or funny about this picture.  God has grabbed my heart and opened my eyes to the issue of human trafficking and there is no humor in tossing around the name pimp. 

 

Here are two very recent examples of "pimp" being tossed around in the media like it's a cool thing:

• Hot Topic is currently using "Pimp Your Pack" in their advertising.  If you find this offensive you can sign the petition asking them to stop using the word pimp to market items to our children.  Hot Topic Petition

 

• DreamWorks Animation initially used "Pimp My Shell" in the their advertising for the animated film Turbo.  After receiving criticism for it, they made the right decision and removed the language from marketing material and the Turbo Racing Game.  To read the letter sent to DreamWorks and their response go Here
  
   

Frequently asked question:  What is the difference between a pimp and a trafficker?

Answer:  Nothing.  Pimp is just another name for trafficker. 

 

Change the name in the title of the Muppet picture above to trafficker and it takes on a new meaning. 

We were Trafficking (young girls) when Snoop dog was just a Puppy 

And Snoop Dog who is now going by Snoop Lion (who does that anyway?) was featured in Rolling Stone magazine a few months ago bragging about his "pimpin' days" providing women for professional athletes. Shame on Rolling Stone for publishing an article laced with vulgar profanity that glorifies the degrading of women.  Rolling Stone Article.  Many are outraged that Overstock.com has signed a contract to use Snoop as their spokesperson.  Facebook is a buzz with asking people to boycott the website and flood their page with protests.

Sadly, we live in a society where the name or title of pimp has been elevated to it's own celebrity status.  Pimps are celebrated in all forms of popular culture, from books to Hollywood movies to music and videos. The media glamorizes it by showing pimps with an excess of money, fancy cars, luxurious homes and of course, lots of women.

What the media doesn't show is that how the pimp achieves all those things is by exploiting women and young girls. Pimps are master manipulators who prey on vulnerable young girls for the sole purpose of exploiting them.  These women and girls are often drugged, abused and beaten in order to get them to comply.   The trafficking of young women and girls is the fastest growing criminal industry world wide.  In the United States an estimated 100,000 children have been forced into the commercial sex trade.  In the US, sex trafficking has been reported in all 50 states.

So when I see a picture of muppet characters dressed up as pimps I don't see the humor.  I don't see the humor because I know that "pimping" IS sex trafficking.  I know that the average age of a girl to be trafficked and sold for prostitution is 12.  I know that every 2 minutes a child is exploited in the sex industry.  I know that lives are ruined all in name of power and greed.

When I learn that there is an annual Players Ball which is an award night for pimps I feel angry.  When I learn that on this night, the pimp who has made the biggest pile of money and the biggest name for himself is awarded the International Pimp of the Year award I feel sick to my stomach.  

When I hear a song like Jay Z's Big Pimpin' I find it hard to believe what I am hearing.  I find it hard to believe that he continues to perform a song with lyrics so degrading to women that Jay Z himself said this:

"Some [lyrics] become really profound when you see them in writing. Not 'Big Pimpin.' That's the exception.  It was like, I can't believe I said that. And kept saying it. What kind of animal would say this sort of thing? Reading it is really harsh."

Unfortunately, Jay Z is not the only one to make music and perform songs that send the message that women are no more than sexual objects. .

When I read that there are actually "how to" books for wanna be pimps I am disgusted.  I am disgusted that publishers of titles like "Pimpology" or "The Pimp's Bible: The Sweet Science of Sin" would actually put them in print.

When I see the killing of prostitutes turned into a game I am overwhelmed at the evil in this world.  In the game Grand Theft Auto IV you can pick up a prostitute, take her to an alley to have sex, then kill her and get your money back. 

It's time to stop America.  It's time to stop supporting the "artists" and companies that promote the objectification and violence of women.  It's time to stop conditioning our young men to think that women are theirs for the taking.  It's time to stop teaching our young girls to get a mans attention by the way she dresses. It's time to stop glamorizing pain.  Stop glamorizing abuse.  Stop glamorizing the slavery of women. Because each and everyone of these women and children have a name and a face. They are someone's daughter.

