Mark your calendars! The 2012 3rd annual walk date is August 25th at the Warren Civic Center!

Also, moving forward we will be operating at Hope For Freedom Walk. Mainly…we want the number to decrease from 27 million. We are all about hope so join with us!

In all our to-dos and preparations for the Walk, we’re conscious to remember why we are doing this. All this work and all these people gathering is for the single purpose of hope. Hope for freedom. Hope for a future. Hope for change. And if we can bring that hope to any who, today, are trapped in unimaginable horror, we will be successful. Join us!

Announcing our 2nd annual Walk for 27 Million!

Find more info

Register online

Let us know if you’d like some brochures or posters to pass out!

A neighboring  nation of Thailand is so characterized by extreme poverty and government oppression that the people flee into Thailand by the thousands seeking some sort of safe haven. When they get to Thailand, as illegal refugees, they have no legal status to obtain employment, education or medical care. Often times they find themselves living in garbage dumps or squatter villages that they set up with any resources they can scrape together. These impoverished communities are a prime target for traffickers. They come in with all smiles and promise a “good job” or “education” for the children in a big city far away. Or the traffickers out right offer money for the child. The parents, wishing for the best, make a deal.

SOLD FOR $18

It is in this sort of situation that Little Girl found herself. The very afternoon she was due to be picked up by the traffickers and make the long journey to Bangkok she met some missionaries. The missionaries, upon talking with the girl’s mother, discovered that Little Girl had been sold, the mother had already received the full payment of $18 and the traffickers were due within a few hours. The missionaries begged the mother not to send the girl and offered to give her the money to repay the traffickers. The mother negotiated with the missionaries and for a mere $24 she agreed to let the missionaries take Little Girl to a safe place. As they drove away with Little Girl the traffickers pulled up to retrieve their purchase. Thus was the beginning of their safe house for children that are at risk of or have been sold into human trafficking. (While purchasing children from parents is not the most best way to fight trafficking, this story illustrates the urgency of the situation of millions of children).  One evening, we were in the safe house with many children, staff and missionaries for a worship service. The children were leading us as we sang “How Great is Our God” in four different languages with these rescued children!

We were able to serve with this ministry and get to know these children.  This is one of the many amazing ministries we were honored to serve while we were in Asia. And it is with these organizations that we desire to continue working as we stand up for hope, freedom and justice.

SOUTH EAST ASIA REVIEW

We were gone for a total of 15 days to Thailand, Burma and Cambodia. We visited and served with 14 ministries that are all working to combat human trafficking and / or reaching unreached peoples with the Gospel of Jesus. We taught in Bible schools & churches. We worked with orphanages & aftercare homes. We saw “the ugly” of human trafficking – where it starts, where it happens and where the victims end up. We also saw the overwhelming hope that comes when Jesus and the Word of God are brought to such darkness. That happens when we, the Church, show up. Pray for us as are we currently developing both long and short term strategies to work in South East Asia for the purpose of freedom, hope and justice! Thank you for your prayers, for your giving. More than ever, we see the importance of everyone working together and the whole Body of Christ taking action!

Education is a huge part of this. As Abolitionists, we need to be committed to educating ourselves as well as those in our circle of influence. Some books we recommend:

• The Good News About Injustice by Gary Haugen
• Not For Sale by David Batstone
• Just Courage by Gary Haugen
• Sold by Patrica McCormic
• Also, here’s a helpful link we’ve found on practical ways to end slavery

Keeping the issue in the front of our minds and busy lives is a challenge, we know. One way to do that is to subscribe to Twitter and / or Facebook updates by some organizations that are on the front lines of this battle. We recommend: Gary Haugen, International Justice Mission and (our own!) Walk for 27 Million.

Let’s stay the course and see justice and freedom for the 27 million slaves!

www.betterwayimports.com

www.tradeasone.com

www.madebysurvivors.com

www.tenthousandvillages.com

Some of the sites are not exclusive to products made by freed slaves but all of them involve products that are ethically made. If you are wondering if products that you purchase at the store have been made ethically check out www.free2work.org

Merry Christmas!

Wanna know a great way to support Freedom? Purchase a $5 CD from Family Christian. Really, it’s two cds and a dvd…for $5. Most of that money goes to support the work of International Justice Mission.

Job 29: because I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to assist him. The man who was dying blessed me; I made the widow’s heart sing. I put on righteousness as my clothing; justice was my robe and my turban. I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. I was a father to the needy; I took up the case of the stranger. I broke the fangs of the wicked and snatched the victims from their teeth.