Prayer Warriors
We need constant prayer for safety, wisdom and guidance from the Lord. The work we are doing is dangerous and are willing to put our lives in danger to do God’s work. It is work that no other ministry, here in the U.S. has done before (that we know of). We need true and committed prayer warriors, to join us. I will probably send out specific prayer request emails to those interested...let me know if you are interested.
Financial Support
I need people to commit to supporting me on a monthly basis in order to pay my salary... Though asking for money has terrified me for a long time, I am extremely excited about the opportunity to ask you for money…
I understand now that while I am raising "support," I am also raising awareness AND I am able to offer others the opportunity to be a part of this…to join Jesus in His battle against modern-day slavery! This is not my sole responsibility or just my ministry; it is OUR responsibility and HIS ministry! So I am not afraid to ask for money and I am not afraid to live on what God provides. I know I will learn a whole new meaning of what I “need” but I also know I will finally have the opportunity to truly trust that God will provide through others. Don’t feel pressured to give, but if you want to be a part of this you can donate as little or as much as you want to in a one-time donation or monthly pledge...I do need financial support immediately…my last day with a pay check is September 30th.
Just $10/month would help me so much: My rent is only $320, so if 32 people pledged to give $10/month, my rent is paid for!
*For a donation form, please email me at mkw304@yahoo.com
Volunteers
We are looking for volunteers: individuals, church groups, organizations, networks of people to fill our community center with services and activities for the future trafficking survivors, refugee families, and the urban poor…who are my new friends and family! We are able to offer a venue and just need groups and individuals willing to take ownership of services and come provide them. For example: ESL classes, computer training, job skills training, day care, fun activities and events, etc. Please let me know how you and your own networks want to get involved.
Come and See…
Additionally, I would love to show you in person what we are doing, or meet with you to share more details, dreams and desires. Please contact me if you are interested in visiting or talking with me in more detail about our ministry.
Thank you for your support!
Update:
I did get a laptop and bike rack, THANK YOU!!! I still need a Sprint phone with a full keyboard and internet access if anyone has an old phone to donate....thanks!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Our Strategy
We are a small group of believers with a large community and support network! Our dream is to share the love of Christ with the survivors of sex trafficking; but we are not going to stop there… We will find a way to also share the love of Christ with the traffickers and customers, the true leapers of today. We do not know exactly how we are going to do all of this (we are currently in trial and error mode) but we are going to do it with and for Jesus.
For safety purposes, it is hard for me to tell you what we ARE doing, but for now, I can tell you what we are NOT doing: we are not going in undercover and we are not breaking into brothels to rescue girls; but we are not afraid to risk our lives to do God’s work; and we are not going to ignore God’s voice as we follow Him to bring justice and grace to all of His children.
We are partnering with law enforcement, social services, church communities, volunteers, and non-profit secular organizations to battle this issue from all sides and provide a holistic approach. Most importantly we are developing a community center within our apartment complex, which currently ministers to the urban poor and refugee families. We will offer ESL, life skills and computer classes, etc. But most importantly, we are offering friendship, family and a true community of God’s LOVE and GRACE. The goal is to offer a safe and healthy community to eventually minister to human trafficking SURVIVORS.
*There are services for human trafficking survivors that need immediate housing but they will eventually be back out on their own and we do not want these girls thrown out to be trafficked again.
For safety purposes, it is hard for me to tell you what we ARE doing, but for now, I can tell you what we are NOT doing: we are not going in undercover and we are not breaking into brothels to rescue girls; but we are not afraid to risk our lives to do God’s work; and we are not going to ignore God’s voice as we follow Him to bring justice and grace to all of His children.
We are partnering with law enforcement, social services, church communities, volunteers, and non-profit secular organizations to battle this issue from all sides and provide a holistic approach. Most importantly we are developing a community center within our apartment complex, which currently ministers to the urban poor and refugee families. We will offer ESL, life skills and computer classes, etc. But most importantly, we are offering friendship, family and a true community of God’s LOVE and GRACE. The goal is to offer a safe and healthy community to eventually minister to human trafficking SURVIVORS.
*There are services for human trafficking survivors that need immediate housing but they will eventually be back out on their own and we do not want these girls thrown out to be trafficked again.
Human Trafficking Defined
I better explain this before I continue…
Human Trafficking is modern day slavery!
People of all ages, races and gender are being “trafficked” into and within the United States at rapid rates using force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of sexual exploitation or forced labor. It occurs in many forms: forced and child prostitution, live sex shows, pornography, migrant agricultural work, sweatshops, domestic servants, restaurants, hotels, etc. They are treated as slaves: held captive without freedom, beaten, starved, drugged, unsanitary living conditions. Many times they are working under the belief they are paying off a debt, not knowing they will never be able to pay it off.
