For Their Rescue

Day 1

2010-07-24T20:24:00.001-07:00

As a preface to day 1...

I spent the afternoon of Monday the 21st traveling. I arrived in Miami and met Cory ( a long time friend and missionary with http://mission-haiti.org/ ) and Fritz ( a friend who traveled with me to Cambodia to do a documentary on a survivor of sex trafficking... See his work at www.fritzphoto.com ). We had about an hour to catch up before we greeted a youth group from Washington (they put together a cool video from the trip.. found here )

While I was traveling I was listening to an audio book called "Velvet Elvis" by Rob Bell. There was a part of the book that rang really loud with me. He was saying that the Bible says that Christ is in all things... So, he was asking the question... What does that mean to you? Is he really in ALL things? And after processing that he said, maybe we need to rethink the idea of missions... As an interjection here... I was not on a missions trip per se. I was there to help my friend interview different groups to find out what is being done in the area, and I was there to learn about the Restavek system. However, I apply the whole idea of "American Missions" to a lot of other behaviors that Americans tend to take with them while in other countries.

So, Rob was saying that we tend to have this idea that we need to "take" Jesus to these other lands.... But what if we are supposed to just simply identify where Christ is, in the midst of the land that you are in? This became an over riding question for me... I don't want to claim to have it all figured out... I want to always be seeking... I want to ask, Where is Christ or truth, or nobleness, rightness, purity, loveliness, admiralty, or excellence in this place?

I have since carried this question with me in every area of life. I think that people who claim Christianity miss out on so much of what God has, because we won't entertain things that don't fit in our religious or cultural boxes.... But that is a whole other blog :-)

OK... So, I arrive in Miami, meet Cory and Fritz, meet the crew from Washington, one last meal at IHOP, a night of partial sleep on a hotel room floor and then onto Haiti... All while wondering what it was I was going to actually accomplish, and trying to find Christ in the midst of it all.

DAY 1

For each day I will post my notes that I took on that day and then expound... The notes are basic, simple and raw. In some ways I get more from them than in editing my expansions.

NOTES

Find Christ in Haiti

The lady with the breakdown and my numbness

Haiti is a Hell Hole... How has the world forgotten it?

Pam asks me to interview two families on possible Restavek situations

Demon possessed girl at 3

As I flew into the Island, I was blown away. From an arial view it was gorgeous! But then you hit the ground. I thought to myself, this place is a hell hole. I have been to multiple parts of the globe and seen a lot of the worlds poverty and injustices, but this was ridiculous. Maybe part of the reason was because I, unbeknownst to myself, really went in kind of cocky, thinking, this is gonna be no big deal, but I was wrong. It was definitely the hardest trip, emotionally and physically, that I have been on. But it was also one of the most rewarding.

As we got off the airplane we were herded through what I think was customs, into a warehouse to pick up baggage and then out onto the street. We lucked out because the orphanage we were going to had a bus, for the 6 hour ride that lay ahead.

As we were getting on to the bus one of the ladies from the Washington group just broke down sobbing. I assume it was because of the abject poverty and disaster that lay all around us. As I watched her sobbing, I was struck at my numbness and wondered why I wasn't also affected similarly. I still don't really have an answer, but it was one of those questions which I don't think necessarily need an answer... Maybe it is just supposed to sit there.

The bus ride was pretty uneventful... More amazing scenery mixed with intense poverty, wreckage from the earthquake, people living in tents or houses with tarps for roofs, naked babies, people getting drinking water out of the ditches, etc...

Finally after a long ride we arrived in Petit Rivier were the orphanage was... There were enough beds for the people already there and the crew from Washington but Cory, Fritz and I set up tents outside and quickly set up what was to be our "space" for the week.

After a tour of the orphanage, finding where to pump our water, where to get rid of it (the outhouse) and where the showers were... I settled into a conversation with Pam ( Mission Haiti's director). She asked me if I would, while I was there, hike into the mountains to interview two families with possible Restavek situations. A Restavek is a child who is sold into slavery. The primary reason a family sells a child is because the family is not able to care for them. The usual transaction that takes place comes with a promise that if the child works (meaning is up before the family, goes to bed last, and does ALL the chores) then they will be provided food and allowed to go to school. There are some cases which this takes place, but mostly the child is neglected beyond belief.

She also told me that there is a girl who has been reported to be demon possessed and asked if Cory, Fritz and I would be willing to go and pray for her.... This request sort of through me. I agreed but I had no idea how that was supposed to go down. Fortunately or unfortunately this particular meeting never panned out.

At the end of day 1 my head was swimming. I laid down in my cot, meditated a bit, and then I was out....

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Intro

2010-07-24T18:35:00.001-07:00

O.K. So, I am finally sitting down to process my recent trip to Haiti through blogging. To all of those (probably 2 of you) who have waited, thank you for your patience!

As soon as I got off the plane I hit the ground running. I got home on a Sunday night around 11pm and had to be at work first thing in the morning. To make it more fun, I had some sort of rash all over and a pretty bad cold. I guess it is all part of the game. :-)

So, this trip was by far the most intense trip I have been on so far. I was intending on writing a summary blog to sort of catch everyone up, but I am going to do a day by day summary, instead. This is probably more for me than the reader. A sort of catharsis, if you will.

So.. This is the Intro... Of my Journey to Haiti, to learn, to spread justice and to learn about the down fall of making sweeping moral judgements.

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Photos From Haiti.. Courtesy of FritzPhoto.com

2010-07-24T18:31:00.001-07:00

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The Eve

2010-06-20T19:53:00.001-07:00

Hey all,

Thank you to all of you who have made this upcoming trip possible! You guys are all amazing!

I just got back into town after spending the weekend with my ladies and some friends at an amazing beach house! It was time away that was much needed!

Tomorrow I will get some work done with my day job, come home grab my stuff, and then off to the airport.

I will be meeting the team in Miami and then we will head to Haiti on Tuesday morning.

I am still unclear as to whether or not I will have wi-fi, so in case I do not... Just know that no news is good news. :-)

After I get back I will take the next week to log pics and stories from the journey.

In the mean time... If you guys would take a sec to click on the icon in this post and vote for Transitions Global... That would be awesome! Chase has an awesome contest to recognize non-profits and we have a chance to win $250k!!!

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New Stuff!

2010-06-03T19:02:00.001-07:00

So... Today had some great news!

Cory (my contact and traveling buddy) just got back from Haiti with his wife. On this trip Cory was able to shore up our itinerary plans... Instead of traveling in and around Port-au Prince, we will be working to the South West of the Island. This will be good because the orphanage/home base is there. This will give us a good starting point in the mornings and an easy place to return to before dark. It will also eliminate the hassle of getting around in Port-au Prince.

There is a city about 30 minutes from Ti-Riviere (where the orphanage is) which is made up of mostly tents. This city has a population which numbers in the hundreds of thousands. I am still trying to wrap my brain around that.

There are ten organizations in that area who are doing work, and we will be meeting with them as we develop a game plan for the discipleship/outreach program that Cory will be putting together.

There is also some news of a potential human trafficking intervention that we might be a part of... I don't want to go into to many details right now... But I will update if things develop.

ALSO... This is great!!! For some reason I totally felt that I should call my Cambodia traveling buddy, Fritz Liedtke, today and pitch the idea of going to Haiti... AND... He said yes! So, besides the great company, we are going to have some awesome photos and possibly video of the trip.

Check out Fritz's work at http://www.fritzphotographic.com/

That is all for now. Good night!

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The promised update... Man I look tired :-)

2010-06-02T17:32:00.001-07:00

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Movie on 2010-06-02 at 20.21.mov (13446 KB)

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Weekend Update

2010-05-29T06:58:00.001-07:00

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Movie on 2010-05-29 at 09.53 #2.mov (8600 KB)

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Chip In

2010-05-29T06:35:00.001-07:00

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Crazy

2010-05-28T04:14:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was crazy...
Full of some pretty intense things...
Got in an argument with someone about the border issues in Arizona. For the record I don't agree with what is going on down there. I don't think it is a black and white issue... There is so much gray that is involved in this issue. I am really tired of my conservative friends just jumping the bandwagon and not really thinking through all the issues. There is such a pervasive attitude that just screams, "Get out of my GD country... and God Bless America." What really irritates me is when Christians jump on the bandwagon and start spouting what they heard the super conservative-talking head say... They start in and they do not have any compassion for the people involved.
When Jesus was alive, I am sure that Rome had immigration problems, as well as a whole host of political issues. However, he didn't focus on that... he focused on loving the people that he could love! In fact he chose to walk right through Samaria... Samaria was the equivalent of our modern day Mexico, except way worse. Samaria was a place that the religious people would choose to walk around, which meant and extra day or so to there trip. Jesus was concerned about the marginalized. He was concerned with the least of society. And he didn't let anyone tell him that the problem was so big that loving them would be a waste of time.
So, this is how the morning started... I am all fired up and then... As I am driving away... WHAM! I witness this car get t-boned... Thankfully, everyone was all right but it was all pretty dramatic.
Then 30 minutes later, I am on the phone with someone talking about the potential of doing some huge things in Haiti... Far and above what this first trip is slated for. More to come on that.
30 min after that, I am having conversation about potentially life altering directions...
The rest of the day filled with other pretty intense things that I can't get into, right now.... And then to end it all, The Suns lose by 2
So, things are shaping up nicely for Haiti... I have $450 more to raise, but I think with the matching grant that should be no problem!
If you want to donate, please click the chip in button...
Also, please subscribe to the blog... This way you can keep up to date with other blog post, videos, and pics.... I am planning on posting A LOT... when I am down in Haiti.
Much Love!
 

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Chip In

2010-05-25T18:36:00.001-07:00

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The 31st is coming quick

2010-05-23T18:25:00.001-07:00

If this is your first time reading this blog, be sure to check out my other entries!
But... to catch you up to speed... I have been invited to go to Haiti and help mission-haiti.org set up a Social Justice program. Mission Haiti started as a christian orphanage and are in a region where they are the only NGO around. This is awesome, because it means they have a huge opportunity for impact!
I will go and work with one of their staff for 5 days, at the end of June. During that time we will meet with other organizations on the Island to get a good sense of what is already going on... No sense in reinventing the wheel, and there might be possibilities for good partnerships.
Once back in the states we will evaluate all of our findings and create best practices to effectively implement the beginnings of a Social Justice component into the culture of Mission Haiti. They are already doing an amazing job with the orphanage, but we also want to look at issues like; Human Trafficking, Education, Water, Food, Land, Medicine, etc... All of these things are included when we speak about Social Justice.
I am super excited about this opportunity, but I need your help to do it! Please join me in this adventure by making a donation, now!
I need to raise this money by the end of the month, May 31st. In order to arrange for my airfare, lodging, etc...
Just click on the "chip in" widget and you will be able to make a donation through Paypal.
Thank you so much to those of you who have donated, and to those of you who will donate! You all are amazing!