Scars And Stilletos by Harmony Dust

"Fear of being abandoned keeps nineteen-year-old Harmony Dust trapped in an abusive and cruel relationship. She thinks she has hit bottom—tens of thousands of dollars in debt, struggling to get by, and so controlled by her boyfriend that she doesn’t protest when he begins openly sleeping around. Things can’t get worse . . . until someone tells her how much money she can make as an exotic dancer. For the next three years, Harmony lives a double life as Monique, a dancer in a fully-nude strip club."

 

This book was recommended to me to prepare for serving in a human trafficking ministry.  At first, I was a little unsure of how a story about an ex-stripper who has turned her life around would relate.  But after reading the book I understood.  Harmony spent all of her childhood and adolescent years wanting someone to love and accept her.  But it wasn't until she came to know the love of Jesus that she felt truly loved and complete.

  

I admit that I had to look past the obscenities and a little bit too much detail in some areas, but the overall message I got from the book was well worth it.  Once I started it I didn't want to put in down.  Harmony's journey is hard to read at times because of what she experienced, but it is a wonderful picture of the amazing and transforming power of Jesus Christ. 

 

Her Value…far above Rubies and Pearls

 

 You are Loved and Welcomed...the words she longed to hear

It helps the reader understand another side of girls working in the sex industry.  How it is that a girl might end up there and how hard it is for her to find a way out.  Harmony shares her life story beginning with her childhood where she was exposed to pornography and abused at a very young age.  It broke my heart to read as Harmony recalls a time when she was only 13 years old and her mother leaves her at home alone with her younger brother for days leaving only food stamps on the table. 

During her teen years she becomes involved in a relationship with her childhood friend,
Derrick.   When Derrick ends up with no place to live, Harmony is so desperate for love and affection that she offers to get a job and pay for an apartment for him so he won’t leave town. Derrick soon begins to take full advantage of her financially and sexually.  He berates her, mooches off her and even has another girlfriend named Gina.  Derrick expects Harmony to pay for everything and she is willing to do it to keep him from leaving her.  Their relationship becomes so dysfunctional that she is sleeping on the couch in the apartment that she pays for while he sleeps in the bedroom. 

One day she comes home to find another woman’s clothes in her closet.  She learns that Gina is pregnant and Derrick is letting her move in.  They share the bedroom while Harmony continues to sleep on the couch. 

Most of us would wonder how someone could remain in such a horrible situation, but Harmony shares how she felt trapped because the dysfunction was what was familiar to her. 

When she isn't making enough money to support the three of them she takes a job as a stripper while Derrick continues to demand money from her. She shares her raw emotions of shame and guilt and the inner turmoil of living a double life where she is

Harmony - a college student and day care worker by day

and

Monique - an all nude dancer by night.

She eventually meets a young Christian named Tanya who befriends her.  Tanya never judges her and continues to invite her to church.  Harmony finally accepts the invitation and begins to experience her true value.  She feels loved and accepted and is able to leave Derrick and her life as an exotic dancer behind.  And rather than letting her tragic past define who she is, she finds her true identity in Christ and now uses her life to help other women in the sex trade discover their true worth. 

To find out more please visit www.scarsandstilettos.com.

I think the lyrics to this song capture the feelings Harmony describes...
 

Jason Aldean’s Black Tears

 

She puts on her work clothes
Fishnets and pantyhose
She’s got a nickname everybody knows
At the gentleman’s club

She clocks in at midnight
Even though it never feels right
She makes her money one dollar at a time
Without the makeup nobody knows her name
And she wears the pain

Black tears, rolling down
From the eyes of an angel in a sinner’s town
She reveals, and they all cheer
But then she cries black tears

Jealous of the innocence
But sometimes she’s convinced
The boss man is still a friend she needs

But she’s tried everything, cheap sex and cocaine
Anything to hide the pain for a little while
The wrong kind of famous in her momma’s eyes
You can tell she knows it when she cries

Black tears, rolling down
From the eyes of an angel in a sinner’s town
White lines off the mirror
Just won’t hide black tears

She tries and tries so hard to get away
But everybody’s watching

Black tears, rolling down
From the eyes of an angel in a sinner’s town
If all the pain would just disappear
She’d quit crying, yeah she’d quite crying black tears