Here are 2 stories to help illustrate how human trafficking takes place in the Unites States:
Maria’s Story
Maria was approached by a family friend who promised her a job waiting tables in the United States making ten times as much as she was making in her home country. Once across the border, a burly man told her that he had purchased her. Next, she was taken to a brothel and told that she would have to buy her freedom by sexually servicing men. When she refused, three men gang-raped her and locked her in the trailer without food and water until she succumbed. She was forced to service 20 men a day. When she and several others tried to escape, they were beaten severely in front of the other girls. Shortly after her second abortion and this beating, Maria became sick and felt crazy. In order to keep her functioning in the brothel, the traffickers gave her drugs and alcohol to numb her pain.
Ajay’s Story
Ajay worked for 20 years as a chef in Calcutta, supporting a family and struggling to make ends meet. Then he heard about job openings with a U.S. Company through a travel agent. Ajay and several of his friends decided to go to the U.S. in search of the American dream and an opportunity to provide for their families. They were charged roughly $2,500 in fees, and paid this through high-interest loans in India. They planned to work off their debt and then begin sending money home to their families. Once they arrived in the United States, the men were ill fed, packed into a cramped, unsanitary dormitory and forced to work 12 to 16 hour days, six days a week, at wages well below the federal minimum wage. When they complained about conditions within the factory, they were threatened with deportation, locked inside their barracks and patrolled by armed guards.
Scope of the Problem
Now if you take Rosa and Ajay’s story and multiple it by hundreds of thousands, even millions, you will get an idea of the magnitude of the global problem. The CIA says that between 600,000 and 800,000 people are trafficked per year globally and between 14,000 and 17,000 are trafficked into and around the United States every year and Texas is one of the leading states in Trafficking people for labor and sexual exploitation. We suspect that no one really knows the numbers…but does it really matter how many!? The simple fact is, this is not just a foreign problem and we cannot ignore it, slavery is taking place in YOUR backyard and it is time to do something about it!
Suggested Resources
Websites:
· http://www.polarisproject.org/
· http://www.ijm.org/
· http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/
· http://www.love146.org/
Movies/Documentaries:
· Trade
· Trading Women
· Not For Sale
· Call + Response (coming out soon)
Books:
· Sold
· Terrify No More
· Not For Sale
· The Good News about Injustice
Human Trafficking is modern day slavery!
People of all ages, races and gender are being “trafficked” into and within the United States at rapid rates using force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of sexual exploitation or forced labor. It occurs in many forms: forced and child prostitution, live sex shows, pornography, migrant agricultural work, sweatshops, domestic servants, restaurants, hotels, etc. They are treated as slaves: held captive without freedom, beaten, starved, drugged, unsanitary living conditions. Many times they are working under the belief they are paying off a debt, not knowing they will never be able to pay it off.
Here are 2 stories to help illustrate how human trafficking takes place in the Unites States:
Maria’s Story
Maria was approached by a family friend who promised her a job waiting tables in the United States making ten times as much as she was making in her home country. Once across the border, a burly man told her that he had purchased her. Next, she was taken to a brothel and told that she would have to buy her freedom by sexually servicing men. When she refused, three men gang-raped her and locked her in the trailer without food and water until she succumbed. She was forced to service 20 men a day. When she and several others tried to escape, they were beaten severely in front of the other girls. Shortly after her second abortion and this beating, Maria became sick and felt crazy. In order to keep her functioning in the brothel, the traffickers gave her drugs and alcohol to numb her pain.
Ajay’s Story
Ajay worked for 20 years as a chef in Calcutta, supporting a family and struggling to make ends meet. Then he heard about job openings with a U.S. Company through a travel agent. Ajay and several of his friends decided to go to the U.S. in search of the American dream and an opportunity to provide for their families. They were charged roughly $2,500 in fees, and paid this through high-interest loans in India. They planned to work off their debt and then begin sending money home to their families. Once they arrived in the United States, the men were ill fed, packed into a cramped, unsanitary dormitory and forced to work 12 to 16 hour days, six days a week, at wages well below the federal minimum wage. When they complained about conditions within the factory, they were threatened with deportation, locked inside their barracks and patrolled by armed guards.
Scope of the Problem
Now if you take Rosa and Ajay’s story and multiple it by hundreds of thousands, even millions, you will get an idea of the magnitude of the global problem. The CIA says that between 600,000 and 800,000 people are trafficked per year globally and between 14,000 and 17,000 are trafficked into and around the United States every year and Texas is one of the leading states in Trafficking people for labor and sexual exploitation. We suspect that no one really knows the numbers…but does it really matter how many!? The simple fact is, this is not just a foreign problem and we cannot ignore it, slavery is taking place in YOUR backyard and it is time to do something about it!
Suggested Resources
Websites:
· http://www.polarisproject.org/
· http://www.ijm.org/
· http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/
· http://www.love146.org/
Movies/Documentaries:
· Trade
· Trading Women
· Not For Sale
· Call + Response (coming out soon)
Books:
· Sold
· Terrify No More
· Not For Sale
· The Good News about Injustice
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)