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Video Update

2010-05-20T18:32:00.000-07:00

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Untitled

2010-05-14T18:25:00.001-07:00

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New way to donate

2010-05-12T05:04:00.001-07:00

Hey Guys..
I have set up a new way to donate. So that all of you who are comfortable donating on-line can... And those of you who are not comfortable can email me and I can send you my address.
The new site for donations is http://sendseth.chipin.com/send-seth-to-haiti
If you want my address to send donations to... please email me at sethjohnson78@gmail.com

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Haiti

2010-05-10T18:05:00.001-07:00

Hey All,
I am sending this out as a blog, but I will be emailing friends and family over the next week. I just figured this is the quickest way to let everyone know what is going on, and a good way for you to stay up to date!
A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to go to Haiti.
The invitation was from a friend who has been working with http://www.mission-haiti.org/ for about 6 months or so. Mission-Haiti's primary focus is an orphanage. They have a great model set up, so as to create a homelike environment. I love this model!
My friend Cory Grimm is (amongst other things) working to set up a discipleship program. The idea is to give accessible education, in regards to the Christian faith, to people who would not otherwise receive it.
You see, even in Haiti, if you do not have enough money or have the right clothes... You are not granted the same opportunities to learn about your faith.
Cory has asked me to come to Haiti to consult with him on how to integrate a Social Justice component into the program.
He and I are firm believers that, "You Do What You Believe." So a Social Justice component is vital to any sort of theological training.
Haiti is a nation that has many challenges and struggles facing it. Among them, the nation has a strong past associated with slavery. It is estimated that there are 250,000 slaves in Haiti, today.
Cory and Misson Haiti feel that with my background and knowledge in Human Trafficking, I would be a great asset to their journey in mobilizing Haitians to serve each other and the world around them.
I will be in Haiti June 23rd-27th. Cory and I will be meeting with other organizations to learn about best practices in the area. The last thing we want to do is to implement an American theology or ideology of justice.
I have to take a moment and be honest with all of my readers... I really, really, love to travel! I love to see the world and it's people! I love helping others! I love to love others!
So, when I am presented with an opportunity for another adventure, my first inclination is always, Yes! I love to go! However, I am also aware that, most of the time, I am receiving funds from friends and family who love me and care about whatever particular humanitarian issue has come across my path. So, I really try to be cautious and make sure that, if I am going to go, I will actually be useful.. and that I am not just taking up space and wasting oxygen.
Honestly, I was having second thoughts about this particular adventure. I kept asking myself things like, "Are you just doing this because of the recent Haiti fad?", or "Are you just doing this because a friend wants you to go?" Then the other day, I met a man from Haiti at one of the car lots that I work at. I found myself watching, in fascination, as he was (in broken English) selling a car to a Chinese man, who spoke even less English. After the deal was finished, he and I started talking about cars and general shop talk. I then asked him where he was from.. When he told me I sort of unloaded on him about what I was thinking about doing in his homeland. I thought surely he would be excited, but he wasn't. He just looked at me and said, "That is a very noble thing you are doing."
It was at that moment that the light came on for me. Even a man from Haiti who now works in the US and probably makes more than I do, needs to be reminded, encouraged, invited into the fight for the human condition. There are so many around us in this ever shrinking globe who are marginalized, and who desperately need help. It is so easy to overlook those who need us. We all get involved in our day to day and our own fight to eek out an existence. Yet, it is when we start to serve others that we become alive.
So, you might have noticed the web address for this blog is, "Send Seth." I constantly encourage everyone to roll up their sleeves, find the cause of their choice and help those around them. But sometimes that is not possible. Not all of us can, "Go." Honestly, I cannot go, without your help.
I am asking you all... If you care about the marginalized of society, if you care about Haiti, about people in slavery, about people who want to learn to do right, but are not afforded the education... If you care about these things, and just don't have the time to carve out of your busy life to, "Go." Then "Send."
I need your help to make this trip happen. I need to raise $1200.00 by the end of May.
Will you please consider joining me with your hard earned finances!
I am not going as part of a church organization or as part of Transitions Global. I am going independently. So, unfortunately, I will not be able to give you a receipt for your taxes. And I will have to work extra hard this year to pay the taxes on the money that you, "gift" to me. These are all just logistics and I believe they can be overcome!
If you would like to join me in this, please email me at sethjohnson78@gmail.com I can give you information for sending your money!
Thank you all for considering being part of this journey with me!

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Haiti

2010-05-10T17:01:00.001-07:00

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Quick thought

2010-04-14T16:32:00.001-07:00

So tonight I was mowing my weeds/grass... (this picture is for effect and is not my yard. If it was, I would be paying someone to mow it) and we have neighbors who never mow their weeds/grass.
While I was mowing, the verse came to my mind that I am always preaching... James 4:17 "Do the good you know to do. If you do not, that is sin."
I am always throwing this verse around (along with Isaiah 1:17) when it comes to huge atrocities like Human Trafficking, or feeding the poor, or water for the thirsty, etc...
But suddenly, I "encountered" a moment that I could put my beliefs into action on a small scale...
My neighbors are in a home for the elderly and sick... I am pretty sure that they could not mow the yard themselves and the guy who is taking care of them probably doesn't care... Maybe he does and maybe I need to work on not judging others, but that is a whole other blog :-)
Anyways I did it... I mowed their weeds/grass... And as soon as I started, I felt this overwhelming sense of, "what are you doing?" You are crossing into their property! You are forcing your beliefs that grass should be cut, onto them! What if they don't want their weeds/grass mowed! What if they come out and yell at you???? And other crazy thoughts...
I quickly got over it and kept mowing... I even blew their driveway and walkway off and just took care of business...
While I was finishing my yard I was reflecting on why it was so hard for me to do that... Why was it so hard for me to get out of my comfort zone?? I mean it was just a simple thing... I think culturally I have been taught to "mind my business," to "take care of my own," to "be better than my neighbors," etc, etc... Even in evangelical churches we pump up the idea of going overseas on mission trips... and we pump thousands of dollars into "sending" and trying to convert others....
Jesus told the lawyer (Luke 10:27) that the most important thing was to love God and to love others....
I wonder what would happen if we all shattered our cultural norms of minding our own business, got out of our comfort zones, and just loved others like ourselves. No hidden agenda, no concern for if they will eventually believe like we do... Just love!
In the end it doesn't matter what we say we believe, it matters what we do.
I don't write this to pat myself on the back, but to share my personal struggles, and to encourage everyone to stretch yourself, get out of your comfort zone and love others.

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Newsletter

2010-03-31T17:44:00.001-07:00

This is an excerpt from a newsletter, from the in country Therapy Director in Cambodia who works with http://www.transitionsglobal.org
For more about Summer and her work, check out her site entitled "Jehovah Rapha"
"This Sunday at church we read the story of Mary Magdalene pouring expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet, six days before Passover (which we now know was about a week before Jesus’ death). As is often done with this passage, our pastor used his sermon time to
compare Mary’s extravagance when she poured the perfume (worth a year’s wages!) on Jesus feet, with the extravagant love of God. I’ve heard people make this comparison before, but this year I definitely thought about it in a different way. I began to consider God’s extravagant love in the context of what I encounter every day here in Cambodia.
What does extravagant love mean to you, in the context of your own life? I actually have a hard time with that question. I don’t come from a very wealthy family (my father was a priest!) but I was never left wanting anything as a child. Sure, I didn’t always get what I wanted for Christmas, but I always went to a good school and had enough food to eat. What’s more, I grew up in a family with parents who showed me what love feels like and taught me about the great sacrifice that God made out of His love for me. I don’t have a hard time answering that question because nobody has ever told me about God’s extravagant love. I have a hard time answering that question because I’ve never known a time when that truth wasn’t real to me.
The reality in our world is that a great majority of God’s children know nothing about the extravagant love of God. There are millions of people literally living in slavery throughout the world, and millions more in a figurative bondage as a result of issues like extreme poverty. There is a 13 year old girl held like a prisoner in a brothel in Cambodia. There is an 8 year old boy working as a slave on a fishing boat in the Gulf of Mexico. There is a 23 year old woman living as a slave in the basement of a wealthy home in Manhattan. There is a 56 year old man who has spent his entire life making bricks in India. And none of them know that God loves them so much that He sent His son to die for them. They have no idea.
In the story about Mary Magdalene, we can watch Jesus’ reaction to her extravagant display of love. We can also watch the reaction of others. Judas accused her of being wasteful and irresponsible, but Jesus did not. He blessed her for her sacrifice and declared that it would be used as an example of faithfulness in any place the Gospel is preached throughout the world.
As members of the small percentage of the world that DO know about the extravagant love of God, I believe that we have a job to do. We know that we’re called to make disciples of all nations, and we know what it looks like to do that through church planting and discipleship. But what about that 13 year old in the brothel in Cambodia? Or the young woman living as a slave in the United States? They’re not going to come to your new church plant or meet for coffee so that you will have an opportunity to share the Gospel with them. Fortunately, our God is not only a loving God, He is also a just God. And He is calling us to be agents of that justice in the world. He wants to break our hearts for the broken hearted around us. He wants us to cry out to Him to “rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” (Psalm 82:4) He wants us to act in extravagant ways to show those who do not know Him, just how incredible His love is.
So this coming Easter, as we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord, my prayer is for those that don’t know Him, for those who have never celebrated that joy. Please join me in prayer, that God would reveal to us, His body, the depths to which He is calling us to respond to those in the darkest corners of our world."

Photo by Kent Truog

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Hope

2010-03-04T18:07:00.001-08:00

This is a note that a friend of mine wrote after visiting the future Transitions Global site in India. I love what he has to say and wanted to share it with others!

Hello Friends!
So typically when Catie and I get back from India (or Cambodia) I feel the need to write so that I can try and process what I’ve just seen. The poverty, the human suffering, the reality that young girls (and boys) are sold in to the sex industry and continually raped against their will by hundreds, maybe thousands of perpetrators. I’ve been in the brothels where evil forces have a stronghold, interacted with the girls who have not yet been rescued, and rubbed elbows with those who keep them in bondage. I’m typically pretty confused and depressed when I get back and wondering, ‘what the hell is wrong with the world I live in, and what do I do now?”. Folks….I’m here to report that HOPE blindsided me in Mumbai. And if HOPE can gain a foothold in Mumbai, then it can grab a foothold anywhere.
I’m not naïve. I’m aware that this world will not be made ‘right’ until the day of Judgment, but scripture tells me that my job is to bring a piece of the Kingdom of Heaven to earth. I saw this happening in one of the darkest places on this earth last week. One of our dear friends who traveled to Mumbai over the summer said this: “If going to Mamelodi, South Africa is as spiritually refreshing as having water dumped on your head, then Mumbai is equivalent to digging your own well through concrete to get to water. You get water both ways, the latter is just much more exhausting.” RP….it appears as though God has busted out His jackhammer since we were last there!
Is there still crushing poverty in Mumbai? Yeah. Did I see dead bodies on the side of the road again? Um, yeah. Are there still hundreds of thousands of women and children being violated sexually everyday? Unfortunately, yes. But God has given me a choice: I can say this is the way it has been for thousands of years and just hang out in West Chester, Ohio worrying about my 401k and the next home improvement that will add ‘value’ to my home…..or I can surrender my earthly desires to Him and be His hands and feet like He has told me to be. So my family has chosen to listen to Him (sorry little baby Colten….Mommy and Daddy already made this decision for you) and the following accounts from our trip are a testimony to Him and His plan. (My fingers are just warming up, so get cozy!)
The most powerful moment for me came on Friday, our last day in the aftercare homes. It happened in the aftercare home where I met Jesus through the eyes of a girl who lived there exactly one year ago. Transitions Global (more on them later) has been interviewing girls at this particular home as possible candidates to move in to their Transitional Living Center that will be up and operational shortly. I was told about one particular conversation they had with a girl I was familiar with. The name I knew her by was Nina (not really, but if I told you her real name I’d have to kill you). Nina is beautiful. Nina is from Bangladesh. Nina holds a place in my heart forever. However, Nina is not her real name. Nina is the name her pimp gave her years ago…..Nina is her slave name. She told Transitions Global that her real name was Marianna (again, I’m not in to killing anyone so just roll with it). So Friday when I arrived at this aftercare home to spend a day of loving on these girls, along with the rest of our team, the first thing I did was to seek out “Nina”. I approached her and said, “You will no longer be Nina to me, I will call you Marianna”. Words cannot do justice to the look on her face……I’m actually getting choked up writing this. If you can imagine the most gorgeous sunset you have ever seen, that is what her face looked like. One person calling her by her real name gave her back her identity. That is the name that my dear friends at Transitions will call her as well. I ate lunch with Marianna. We talked about Bangladesh and her family. We talked about her future. She tailored a shirt for my wife…in like 2 minutes! I prayed over her asking God to heal her and give her an opportunity for a new life. And the crazy part is, God willing, she will have an opportunity because of our Community……that is 8000 miles away in Cincinnati. As of today, Marianna is one of 9 girls that Transitions Global is looking to take in once they get all the final approvals in India (I ask that you pray for this process to go quickly and smoothly). As I left this aftercare home on the last day, there were 4 girls that I had really grown close with, and we hugged, and cried, and hugged, and laughed. It was beautiful. The difference between this year and last year is that I wasn’t sure last year if I would ever be back to this home. Now I know I’ll most certainly be back, again, and again, and again. As I walked out the door Marianna grabbed my hands and we talked some more about the opportunity that lay ahead. She wouldn’t let go. I could have stayed in that moment forever. HOPE had just blindsided me.
On a side note, the girl whom I met Jesus through one year ago has run away from this home. The reality of the situation for her is not good. It was a harsh reminder that this work will leave scars, but I’ve never been told that chasing after Jesus was easy. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. And it’s the path we’ve chosen.
365 days ago today, I was sitting in a hotel conference room in Mumbai listening to members of IJM (www.ijm.org) talk about the work they do…..and thinking to myself, “what the hell am I doing here?”. I didn’t know slavery still existed, I absolutely hated Mumbai, and James Pond (Director of Transitions Global) was some guy I knew nothing about (except for the fact that he had an absolutely awesome name). Oh yeah, I had no clue who Jesus was either.
Within one year, I have developed relationships with survivors, aftercare workers and heroes all over the globe, I find myself longing to be in Mumbai (did I just say that?), we are intrinsically involved with Transitions Global, and we’re chasing after Jesus big time.
Transitions Global (www.transitionsglobal.org) has purchased a home, hired an amazing in-country director (Ramona and her amazing husband Keith) and in a few months (with the support of Crossroads and it’s people) they will begin the intake process of 9 girls who are survivors. And that is just the beginning of huge things to come. This has happened in 365 days folks……that is not humanly possible. Thank you Lord for creating HOPE.
Perhaps the most encouraging time we spent in Mumbai was at the government run aftercare homes. Whenever a woman is rescued (whether she is over or under 18), she automatically goes to a government run aftercare facility (aka prison). Last year when we visited these homes, we left with a sick empty feeling. These homes may have (and I stress the ‘may have’ part) been a step up from the brothels. The government staff is paid little, they care even less than the salaries they make, and the girls and women typically try and escape at first chance……and they certainly don’t stay longer than they have to. Our team was to be at the government run aftercare home (the one for those women over 18) for two days doing photography and arts and crafts with the women. I was told by many that this home was by far the worst in terms of despair and living conditions. There were several mentally handicapped ladies there along with much older women. Needless to say, I was nervous. There are anywhere between 70-100 women (along with many of their children) living in a complex with 2 rooms. The whole compound is probably the size of the lot I live on (which ain’t much). Think of an army barracks, but nowhere near as nice. So we walk in, meet the ladies…..and within 10 minutes there is dancing, there are hugs, and there is love…..freakin’ everywhere. We were at this home for two days. We took pictures with them and printed them out onsite (with printers that we brought). We made picture frames, we danced some more, we had the ladies do henna on our arms (check out my pics), I made a 4 yr old little friend who most likely never met his father……and called me uncle. There were solo singing performances (by the women not us), there was government staff with smiles on their faces and interaction between them and the girls (this is NOT common!). When we left, there were hugs, and tears, and more hugs, but most importantly……there was HOPE.
I’m not going to sit here and act like everything was perfect…..it most certainly wasn’t. While we were there a 17 year old girl at our favorite home ran away. No one has heard from her since. The poverty still breaks my heart, probably even more than last time. The challenges are immense. But God is mobilizing his troops in Mumbai……IJM, Transitions Global, Crossroads, and we know of some more organizations coming to Mumbai as well. We’re just taking the next step.
It’s kinda weird, but I feel God talks to me most clearly through music. A lyric that I constantly here in my head comes from a Matisyahu song (seriously, if you don’t know of him….check him out. He’s a Jewish rapper/reggae artist):
I’m the arrow, you’re my bow
Shoot me forth and I will go
The last year has been crazy, and when I listen to what God has to tell me I sometimes feel like a freakin’ arrow flying through the air not knowing where the hell I’m going to land…….but I know He is the bow that has shot me forward and I’m totally at peace with that. Last week he shot about 35 arrows over to Mumbai, India and guess what the arrowheads were filled with? You got it, they were filled with……HOPE.
Love you all…..I’m off to shovel my driveway!
tb

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AFP: Haiti holds US citizens suspected of child trafficking

2010-01-31T05:12:00.001-08:00

Haiti holds US citizens suspected of child trafficking

(AFP) – 9 hours ago

PORT-AU-PRINCE — Haitian police were holding 10 US citizens Sunday on suspicion they tried to slip out of the country with 31 Haitian children in a trafficking scheme, a government minister said.
Haitian Social Affairs Minister Yves Christallin said the police arrested five men and five women with US passports, and two Haitians, as they tried to cross into the Dominican Republic with the children Friday night.
He said two pastors were also involved, one in Haiti and one in Atlanta, Georgia.
"This is an abduction, not an adoption," said Christallin.
Christallin said the US citizens did not have the proper documents to take the children out of Haiti, nor letters of authorization from their parents.
The children were aged two months to 12 years and had come from different places, he said.
"What is important for us in Haiti is that a child needs to have an authorization from this ministry to leave the country," he said.
US embassy officials were not immediately available to comment on the case.
Haitian officials have voiced fears that child traffickers will take advantage of the chaos after Haiti's massive January 12 quake to slip out of the country with children in illegal adoption schemes.
There is also concern that legitimate adoption agencies may rush to take earthquake orphans out of the country before proper checks have been conducted to confirm their parents perished.
Haiti's quake severely crippled government agencies and pitched the country into a communications morass.
In an interview with NBC news, a family member of one of those arrested said the Americans believed the matter was a misunderstanding over documentation. They were identified by Christallin as members of an Idaho-based charity called New Life Children's Refuge.
Haitian police chief Mario Andresol said the Americans were being held at the Judicial Police headquarters in Port-au-Prince and that the children had been transferred to a facility north of the city, in Croix de Bouquets.
He said an investigation was underway to determine how the children came into the Americans' custody.
"Now it's up to the Justice Department do to their job," Andresol said.
A document posted online by the group asks for donations to bring 100 Haitian children to safety in the Dominican Republic and for volunteers to take care of the children during two-week stints.
Under the heading "Purpose," it reads: "Rescue Haitian orphans abandoned on the streets, makeshift hospitals, or from collapsed orphanages."
It says the group has leased a 45-room hotel in Cabarete as a temporary shelter for the children.
It also includes a prayer request "for God to continue to grant favor with the Dominican government in allowing us to bring as many orphans as we can into the DR."
Christallin said it was "too bad that it was Americans who have been implicated in this affair, because they are helping us (with earthquake relief), as many countries are."
The United States has urged citizens moved by Haiti's earthquake to show patience in adopting children, as reports emerge that some children have fallen prey to human traffickers, or even misidentified as orphans.
Haiti said its prime minister will have to sign off on every minor's departure abroad for the time being.

Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved. More »

via google.com

This is a perfect example of what happens when people who want to do good, but have no experience and do not follow the laws of the land.

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Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Targets Human Traffickers

2010-01-08T14:23:00.001-08:00

Human trafficking is a major problem for Florida, ranking third in the country for the crime. JSO Lt. Mike Eason said Jacksonville is an attractive spot for traffickers.
"Not only is Jacksonville a port city, but also the fact that it is a major highway hub with I-10 and I-95," Eason explained.
Trafficking is not just international, they are also working to stop domestic, often underage sex, trafficking.
"Primarily these pimps target habitual run away females and have them prostitute for them," Eason said they are working two such cases right now.
They are trying to make you more aware of the danger signs so you can report potential trafficking to them.
"Anything that looks like it is out of the ordinary. People who seem like they are not doing what they are doing willingly," Eason said.
Also lots of people in a small place with one spokesperson are another warning sign.
Since this trafficking is behind the scene and often un-reported it is hard to get an exact figure on how much human trafficking passes through the area. Eason said it is a problem and getting more the public involved will help them fight the traffickers.
The Sheriff will hold a Monday press conference to discuss their plans more.
via wokv.com

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Obama: Recommit to end human trafficking

2010-01-05T17:48:00.001-08:00

WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month is a time to recommit to stopping human traffickers, U.S. President Barack Obama said.

"The victims of modern slavery have many faces. They are men and women, adults and children," Obama said in a proclamation Monday declaring January National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. "Yet, all are denied basic human dignity and freedom."

Even though the "dim years of chattel slavery" in the United States ended by President Abraham Lincoln's actions and the Civil War, Obama said "the darkness and inhumanity of enslavement exists."

During National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, "we acknowledge that forms of slavery still exist in the modern era, and we recommit ourselves to stopping the human traffickers who ply this horrific trade," the proclamation read.

Obama called on the global community to provide safe havens to victims and to prosecute the traffickers.

"With improved victim identification, medical and social services, training for first responders, and increased public awareness, the men, women, and children who have suffered this scourge can overcome the bonds
of modern slavery, receive protection and justice, and successfully reclaim their rightful independence."
National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month culminates in National Freedom Day Feb.1, Obama said.

"I call upon the people of the United States to recognize the vital role we can play in ending modern slavery, and to observe this month with appropriate programs and activities."
via upi.com

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Global human trafficking news roundup (January, 5, 2010)

2010-01-05T17:47:00.001-08:00

NORTH AMERICA

North Carolina: Greenville mayor proclaimed January as a month of human trafficking awareness. North Carolina, according to the report, is particularly vulnerable to human traffickers because of the major highways and a large agricultural industry.

Texas: Austin police arrested two men for holding six illegal immigrants against their will. Police discovered almost a naked man who was bleeding on the street last week. According to the affidavit, he broke the window and escaped from the apartment complex that he was imprisoned with other five smuggled people. The report also states that police department in Austin receives 25-30 human trafficking cases every month.

Florida: A man accused of sex trafficking his underage wife was freed after the alleged victim recanted her story. The victim and her children are currently under the state custody. Meanwhile, the federal authorities, according to the report, are still investigating the allegations.

Washington: The legislators around the country are pressing laws to assist runaways and child prostitutes. The new bills include improvement on early intervention, social services, runaway track downs by the police.

Maryland: A 42 years old man was arrested for pimping on four minors. The prosecutors said that he met these girls on the street of Washington and Maryland and prostituting them in downtown, D.C. When the man began prostituting them, the girls were in the age between 12 -16. The victims lived with the man, his children, and two prostitutes.

ASIA

Azerbaijan: The authorities revealed the 80 facts of crimes connected to human trafficking cases in 2009. According to the report, 21 criminal groupings have been neutralized and 91 victims have been revealed on these facts." Also, 54 victims of human trafficking have been placed in the shelters for further assistance.

Australia: Two Sydney men face 300 child sex charges. They were arrested for molesting boys in the age between 10 and 18 as well as prostituting them.

AFRICA

South Africa: The Thai woman who was charged with trafficking women from Bankok was denied bail last week. According to the report, the court concluded that her bail would place on the risk of fleeing the country to evade trial.

Niger: A local NGO in cooperation with UNICEF help young women build economic power. Child labor is a big problem in Niger. Children are expected to work as early as five on the street. To meet their family needs, children are placed at risk of sexual abuse and exploitation on the street. Sometimes, children enter prostitution to make a living. The program helps them learn new skills to better themselves and help their family.

via examiner.com

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My Journey in the Anti-Slavery Movement - Beth Klein

2010-01-03T08:31:00.001-08:00

My Journey in the Anti-Slavery Movement

In 2009, I have seen the anti-slavery movment grow from boutique gatherings to events that involved tens of thousands of people who want to do something to end this evil. Images of child slavery, child soldiers, child sex slaves are in the consciousness of millions more people today than a year ago. This is a movement in which people want to take action, and not simply buy a t-shirt. Every day, I receive more and more requests from people who are inspired to volunteer in rescue operations. But, we also need to focus on stopping the problem before it begins and to ensure that rescue operations are doing a good job.

I took a journey with a delegation from World Pulse to Cambodia in February. It was a gathering of extraordinary, smart and dedicated women. At that time, I served on the Board of the fastest growing anti-slavery organization in the world, raising funds and awareness to end slavery. Our World Pulse journey showed me what works and what fails in the rehabilitation of survivors. I'd like to share some of these top three ideas:

1. Invest in rescue operations that are real. Make sure that there is a functioning operation. Some websites have pictures of buildings that are "to be purchased." Ask questions, and reach out to people in the movement that know whether operations are real. This year, inflated claims that slavery was ended in the cocoa industry were publically refuted by showing that the rescue operation was an empty building.

2. Invest in operations that provide opportunities for job training and placment beyond third world manufacturing and personal care. Ask what language and education services are provided. Make sure that you are not supporting transitioning women from slavery to sweatshop. That is not real, sustainable progress. If you have skills or knowledge, volunteer as an educator.

3. Invest in operations that provide true mental and physical health care. Some operations will not test or treat sex slave rescuees for HIV or other disease. Insist that these basic care needs are met.

Ending slavery - is, in part, about creating lasting opportunities through education and creation of markets. Hold
rescue operations to basic, common sense, standards. Making a difference is a good start of a conversation, but hard work and measurable results are essential.

Beth A. Klein
www.lawcolorado.net

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via worldpulse.com

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Five years since the Tsunami - The Big Picture

2009-12-31T15:17:00.001-08:00

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Five years since the Tsunami

Five years ago, on Boxing Day, December 26th, 2004, a magnitude 9.3 earthquake hit the seafloor of the Indian Ocean, causing tremendous waves of seawater to rush ashore as devastating tsunamis that left 230,000 people dead across 13 different countries - the fifth deadliest natural disaster in recorded history. Over 45,000 of the dead were never found. Five years later now, reconstruction moves apace, as multiple aid groups have built more than 140,000 homes, 1,700 schools, 3,800 houses of worship and 3,700 km of roads. On this anniversary of the catastrophe, we have collected here photographs of survivors, some rebuilding, some remembering, and seven sets of "before and after" photos (numbers 4-10, be sure to click them to see the transition effect). I'd also like to direct your attention to a fantastic multimedia presentation on this subject from Thomson/Reuters called Surviving the Tsunami. (25 photos total)

An Acehnese man cries as he attends a mass prayer for tsunami victims, commemorating the fifth anniversary of the 2004 Boxing Day earthquake and subsequent tsunami, on December 26, 2009 in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Aceh was the worst hit location, being the closest major city to the epicentre of the 9.1 magnitude quake, suffering a huge hit from the following tsunami and resulting in around 130,000 deaths. Throughout the affected region of eleven countries, 230,000 people in total were killed, making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

2
In this file photo from December 26th, 2004, foreign tourists who had ventured far out on the sand after the water receded react as the first of six tsunamis starts to roll towards Hat Rai Lay Beach, near Krabi in southern Thailand. (AFP/AFP/Getty Images) #

3
Tidal waves wash through houses at Maddampegama, about 60 km (38 mi) south of Colombo, Sri Lanka, in this Dec. 26, 2004 file photo. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe) #

4
This pair of photos shows (before) a view of the damage near Baiturrahman mosque on December 27, 2004, the day after a tsunami hit the Indonesian city of Banda Aceh, and (after) an Acehnese man collecting grass for his goat in the same area, December 4, 2009. [click image to see it fade] (REUTERS/Beawiharta) #

5
These two photos show rescue workers removing a body of a tsunami victim from the compound of the Grand Mosque in Banda Aceh, December 29, 2004 (before) and an Acehnese worker sweeping the grass in the same area (after) on December 3, 2009. [click image to see it fade] (REUTERS/Darren Whiteside/Beawiharta) #

6
(Before) an Acehnese man walks past a ship washed ashore by the tsunami in Banda Aceh on December 28, 2004, and (after) an Acehnese worker sweeping the street in front of the Hotel Medan in the same area, December 5, 2009. [click image to see it fade] (REUTERS/Beawiharta) #

7
This pair of photos shows (before) Acehnese women searching for their missing relatives among dozens of bodies of tsunami victims in Banda Aceh in Indonesia's Aceh province on December 28, 2004, and (after) a child riding his bicycle in front of the morgue in the same area on December 6, 2009. [click image to see it fade] (REUTERS/Handout/Beawiharta) #

8
During the tsunami, this boat, swept onto the rooftops of people homes, became a safe refuge for 59 people as the sea rose dangerously high. The boat has now become a permanent tsunami memorial. The original image was taken on January 4, 2005. [click image to see it fade] (Dimas Ardian (before) and Ulet Ifansasti (after)/Getty Images) #

9
In this set of images, a before (December 29, 2004) and after (December 23, 2009) contrast of the Grand Mosque is seen on the fifth anniversary of the 2004 Boxing Day earthquake and tsunami in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. [click image to see it fade] (Dimas Ardian (before) and Ulet Ifansasti (after)/Getty Images) #

10
(Before) bodies of tsunami victims float in the water near the city port of Banda Aceh on December 29, 2004, and (after) a view of the same area, debris and bodies cleared, damaged buildings repaired, on December 3, 2009. [click image to see it fade] (REUTERS/Darren Whiteside/Beawiharta) #

11
Buddhists pray and release offerings into the ocean during a ceremony commemorating the 5th year since Indian Ocean tsunami on Ulhee Lheu beach in Banda Aceh, Aceh province, Indonesia, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Heri Juanda) #

12
In this photo taken on Dec. 6, 2009, children perform a traditional dance at an orphanage in Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province. Of the total 230,000 people killed by the tsunami, more than half died in Aceh on the island of Sumatra, leaving at least 5,200 orphans by official count, but probably many more. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim) #

13
Reflections of laborers working at a construction site near Baiturrahman mosque on the fifth anniversary of the 2004 Boxing Day earthquake and tsunami, on December 25, 2009 in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images) #

14
Laborers work at a construction site near Baiturrahman mosque on the fifth anniversary of the 2004 Boxing Day earthquake and tsunami, on December 25, 2009 in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images) #

15
A Thai official makes the final checks on the country's first tsunami warning buoy at the Cape Panwa in Phuket island, southern Thailand on December 1, 2009. Five years on from the tsunami that battered Asia's shores, experts fear a new generation of coastal dwellers will be ill-prepared to face another giant wave as memories fade. (PORNCHAI KITTIWONGSAKUL/AFP/Getty Images) #

16
Buddhist monks pray for tsunami victims during the anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami in Thailand's Phang Nga province, about 110 km (68 mi) north of the resort island of Phuket on December 26, 2009. Thousands of saffron-robed Thai monks chanted and prayed for victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami on Saturday. (REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom) #

17
Dutch tourist Hans Cuiper takes a photograph of pictures of foreign tourists killed in the 2004 tsunami at the Bang Muang Cemetery in Thailand's Phang Nga province, north of Phuket, on December 26, 2009. (REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom) #

18
Two young boys look at parts of the city previously devastated by the 2004 Boxing Day earthquake and tsunami on December 23, 2009 in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images) #

19
The minaret of the Baiturrahman mosque is seen in Banda Aceh December 24, 2009. (REUTERS/Beawiharta) #

20
Tsunami survivor Abhilash Jeyaraj, also known as "Baby 81", sits on a chair as he waits for a ride to school in his family's home in Kurukkalmadam in Batticaloa district November 23, 2009. The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami brought international fame to Baby 81, but the parents of the two-month-old who miraculously survived the deadly wave say it has only brought misfortune and unwanted attention. Found in the debris left by the wave that wrecked huge areas of Sri Lanka's coast, Jeyaraj became a phenomenon after international media erroneously reported nine sets of parents had come forward to claim him. (REUTERS/Andrew Caballero-Reynolds) #

21
In this photo taken December 2, 2009 tsunami survivors Irvan Sahputra (left), Syamsuddin Mohammed (center) and Aris Monandar (right) stand near a fishing boat that saved their lives when it was stranded on a roof of a neighbor's house in Banda Aceh nearly five years ago. (ROMEO GACAD/AFP/Getty Images) #

22
Acehnese men read the Quran at a mass grave site during commemorations on the fifth anniversary of the 2004 Boxing Day earthquake and tsunami, on December 26, 2009 in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images) #

23
A Red Cross volunteer sits amongst open umbrellas printed with portraits of smiling children representing children orphaned in the Indian Ocean tsunami, during its fifth anniversary at the Tsunami museum in Banda Aceh December 26, 2009. (REUTERS/Beawiharta) #

24
Indonesian tsunami survivors Ikra Alfil (right) and a classmate are photographed in front of their school room in Lampuuk village in Banda Aceh on December 3, 2009. Five years after the disaster, 10 year old Ikra continues to dream of giant waves - after the tsunami killed four family members, except her father who had climbed up a tree. (ROMEO GACAD/AFP/Getty Images) #

25
People launch floating paper lanterns into the sky over the Andaman Sea in remembrance of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami victims, in Khao Lak, in Thailand's Phang Nga province, about 110 km (68 miles) north of the resort island of Phuket, on December 26, 2009. (REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom) #

More links and information

Surviving the Tsunami - from trust.org, the Thomson Reuters Foundation

For tsunami's Baby 81, fame brought misfortune - Reuters, 12/22

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake - Wikipedia entry

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At least 225,000 Haitian children enslaved

2009-12-30T17:20:00.001-08:00

At least 225,000 Haitian children enslaved: report

Evens Sanon THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published On Tue Dec 22 2009

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Poverty has forced at least 225,000 children in Haiti's cities into slavery as unpaid household servants, far more than previously thought, a report said Tuesday.
The Pan American Development Foundation's report also said some of those children – mostly young girls – suffer sexual, psychological and physical abuse while toiling in extreme hardship.
The report recommends Haiti's government and international donors focus efforts on educating the poor and expanding social services such as shelters for girls, who make up an estimated two-thirds of the child servant population.
Young servants are known as "restavek" – Haitian Creole for ``stays with" – and their plight is both widely known and a source of great shame in the Caribbean nation that was founded by a slave revolt more than 200 years ago.
Researchers said the practice is so common that almost half of 257 children interviewed in the sprawling Port-au-Prince shantytown of Cite Soleil were household slaves.
Most are sent by parents who cannot afford to care for them to families just slightly better off. Researchers found 11 per cent of families that have a restavek have sent their own children into domestic servitude elsewhere.
Despite growing attention to the problem, researchers said their sources were unaware of any prosecutions of cases involving trafficking children or using them as unpaid servants in this deeply poor nation of more than 9 million people.
Glenn Smucker, one of the report's authors and a cultural anthropologist known for extensive work on Haiti, said he believes the number of restavek children is increasing proportionally with the population of Port-au-Prince as more migrants flee rural poverty to live in the capital.
The researchers surveyed more than 1,400 random households in five Haitian urban areas in late 2007 and early 2008, with funding help from the U.S. Agency for International Development.
The most widely used previous number for restaveks came from a 2002 UNICEF survey, which estimated there were 172,000.
The new report used a broader counting system to include children related to household owners but still living in servitude, such as nieces or cousins, and as well as "boarders" living temporarily with another family but are still forced to provide labour.
"Most people working with restavek children ... think that these numbers, both ours and UNICEF's, are actually underestimating the problem," said Herve Razafimbahini, the Pan American Development Foundation's program director in Haiti.
He called for Haitian officials to conduct a national survey to analyze the full scope of the problem, including in rural areas.
Officials with the Ministry of Social Affairs could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

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My Girls and the Snow

2009-12-30T17:16:00.001-08:00

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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She needs some work but my Wife loves her!

2009-12-16T05:32:00.001-08:00

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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FBI says Florida is "ground Zero" for #humantrafficking and 83% is #Sextrafficking

2009-12-16T04:18:00.001-08:00

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Highlands Today > News

Human trafficking a big problem in Florida, official says

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By AIYANA BAIDA

Highlands Today

Published: December 15, 2009

SEBRING - There are lots of reasons why people want to come into the United States-work is a major one and human traffickers know this better than anyone.

"Are you young and ambitious? Thousands of job opportunities await you in the United States," reads a typical ad used by human traffickers to ploy their victims into working in the United States. Once here, the traffickers force their victims into a life of forced labor or working in the sex industry.

Florida is number three on the list of states with the most human trafficking.

"Florida is ground zero. It's one of the points of entry," Twila Smith, Federal Bureau of Investigation official, said.
FBI officials presented information on human trafficking, at the Highlands County Homeowners Association Meeting Monday. The idea was to provide insight on the growing problem to officials and residents who attended.

Victims believe that the traffickers will give them a better life but "it's a better lie," Smith said.

And because many of them are more afraid of their traffickers than law enforcement, they are hard to identify.

Cases of human trafficking have occurred in Florida as recent as September where the Central Florida News 13 reported that in Manatee County a mother and son smuggled a Guatemalan man into Bradenton and held him captive.

On Jan, 15, the FBI reported that between Jan. 1, 2007 and Sept. 30, 2008 the Human Trafficking Reporting System recorded more than 1,200 incidents of alleged human trafficking.

The bureau identifies human trafficking into two categories: sex, which accounts for 83 percent of all incidents reported, and labor, which accounts for 12 percent of incidents.

During the presentation, Smith read out some alarming statistics: every 10 minutes someone becomes a victim of trafficking and many of the victims are children.

"It's sad but true, it is in our own backyard. It is here in Sebring and Indian Town," Smith said.

Presenters asked that everyone do their part helping victims who are more afraid of their traffickers than law enforcement.

In human trafficking cases, FBI officials say they are helping victims by giving them status, benefits and protection as long as it can be proven that they are victims of human trafficking.

Cities and counties across the nation have started their own task force to combat human trafficking, many after partaking in the FBI's presentation.

"It is a hot topic...and one agency cannot do it alone," Smith said.

Highlands Today reporter Aiyana Baida can be reached at (863) 386-5855 or nbaida@highlandstoday.com

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Derek Webb - "Jena and Jimmy" Ladies don't let this happen to you.

2009-12-12T05:27:00.001-08:00

via youtube.com

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10 Amazing Gingerbread Creations

2009-12-10T19:04:00.001-08:00

The most creative and unusual gingerbread creations from all over the world.

Gingerbread Train

Cool Christmas themed gingerbread train, created in three days. [link]

Gingerbread Laptop

Creative gingerbread laptop, complete with gingerbread mouse. [link]

Modern Gingerbread House

Completely edible gingerbread house, including the rock garden. [link]

Gingerbread Star Wars TIE Fighter

Cool gingerbread Tie fighter made by Flickr user firqoret. [link]

Gingerbread Empire State Building

Donkey Kong Santa made from Marzipan sits on the building as little marshmallow planes circle above. [link]

Left 4 Dead 2 Gingerbread Zombies

Gingerbread characters inspired by Left 4 Dead 2 video game. [link]

Gingerbread Link

Unique gingerbread creation inspired by the main protagonist in Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda series of video games. [link]

Gingerbread Star Wars AT-AT Walker

All-Terrain Armored Transport, the Imperial combat vehicle seen in Star Wars, made from gingerbread. [link]

Gingerbread Eiffel Tower

Eiffel Tower created, in all its majesty, out of gingerbread. [link]

Gingerbread Mac

Old school gingerbread Apple computer made by Flickr user MinorBug, chocolate was used for icons/ports/cursor. [link]

via toxel.com

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Mexico City Police Free 107 'Slave Workers'

2009-12-03T21:32:00.001-08:00

Enlarge Associated Press
Suspect members of a gang that allegedly traficks with people are shown to the press in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009. Mexico City's Attorney General Miguel Angel Mancera said police arrested 23 people for human trafficking during a raid Thursday at a clothing clasps and shopping bags factory in the eastern Iztapalapa borough. Mancera said the workers were forced to work for 16 hours a day and were given a 30-minute break.
Associated Press
Suspect members of a gang that allegedly traficks with people are shown to the press in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009. Mexico City's Attorney General Miguel Angel Mancera said police arrested 23 people for human trafficking during a raid Thursday at a clothing clasps and shopping bags factory in the eastern Iztapalapa borough. Mancera said the workers were forced to work for 16 hours a day and were given a 30-minute break.
Enlarge Associated Press
Suspect members of a gang that allegedly traficks with people are shown to the press in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009. Mexico City's Attorney General Miguel Angel Mancera said police arrested 23 people for human trafficking during a raid Thursday at a clothing clasps and shopping bags factory in the eastern Iztapalapa borough. Mancera said the workers were forced to work for 16 hours a day and were given a 30-minute break.
Associated Press
Suspect members of a gang that allegedly traficks with people are shown to the press in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009. Mexico City's Attorney General Miguel Angel Mancera said police arrested 23 people for human trafficking during a raid Thursday at a clothing clasps and shopping bags factory in the eastern Iztapalapa borough. Mancera said the workers were forced to work for 16 hours a day and were given a 30-minute break.
text sizeA A A
MEXICO CITY December 3, 2009, 11:20 pm ET
Mexico City police on Thursday freed 107 people who were forced to work under slave-like conditions in a clandestine factory making shopping bags and clothing clasps, authorities said.
Police raided the factory, which was hidden inside an alcohol and drug rehabilitation center, after a worker escaped and informed authorities, Mexico City Attorney General Miguel Angel Mancera said. Twenty three people were arrested for human trafficking.
"The victims were being exploited and some were sexually abused," Mancera said. Many were suffering from dehydration and malnutrition, and some had cuts and broken bones.
Most were from indigenous communities and didn't speak Spanish. They were abducted or lured from communities across Mexico and taken to the St. Thomas-The Chosen by God rehabilitation center, Mancera said.
The freed workers, whose ages ranged from 14 to 70, were forced to work for 16 hours a day, with just a 30-minute break. Mancera said they were fed chicken feet and rotten vegetables.
Mancera said the rehabilitation center in Mexico City's populous Iztapalapa district had been open for at least eight years. But he didn't say for how long the factory had been operating or where the shopping bags and clothing clasps were sold.
He didn't say how many were men and how many were women.
via npr.org

Posted via web from sethjohnson78's posterous

Human Trafficking Atlanta

2009-12-02T17:48:00.001-08:00

via youtube.com

Posted via web from sethjohnson78's posterous

Be Humankind

2009-12-02T16:33:00.001-08:00

via youtube.com

Posted via web from sethjohnson78's posterous

"Shelters are not solutions" ???? What the what?!?

2009-11-21T17:20:00.000-08:00
An article came out yesterday that stated, "Shelters are not solutions".... Here is a link if you want to read the article, but below are my comments which I sent in to the paper.

This article is incredibly disturbing and disappointing. It is so poorly written and uninformed I had extreme difficulty in finding a starting place for my rebuttal. I figured the best response was to try to address each point in the article, individually.

Senator Wyden should be esteemed for his efforts in trying to pass this bill. He is also correct in stating that $50 million is a modest sum of money. When you consider there are nearly 27 million individuals who are enslaved around the globe, and the FBI estimates there are 300,000 American minors who are trafficked within the US every year, or that Human Trafficking is a $32 Billion business (more than Nike, Google, and Starbucks combined), $50 million is a drop in the bucket.

Moreover our Government’s “Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons” only spent $23 million last year on the fight against trafficking in the US, which is $76.66 per American girl, per year. So, this money is desperately needed.

As one of the readers had mentioned, “This article is an adventure in missing the point.” The reader could not have been more right. Demand is definitely an issue, but to say that, “Shelters are not solutions” is simply an ignorant statement.

Officials in Portland have said recently that we have 2-5 minors who are trafficked every week. Simple math would show, that is a minimum of 104 victims a year. What should we do with these individuals? These individuals have been raped 5-20 times a day by 5-20 different men. Most of us know someone who has dealt with rape or molestation and we know how bad that damages the rest of their life. Just imagine being abused to the level that these girls are experiencing. Yet "Shelter are not solutions."?

Siddarth Kara is quoted in his book, “Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery”, as saying, “If the 27 million people who are in slavery today were set free, where would they go?”

The writer of this article doesn’t seem to understand that, “Freedom without a future is simply another form of slavery.” (James Pond, Transitions Global)

The writer goes on to pose the question, “... could there be benefits of legalized prostitution?” The answer is yes! Legalizing prostitution absolutely could be beneficial.... to the Trafficker . If the writer had done proper research it would have been discovered that in places where trafficking is legalized (which in correction to the writer, prostitution is legal in parts of Nevada, but not legal in Las Vegas) it only attracts traffickers. Which naturally makes sense from a business stand point. If you are a business owner, wouldn’t you go somewhere that your business is not being scrutinized and under constant threat of being shut down?  

The writer continues to create conflict in the article by pointing to Sweden’s model of legalizing the selling of sex, but outlawing the purchase (which I think could be a good model) and seemingly aiding the plight of the trafficking victims. By using this model as an example the writer is saying that, “ ... without men’s demand for and use of women and girls for sexual exploitation, the global prostitution industry would not be able to expand.” This is great, but what about all the girls who are left?

The writer quotes The Council for Prostitution Alternatives and points out all of the damage being done to these women “in our own city of Portland”, not to mention all the underage victims, yet still makes the statement that, “Shelters are not solutions”. This is without taking into account that, “Interviews with prostitutes around the world revealed that two-thirds suffered from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), in contrast to fewer than 5 percent of the general population, and in a higher percentage as well as more severe form than that suffered by Vietnam veterans.” (Farley, 1998) 

To make the statement that, “Shelter are not solutions” after knowing the horror which takes places to these women and little girls in our nation and around the world, is unbelievable!

Shelters might not be THE solution, but it is definitely a primary facet!

Martin Luther King said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Human Trafficking is a horrible injustice that is ravaging women around the globe and in our own backyard.

Everyone should find a way to come to the aid of these women and girls for the sake of our humanity, and Senator Wyden deserves to be applauded for his work not questioned.

Help Transitions Global win $25K Just by voting!

2009-11-20T17:18:00.000-08:00

Nominate Transitions Global

2009-10-21T18:15:00.000-07:00

Bike For Shelter Thank You Video

2009-10-15T14:50:00.000-07:00
This is a video that I did as a thank you to all the volunteers who helped with Bike For Shelter!

the devil is in the details

2009-10-05T00:19:00.000-07:00

Over the last two years I have lived and breathed, all things, Human Trafficking. I still have a lot to learn, but there is something that I have noticed during this time that is turning into a concerning trend...

I have noticed a great majority of people who are moved to donate time or money to organizations solely because of the issue. The issue itself is very emotional and very moving. The thought of little girls trapped in cages and sold for sex. Who wouldn't want to help?

However, it seems like people are so moved by the cause and a good website, philosophy, video, or photos that they do not ask the hard questions.

What I mean is.... At the end of the day, when the donor time/buck has stopped... What is actually happening? What lives are actually being changed? What are these organizations actually doing?

There is no doubt that this issue is huge, and that there are many avenues to use in order to end modern day slavery. Some of these avenues are; Awareness/Education, Legal (such as changing laws or prosecuting perpetrators), Law Enforcement, After Care, Etc...

The thing is... I have seen a ton of groups that have a lot of "fluff" and seemingly no substance. Or worse than "fluff" is when they use "faith" to draw people to support their organization. They use "fat" words like; Campaign, Task Force, Coalition, Villages, Communities, Strategic Initiatives, Targeting Predators, etc.... I call them "fat" words because they are words that make it seem like the group is doing a lot, but when we stop and think about it... we are not really sure what they mean and/or what is actually being done.

I understand why people stop at the "fat" words.... We are all really busy. We care about the issue and we are compelled to throw our money at the first cool website that pops up and then tell ourselves that we did our part... Or we go the extra mile and volunteer at an event with another friend. We do this because we want to do something, but we just don't have the time to drill down to the details....

Recently there was an article that came out about a group who claimed to run an aftercare in the US. I remember looking at this groups budget a couple of months ago and thinking, "there is no way they can do what they say they are doing." They are now being sued for misuse of funds by the Attorney General.

I am sure there were a lot of people who bought into the story, the cause, and the website. I am sure the donors figured that no one who claimed to do such amazing work could be misusing funds.... I hope the AG is wrong... I hope I was wrong... I hope this group comes through the investigation and lawsuit and they prove everyone wrong. Not for themselves but for the survivors that they claim to serve.

Please do not misunderstand the purpose of this post... I am not trying to "call out" other organizations. I do not feel that is my place. What this particular post is for.... is to encourage the average Joe or Jill who wants to make a difference.

I know the "devil is in the details" but please believe me when I say that it is worth that extra time to ask the hard questions.

The Johnson's are moving

2009-10-02T10:10:00.000-07:00
So here we are... on another chapter of life. I love this journey of life!

I love that the journey is cyclical and not linear. I love that it is beautiful, ugly, crazy, sane, disgusting, wonderful, happy and sad. It is both wild and calm.

If there is one verse in the Bible that I have clung to over the years it is, "A man's mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure."

There have definitely been seasons in the journey where I have questioned this verse but so far it has proven itself true.

So, the next chapter means that we are moving to Jacksonville, Florida (closer to the Holy Land, aka "The Swamp"!).

I have been offered a job that would position me to make a significant amount more than my current job. God knows with three daughters and a wife, I need to make all I can. :-)

Mar is extremely excited about the opportunity and the girls have mixed emotions... but overall we are happy about this next stage in life. That is not to say that we will not miss the friends and family that we have here in Oregon!

I came to Oregon over 6 years ago amid non ideal circumstances... I thought I would never like it here and yet... I am saddened thinking that I won't get to deal with the winter road ice... wait.. that is a joke... I won't miss that at all!

All kidding aside... The last 6 years have been a time of restoration and vision casting. I will miss the beauty of Oregon and I will miss her people.

Most people are excited about this but the number one question I have fielded is, "What will this mean for your work on Human Trafficking?"

I have spoken extensively with the founders of Transitions Global and we are all looking at this move as a positive! We will be expanding our reach into the South Eastern States.

I have been researching Human Trafficking in Florida and believe me... there, unfortunately, is much to be done!

So, it might be a couple of weeks until my next blog... but I will be sure to post once I get settled in!

Much Love and Enjoy the Journey!
Seth

Bike For Shelter in the News

2009-09-27T22:34:00.000-07:00

I met the mother of a trafficking survivor

2009-09-25T14:37:00.000-07:00
Ok.. .So, some of you know that I am working like mad to help coordinate www.bikeforshelter.org

I have the rest of this afternoon and tomorrow before the event on Sunday.... So, needless to say, I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off. :-)

One would be correct in asking the question, "If Seth is so busy then why the heck is he taking time to blog? Shouldn't he get to work!?!"

I had to share this, because it is what will keep me going this weekend!

I was in Staples about 15 minutes ago faxing something that I had already faxed and I shouldn't have been there because I am really busy... Honestly I had a lousy attitude and it was just a pain in my butt. (sure go ahead and judge me, I am sure none of you have ever done that :-) )

However, there was apparently a reason I was there. The lady behind the print counter asked how my day was and I did the usual small talk... I told her about the event and how busy I was. I told her I never imagined that it would take this much work to get several hundred people on bikes to ride around in a big circle.

She tells me she totally understands and that she will email her friends about the event because she used to work with "Bike Oregon". I thought, "Wow, that is huge and could get us some more exposure." She then asks, "What is the cause?" Which prompts me to launch into my standard Human Trafficking speech that I have given a thousand times....

The response I received was different than any other to date.

She stood their stunned..

She then broke and was on the verge of tears as she told me that her daughter was taken when she was 16 and was prostituted all over the South Western states. She told me that the guy who took her impregnated her and that she is now a 25 year old, single mother, who is an alcoholic.

Now it was my turn to be stunned! How in the world was I having this conversation?

I quickly asked her if her daughter had gotten any help and she said, "That she just drinks to numb the pain and the memories."

I gave her my info and told her to contact me and I am going to work with our Director at Transitions Global to get her some help.

I am honestly blown away... And now I have to run to pick up t-shirts, print outs, keys, etc, etc, etc.....

Much Love,
Seth

Is "Awareness" really all that?

2009-09-12T04:18:00.000-07:00
*** The Following is a caption from "Stuff White People Like***

"An interesting fact about white people is that they firmly believe that all of the world’s problems can be solved through “awareness.” Meaning the process of making other people aware of problems, and then magically someone else like the government will fix it.
This belief allows them to feel that sweet self-satisfaction without actually having to solve anything or face any difficult challenges. Because, the only challenge of raising awareness is people not being aware. In a worst case scenario, if you fail someone doesn’t know about the problem. End of story." *** END CAPTION**
Now I know this is a bit snarky and stereotypical but as the old saying goes, "Sarcasm is a subtle revelation of truth."
As someone who works my tail off, everyday, in the attempt to raise funds to make an actual impact on the lives of actual girls who have been rescued from slavery, I can tell you that awareness does not go a long way.
I can't remember where I read it, but I read a section from an activist who stated that, "Good intentions cannot be traded on in the Global Market."
We cannot rescue girls, we cannot give them the trauma counseling that they need, we cannot feed or house them, we can't even buy them toilet paper, with awareness.
I have 617 "friends" on Facebook and 1051 "followers" on Twitter... I can count maybe 20 (and that is generous) people who have donated their time or money to the cause of abolishing slavery.
There are 27 million people (and the number grows everyday) in slavery around the globe. It is the second leading crime around the Globe. Awareness has its place, but it alone is not going to make a difference.
A good example of awareness not making an impact is the Church... the number of people who tithe averages somewhere between 5-10%. It has been said that if 100% of the church tithed then we could abolish hunger. I am pretty sure that we all are plenty aware of what global hunger is... and yet we have not placed a priority on ending it. If I talk to one more Church leader about getting involved in this issue in a significant way, and they tell me that they need to, "pray about it."... I am not sure what I am going to do, but it won't be pretty. (actually it probably won't be more than me shutting my mouth and burying my feelings)
Or another example would be the recent scandal with the well known group, ACORN. They were caught giving advice to a pimp and prostitute (in the Baltimore and DC offices) on how to tax shelter their income (even after being told that the couple was planning on bringing in minors from South America to put them to "work")
The sad thing about this is that ACORN stands to obtain BILLIONS from the Government Stimulus package... And yet the Government only spent 100 Million on Slavery last year. Slavery is not something that is new to our Government... We even have a specific office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. We just haven't placed it as a priority. The Government is not going to solve this problem!
Right now we (the group I volunteer for) have multiple young ladies in Cambodia that are depending on us for their care... Soon we will have girls in Mumbai, India that will depend on us and hopefully, eventually, we will have girls in Portland, Oregon that will depend on us.
We CANNOT do this alone. There is no one in this field that is a "Bruce Wayne" independently funding the fight against slavery.
We NEED your help! I think the main reason that people do not move to action is that they see all of the staggering statistics and become frozen with the the thought of, "I don't have enough to give to make a significant impact on this situation". Your probably right... You ALONE, probably don't have enough...
BUT consider this:
If you invest: $12
You can support one girl’s school supplies and books to attend English classes, or literacy school.
If you invest: $25
You can support one girl’s meals and snacks for an entire week
If you invest: $50
You can support one girl's counseling and social work support to help in healing.
If you invest: $75
You can support one girl's education, including her school uniform
If you invest: $100
You can support one girl’s vocational training in a career of her choice.
The need is urgent and waiting to help these girls is not an option!
Please hear me when I say, that this blog entry is not meant to be a chastisement in regards to our apathy (we are all guilty), but it is meant to be a "Call to ACTION"!!
Please consider partnering with us to make a lasting impact on the Globe!
The best way to give right now is to go to:
GLOBAL GIVING and help us win a $6000 bonus!
OR go to
TRANSITIONS GLOBAL and donate directly to our organization!
Thank you all so much!
Much Love!
Seth

$100 Million Dollars

2009-08-23T22:17:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered what $100 million dollars looked like?

That is a lot of money, right!?! The problem is, it is such a large amount of money that we don't really compute it... we just kind of go on tilt and just default to, "yeah, that is a lot of cash!"

In FY 2008, the U.S. Government obligated approximately $76 million to 140 international anti-trafficking in persons (TIP) projects benefiting over 70 countries and approximately $23 million to 82 domestic anti-TIP projects. These projects work to ensure the survivors are protected, the traffickers are put in jail and human trafficking is prevented. This is great so far and still looks like a lot of money...

The catch comes in to play when you consider the enormity of the issue. It is estimated that there are more than 27 million people in slavery around the globe.

Often times we hear this, and think that this is an issue that is somewhere other than the US... but in actuality the FBI estimates that there are 300,000 domestic girls that are trafficked every year in the United States of America.

So lets start breaking down these numbers:

1.) There are 27,000,000 people in slavery minus the 300,000 (that is just domestic children) in the US... that equals, 26,700,000 international victims, left.

2.) If there was $76,000,000 spent on international victims that equation would be.... $76,000,000/26,700,000 = $2.84 dollars per international victim.

Now, admittedly, there is somewhat of a discrepancy... Most Governments agree that there are 800,000 people "trafficked" (actually moved across country lines) every year, but that there are many more are slaves within their particular country. So just for fairness sake, let's rework the math.

$76,000,000/800,000 = $95 per survivor.

That is a little better!

3.) There are 300,000 American girls that are trafficked every year... We spend $23 million to help them... So, let's work the math on that.

$23,000,000/300,000 = $76.66 per girl.

At this point these numbers are all relative. This could be good and it could be horrible... who knows?? Well, to give us some perspective, let's back this whole scenario up to before a slave is purchased, and ask ourselves, "What is the purchase price?"

The average price to purchase a slave is $90. (insert jaw drop here)

Really, $90!! I spent more than that on my last trip to the grocery store and I don't even remember what I got.

One little girl who I know personally, was bought for $300, and her virginity was sold for another $300... .That was in Cambodia. How much do you think someone would pay for a virgin here in the States?

So, in summation... We are spending $5 more than the average purchase price per international victim (and that is just the ones that are actually moved from country to country) and $13.34 less than the average purchase price per domestic girl.

I personally don't think this acceptable, especially when it is estimated that Traffickers are making $32 Billion a year!

To give you some perspective on how much $32 Billion is... It is more than Starbucks makes... It is more than Google makes.... and it is more than Nike makes... COMBINED!

Ok... If that were not enough for the comparisons, humor me with one more... think about the fact that the US Government FY budget for 2010 is requesting $130 Billion for more war spending. That is 1,300 times more than the yearly budget for Human Trafficking.

OK, So... I guess my point in all of this is that we cannot count on our Government to do anything substantial about this issue. At least not right now. As to the question of whether we should be able to count on them.... Well... that is another blog all together.

We the people! We the people of The United States of America! We must do something about this! It is time for us a Nation to put up or shut up! Stop talking about how bad everything is and start doing something about it! If I hear of one more "awareness rally" or "awareness campaign" I am going to throw up! How about we have a DOING rally!?!

*** as a side note to Christians (I personally am a Christian)... the way I read things is that James 4:17 says, "If you know the good to do and you do not do it.. that is sin." It can't be more clear cut than that. However, for a little more theological debate, Isaiah 1:17 says to, "Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of the orphans. Fight for the rights of the widows."

If we look at this in context, we see that passage in Isaiah is directed at the "Rebellious nation" the focus is not on the ones who need justice, it is on the ones who need to seek it! We are not to "Seek justice" as long as we get them "saved" or as long as they hear the message. The verse is speaking to us and that we need to do it for us! Not for them.... Let's pull our heads out of our a..err... religion, and start doing what is right because it is the right thing to do.

When we do our good works with the hidden agenda of hopefully one day getting the individual "saved"... we are just prostituting our good works. For crying out loud... Just go and love someone without worrying about their eternal security. Leave that up to God. I dare you!! Don't bother with arguing the theological ins and outs of this theory with me. Just go try it and see what happens!***

***For those of my non believing friends and readers.... Thanks for letting me rant!****

Back to the subject at hand.... There are little girls that are waiting on us to just move to action! To put our time and our pocketbooks where our mouths are!

Edmund Burke (an abolitionist) has two great quotes that I love... The first is, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

The guys that are making $32 Billion a year are banking on this!

The second quote is, "No one could make a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little."

I understand that we all have lives, responsibilities, and pressures of our own, but we need to step up and do something... anything!

Imagine if everyone in the nation were to give just 1 dollar... We could more than triple the Governments annual budget for this cause.

And for those of you who have read this far... you are probably getting fired up and you might even give a damn! If you decide to actually act on your feelings... you are probably going to get push back from friends and family.

Most people don't want to hear about this. They don't want to think about 14 year old girls being raped 10-20 times a day, by 10-20 sweaty, dirty, disgusting, vile men. They don't want to think about the broken teeth that the little girls have because of what they have had mashed into their faces. They don't want to think about the destroyed GI tracts that are because of what they have been forced to drink/swallow. They don't want to think about the beatings, or the car batteries that are hooked to these girls to shock them into submission. They don't want to think about them and I am not sure why.... I think it might be, because if we do... if we truly think about this part of the population then we feel that we must do something!

And most of us are to busy living for ourselves to do that.

To those of you who are getting fired up and experience push back from those around you... I offer this quote to you from William Lloyd Garrison (an abolitionist in the 1800's). He said to those who criticized him for his enthusiasm, "I have need to be all on fire, for there are mountains of ice around me to melt." He was realistic (as I am) about the immediacy of ending slavery.. yet he was uncompromising. He said, "We have never said that slavery would be overthrown with a single blow; that it ought to be, we shall always contend."

I pray that each one of you reading this entry will be moved to action. There are little girls in our own backyard and around the globe who are waiting on us!

Generosity

2009-07-13T04:21:00.000-07:00
There have been two statements that have been weighing on me over the last few days...

The first comes from this book that I am reading. It is titled, "A New Kind Of Christian". These two guys are having this conversation and they start in on financial stuff.... The character known as "Neo" is responding adamantly and says,
"We live in the most affluent culture in the most affluent period of human history. If we can't discipline ourselves to learn the joys of generous living, I think we're an embarrassment to the gospel."

This phrase has absolutely pierced me! I don't make a lot of money (compared to some) and I try to support my wife and 3 daughters... I have debts to pay off, first cars, my own car, we would like to own a house someday, college tuition to worry about, weddings (good lord), retirement, etc... In the midst of all of this I feel compelled to "discipline myself to learn the joys of generous living". How do I balance all of this? I remember being in Cambodia and seeing a woman with her two small children... she was lying in the gutter... We had just come out of a "fun night", eating at an Italian restaurant run by an expat. This lady was dirtier than I have ever seen anyone. I immediately was nauseous and overwhelmed with compassion for her. But I had know idea what to do... I still don't know what to do....
The second statement comes from James Pond on his most recent blog, he says,
"If we are willing to sow indifference to children being sexually harmed, are we equally willing to reap the consequences?"
The answer, for me, is NO!

Am I willing to reap the consequence of just sitting by and arranging my life? Am I willing to be content with climbing the corporate ladder, a super fat house, two cars, a padded 401k?

I am not advocating that we give up everything for others... Or maybe I am... I guess that is still to be determined. It much harder to be a radical idealist when you have a wife and kids to support. Not that I would trade them for a minute... I am just saying that I understand all of this is easier said than done.

So, then if we are balancing life... What are we to do???

I guess for me it comes down to "learning the joys of generous living"! Find out what that means and grasp it and don't let go. I think when we become givers through and through (religious or not)... when we learn to let go of ourselves... that is when we are truly happy. That's my story... for now at least. :-)

Thanks for reading and partaking in my journey! I love community...

Feel free to comment and enter the conversation!

Probing

2009-07-05T01:17:00.000-07:00

I had an unexpected meeting with a new friend last week and he shared a quote with me that has been haunting me ever since. I figured I would share it with the few of you that take interest in my writings. :-)

The writer of the quote is Shane Claiborne and it is from his book, "Irresistible Revolution".

"I did a little survey probing Christians about their (mis)conceptions of Jesus. I learned a striking thing from the survey. I asked participants who claimed to be "strong followers of Jesus" whether Jesus spent time with the poor. Nearly 80% said yes. Later in the survey, I sneaked in another question. I asked the same group of strong followers whether they spent time with the poor, and less than 2 percent said they did. I learned a powerful lesson: We can admire and worship Jesus without doing what He did. We can applaud what He preached and stood for without caring about the same things. We can adore His cross without taking up ours. I had come to see that the great tragedy in the church is not that rich Christians do not care about the poor, but that rich Christians do not know the poor.

When the worlds of poverty and wealth collide, the resulting powerful fusion can change the world. But that collision rarely happens. I long for the Calcutta slums to meet the Chicago suburbs, for lepers to meet landowners and for each to see God's image in the other. It's no wonder that the footsteps of Jesus lead from tax collectors to lepers. I truly believe that when the poor meet the rich, riches will have no meaning. And when the rich meet the poor, we will see poverty come to an end."

How many poor people do I know? How many people do I associate myself with that are completely different than I am? How accepting am I of people that are different, whether they are poor, fat, skinny, pretty, ugly, gay, straight, black, white, purple, whatever…. Here is a question that I rarely ask myself… how accepting am I of people that are rich? Volunteering with an NGO, it is so easy to be critical of people that are “rich”. I easily pass judgment on them. How dare they live in their fancy houses with their flex fuel vehicles, their boats and jet skis, 2.5 kids? How dare they have their perfect little life and not give to those who are suffering all around them? Yet, if I compare my own standard of living to the other 94% of the globe, I am incredibly wealthy.

Riding the bus this week has been incredibly humbling. I can be SO judgmental! And the crazy thing is… it happens before I even know it. I am instantly sizing someone up and have decided whether or not I will give them the time of day, before I even know it. I am in a sense creating a caste system in my mind. I am deciding who my equal is, who is beneath me is and even who is better than me. Funny, there are not many who fall into the latter category.

I am reminded of the story of Jesus and the woman at the well (the adulterer/prostitute depending on your translation). There is a lot going on in this narrative and I won’t even pretend to try to interpret it all… I am just taking it at face value for the narrative that it is. The thing that stands out to me the most, besides the fact that Jesus was completely chill with the lady, is in verse 6, “…and Jesus tired as he was from the journey, sat down…” After I work a 13 hour shift and stand on the street corner for 15-20 minutes and then have to ride on a bus for 45 minutes… the last thing I want to do is listen to some idiot or meth-head go on and on with their drivel. And yet, this is what they need the most from me…. Just to listen… Just to accept them… Just to “love my neighbor as I love myself.” Why is this so frikin hard?

How does all of this apply to abolishing human slavery? I am not quite sure… other than that as my heart is changed to the world around me… I think I will become more passionate, more caring and more effective in caring for the survivors as they are freed!

If you are still reading… well congratulations! You made it to the end of my drivel and I appreciate the fact that you care enough about me to read through this whole thing. Feel free to comment on your thoughts or points of interest… I love to hear from others and join into conversations about our humanity!

Comments...

2009-06-21T03:15:00.000-07:00

This past Friday an article came out in the Portland news on OregonLive.com

The article was about a man who was sentenced to 7 years for pimping out a 13-year-old girl.

The U.S. Attorney was quoted as saying that, "The prostitution of a minor, by both her pimp as well as the 'johns' out there taking advantage of her, is a crime that offends all standards of civility."

The comments that followed the article were pretty passionate and all indicated that this guy should have gotten a lot more time than 7 years...

Here are a couple of quotes....

JLundegaard said, "Seven years? for Pimping a 13 year old? That's rape not 'work'. I'm feeling ill. Seven years! The judge who gave this sentence deserves seven year."

filoviridae said, "watermelons have the same density as a human head, i'm just sayin'"

viking87 said, "I met a guy today that robbed a bank and served 8 years. Not saying robbing a bank is a good thing, but I would rather have him on the streets or living next door than this sick pervert. Even if he turned over the names of her customers, 7 years is too light. I hope they are investigating the sickos that used this girl."

MrWellington said, "He's not only a judge, he's also a client!"

And so it goes.... comment after comment about how this guy needs more time and the judge should be punished as well.

The one question I did not see anyone asking was, "What has happened to this little girl?" I am constantly amazed at this... Maybe it is because working through all of the damage with a little girl is not glamorous, but we (as a society) are not looking beyond the disgusting Johns, or the organizations that find these girls, or the creeps who traffick these girls, or all the awareness dinners... We as a society are not asking the question, "What has happened to this little girl?"

We probably all know someone who was been sexually assaulted at least once. Think about the level of trauma that individual goes through and probably deals with their entire life.... Then multiply that by years and many, many rape scenarios.

What has happened to this little girl????

My hand at poetry

2009-06-18T15:10:00.000-07:00
So, I am in an English 120 class and I was tasked with writing a poem about something I am passionate about. Bet you all can't guess what I decided to write about. :-)
I have never claimed to be a poet so this poem could be horrible... However, I did put as much passion into as I knew how and so I figured I would share it with you all!

The poem is based off of the four main principles which Transitions Global operates by:
1.) Rescue is not an event; it is a process.
2.) Freedom without a future is simply another form of slavery.
3.) When you can't tell the difference between her and us, we have done our job.
4.) By giving girls choices, we restore their voices.

The twist is that I wrote the poem from the perspective of these precious girls that we have the privilege to serve.

"Rescue me"

This is not an event
To simply remove me from harm and strife
This is a process, a journey
To help me rebuild, to restore my life

I know what I am saved from
What are you saving me to?
Once we are all rescued
What are we to do?

Will you commit to me excellence?
Will you truly give me a chance?
Will you work tirelessly?
Will you give me a life of substance?

This trauma has disabled me
Will you restore my voice?
I am fragile but I am strong
Please show me that I have, choice.

End sex trafficking in two steps!

2009-06-15T03:13:00.000-07:00

The Center for Disease Control talks about Sex Trafficking and states that if we want to end this atrocity we should...

1.) Raise the status of women and,
2.) Eliminate the entitlement of men.

James Pond (founder of Transitions Global) quotes this all the time. But for several reasons I have had this two part solution rolling around in my head for the last couple of weeks.

Raise the status of women! (I will blog about the entitlement of men soon, two part answer=two part blog)

This is such an intense statement! Why do we have to raise the status of women? Why was their status ever lowered? When was their status lowered? How do we raise their status now that it has been lowered? I have 3 daughters and a wife... How do I make sure that their status is raised? I have a Mom, a sister, female in-laws, I work with almost all women, I volunteer with almost all women, there is a house, half way across the world with 20 women that are survivors of sex trafficking who I would give up just about anything for... How do I make sure that their status is raised? Is it my responsibility to worry about any of this? Why should I worry about a woman's status, I am a man? Am I more of a man if I worry about the status of a woman or less of a man?

As all of these questions are swirling (some of these are theoretical... I do believe that a woman's status should be raised and it is all of our responsibility) I have been thinking about an excerpt from a book that I read. The book is "Captivating" by John Eldredge and his wife Stasi. It has been a while since I read it, but there is this passage that I remember every time I think about raising the status of women.

John talks about the day that God made woman (if you don't believe in the creation story.. just humor me and put your attitude on hold for a sec and try to get the point of what I am trying to illustrate). So... God made woman... when did he make her? Last! Not because that is her place in line but because He was saving the best for last. John Eldredge points out that God had created all of these amazing things and yet it was incomplete. It was missing one more thing. John says that, "Woman is the zenith of God's creation"! What a powerful statement! The creation of woman is God's work of art! She is His master piece! (BTW John does this way more eloquently than I just did... you should get the book, it is a good read)

And yet.... Look at the state of women today.... It is, for the most part, despicable.

Here in the States we have grown leaps and bounds in the area of "Women's Rights" but there is still the "glass ceiling" and I think that some of it is out of kilter and off balance. Not to mention 300,000 American girls that are trafficked for sex every year within our borders. Even still we have, I think..., progressed further than other parts of the globe.

Even in our own churches, women are not taught to be captivating creatures who are God's masterpiece. They are taught to behave properly and to take care of the children and their men. They come home to men who do not know how to be men... these men in turn do not know how to show these women that they delight in them, and that they have captured their heart.

Overseas the status of women is also despicable! In India, according to Siddarth Kara author of "Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Day Slavery", 500,000 babies have been aborted over the last decade simply because they were girls. China has the one child policy which has led to lots of unwanted daughters. In fact, some religions teach that if you were born a woman it was because you did something wrong in your previous life, and maybe if you are good in this life then next time you will be born a man.

I am not naive enough to think that I can solve all of the problems (or ask all the questions) pertaining to the status of women in one blog (or in one lifetime for that matter) but these are just some of my thoughts over recent weeks.

Feel free to comment and participate in the discussion!

Will you join me in RESCUE???

2009-06-09T22:07:00.000-07:00
"Rescue is not an event; it's a process. A girl's "rescue" is not consummated in the event of removing her from harm's way. This is simply the beginning of the journey. Rescue, understood properly, is the process and passage a girl will go through in finding her voice. We want to honor her journey as she moves from victim to survivor to leader."

The previous quote is one of the guiding principles that Transitions Global (the group I work with) operates by. I think that it is a mind set like this that is vital to the work that we do! We see so much emphasis put on "raising awareness" or seeing agencies "kick in the doors" because it is the glamorous thing to report on. We love to see hundreds of people at rallies or a bunch of cops with well intentioned westerners kicking in the door to some scummy third world brothel rescuing the screaming children... But once all that is done.... Once the stage is packed up, the speaker is headed to another rally, the lights have been turned off, volunteers pick up all the empty cups, janitors clean the toilets. Once the victims are "rescued", the pimps have escaped, the brothel is shut down (at least for now), the little girls screams and wailings have subsided to quite whimpers and stifled sobs while they wait at the Police station to be processed.... THEN WHAT!?!

In most cases these girls just fall through the system and are quickly re-trafficked and/or are re-exploited. There is a small percentage that end up getting bounced around from NGO to NGO getting some services and then are re-trafficked. The average success rate of safe-homes around the globe is 30%.... This means these girls are being failed 70% of the time! And that is just of the number of girls that are lucky enough to make it into a safe-home. When I was in Cambodia in December I talked to an organization that was ready to rescue a huge group of girls, but were waiting because they had nowhere to put the girls once they "rescued" them.

This isn't just happening overseas... Here in the US we have 300,000 American children that are being trafficked in the US every year and we only have 39 beds available for them. We are currently working on setting up a home in Portland, Oregon and we have a vice-cop that says she could fill our home in 24 hours! Our founder always says, "The only difference in the slave trade between the US and any other part of the world is.... Geography!"

The picture above is of me and a survivor in Cambodia that I have the honor to serve. She is a stronger individual than I think I could ever be. Her story is horrific but thanks to the work that Transitions Global does, she has an incredibly bright future. One of the things that most impressed me was when I asked her what she liked most about Transitions... She said, "all of the other NGO's felt temporary, but Transitions feels like home." That phrase melted my heart!

Here comes the rub.... It takes money to work through the process of "Rescuing" these girls! But it is not a lot of money (in the grand scheme of things). Transitions is a grassroots organization that needs passionate people to become involved! Even though we are small we are effective! Our success rate is between 75-80%!!! This is huge, when compared to the previous figures! In order for us to increase and make a significant impact on this issue, we need people like you to get involved!

If you are still reading it means that you care... Awesome! I am going to ask you to partner with me! I have a personal goal of getting 600 people to donate $10 a month. When I do this, I will be able to make sure that all of Cambodia's basic monthly needs are taken care of for a year. I am on a mission to recruit 100 people that will, 1.) Donate $10 a month and 2.) Will get 6 other people to donate $10 a month as well!

Will you join me in the "process" of Rescuing these girls?

If you will... Please, #1.) Send me an email at sethjohnson78@gmail.com and let me know that you have taken the challenge, 2.) Click this LINK and fill out the donation info, and 3.) get 6 others to do the same!

Love you all! Thank you for joining me in this journey!!!!

A struggle with faith

2009-05-17T23:02:00.001-07:00

(this is another long one, if you want to read... cool, if not... whatev) :-)

What a weekend...

Let me give you a little back story.

For the last two weeks James and Athena (the founders of Transitions Global) have been in India, doing the groundwork for setting up a safe-home for survivors of sex trafficking. This has been bittersweet for me... In the last 5 and a half months I have grown really close to James and Athena and I now treasure their friendship. Along with their friendship, I am constantly in awe of their compassion and drive to serve the girls we have in Cambodia and the girls that we will serve in India and soon here in Portland. I can't say that I have ever seen zeal like they display from anyone else. I am truly honored that I get to stand beside them and contribute whatever I can. Sometimes, I honestly feel like we are staring into the pit of everything that is dark and disgusting in this world and reaching into it to pull these girls out. I can't think of anyone else that I would want to be in this fight with. So, while I am beyond excited that we (as an organization) are opening a home in India, I miss the daily phone calls and meetings between myself and the Ponds.

However, this has given me a good rest (seriously these guys set a pace like none other. It is awesome, fierce, manic and beautiful! I can only try to keep up) and time to think and process some things. Also, my wife went down to Bend for a girl's weekend and the girls were at the sister-in-laws house. So, this weekend I had some serious quite time.

The last several months I have had a real struggle with my faith (I know some of you just rolled your eyes, cause either you think faith is a crock or you are a "super-christian" and can't believe that I would be struggling... but I don't care, this is my blog).

You see I grew up in the bible belt and bounced around between Charismatic and Baptist churches... I was also told a lot of stuff that I believed only because I trusted the people who were feeding it to me, not because I was really thinking about it and processing it... Since then all of the people that I really looked up to have let me down in pretty huge ways (that is not to say that I have been perfect). This I believe is just a part of life... we live a shitty world and bad stuff just happens.

Several years ago I needed a wake up call and I got it! My wife left me and took our two kids and moved to Oregon. The following year I drank and smoked my troubles away while sleeping on some really good friends' couches....I did things that as a "good little christian" I never thought I would do. Then one day my wife called and told me that I should move up to Oregon and give things a go. I still remember being in the front yard smoking a cig and asking God how in the hell did I get my family back... I did nothing to deserve it.... At that moment I heard God say (no not audibly, but in my spirit) "that is grace."

So, I find myself in Portland Oregon (almost six years ago... man has it been that long?) and stumble into a church that is mostly Reformed (a totally different way of looking at faith than I am used to) and find a lot of love and unparalleled abnormality... People meeting in pubs to talk about God, the worship leader holds poker tournaments at his house while smoking cigars and pipes, people are late to services but are not frowned upon, people are not dressed "right", there were pictures of Jesus on the wall that made him look more black than white (which I love cause how many pale skinned middle eastern guys have you ever seen?)

At the same time I am at this stage in life, I am reading up on all kinds of other religions and really starting to question my own faith... I mean really whether it is the Angel of Moroni, Buddha, Jehovah, Allah, Vishnu or Christ it all sounds pretty crazy. Right?

So.. while I am wrestling with all this I start to learn about Human Trafficking.... How do we as an American public (let alone the church) not know about this? I think we live in (as Bill Hillar says) a uterus. We have it so good here in the States. Did you know that we make up only 6% of the world's population, yet me take up over 40% of it's resources? Or that only 8% of the world owns a car! Seriously, even if you car is a piece (which mine is) you are still way ahead of the material possessions game. Experts have said that it would take about $20 billion to feed everyone on the planet, every year. Americans spent that much last year... on ice cream. Meanwhile 40,000 people died last night from hunger.

This weekend things kind of came to a head for me... I had someone email and ask me if she could give me money. She also, said that she had a vision of me the night before and I had my head in my hands. It was really bizarre because the night before I was looking at the budget and it was not good... and I did in fact have my head in my hands. I went to Cambodia in December and raised money to film a documentary on a survivor of sex trafficking. The money did not turn out as planned and it set me back quite a bit... I have been playing catch up ever since. Turns out the amount that this lady sent me is exactly what I needed to get caught up! How crazy is that?

Along with that... I went to go see John Eldredge (author of Wild at Heart) speak on being "Fathered by God"... The experience with the vision lady, hearing John speak, and just processing a lot of things has led me to make some conclusions.... (I don't know if anyone is still reading at this point but here you go)

1.) I am choosing Christ... I don't have all the theology crap worked out but, I believe he died, was resurrected, and he and he alone has made a way for me to go to heaven (whatever heaven looks like).
2.) I want to live like Christ lived (I also want to live like Gandhi, the Dalai Lama and Muhammad... but mostly like Christ)
3.) I want to learn what it means to be a true Christian (not a 20th or 21st century American Christian) but a true Christian.
4.) I want to love and live with reckless abandon! I am tired of hiding my heart in an attempt to keep it safe. I want to give myself to my Wife, my Daughters and the World until there is nothing left to give.
5.) I want to stop judging people (unless they cut me off in traffic or ask me stupid questions). Whether they be of a different faith, sexual orientation, they are making decisions that I don't agree with... whatever. Let them be and focus on me. Love them regardless.

I think that sums it up... if not it is a good stopping place.... I will probably have another rant soon. :-)

Thanks for reading.. Love you all... Feel free to comment. I would love to hear your thoughts.

Overwhelmed

2009-04-25T01:46:00.000-07:00
** This is a long one... but hopefully worth the read***

The past couple of days have been pretty intense for me and they have been key in my journey to be an abolitionist. So, I wanted to share...

I went with the Transitions Global team down to Oregon State University and the University of Oregon to take part in a student led event called, Slavery Still Exist.

James Pond (founder of Transitions Global) and Bill Hillar (retired Colonel of the U.S. Army Special Forces) were the keynote speakers at each event.

I have heard James speak several times and so, sadly, I have become desensitized to the facts and information that he shares. I say this because his presentation is, although full of hope, pretty intense... and the fact that I am growing more callous to the facts bothers me. This was weighing pretty heavily on me during the first night but on the second night I had one of those "aha" moments (which I will share in a second) when something really clicked.

Mr. Hillar's presentation was really good.... It was so intense and personal that I feel I would not do it justice by recounting it in an online forum like this... I will suffice it to say that he went through a human trafficking experience first hand in the eighties when his own daughter was kidnapped, trafficked and never seen again. If you ever have the chance to hear him speak you should not pass it up.

Besides the personal story that Mr. Hillar shared he made two points that will stick with me for a long time to come...The first point he made was as he opened his speech... He said, "Last night 40,000 people died of starvation while you were sleeping, and most of you don't even give a shit. In fact most of you are more concerned that I just said shit than that 40,000 people died. And you know why? Because you are just like me... If it doesn't affect you directly, you don't care."

His second point ties into my "aha" moment... At the U of O they placed, what I thought was, 27,000 flags (in the above picture) to represent the 27 million people that are in slavery around the globe. The picture that I took does not do this monument justice. The lawn was probably the length of two football fields and 50 yards wide...As I walked through the field of flags it was nothing short of eerie and emotionally overwhelming... All of the students were done with classes for the day, so I was out there alone... just me and 27 million people... the flags were rustling in the wind and I could almost hear the voices of all those who are out there waiting on me to help them...

I haven't had a moment like that since I interviewed a survivor in Phnom Penh... I just walked around looking at each flag and tried to let the fact sink in... each flag represented a thousand people. As I was walking off the field I felt like I was punched in the stomach when I read a sign that said the students were only able to place 4,600 flags and that each flag actually represented 6,000 people. As I started to tear up, I truly felt paralyzed... What am I supposed to do to even begin to make a dent in this issue???

I made my way into the auditorium and listened to Mr. Hillar make the second point that will stick with me... He said, "No one snowflake ever thought it was going to be the deciding factor in the avalanche. Rosa Parks didn't think she was going to make such a change... she was just tired of being mistreated and took a stand for what was right."

To listen to him say this and then to listen to James talk about the ethos of Transitions Global and how we offer hope, and that what we do doesn't start with a program... it starts with a girl, was truly encouraging....

We are still fighting an uphill battle but I can't give up... There is nothing that I can do that will ever be enough... this is a life time marathon... the fact is that the lives of little girls and boys are depending on me and others like me to step up and do the right thing.

After the final night a few of us went to a local pub and got to talk with James and Mr. Hillar. I don't think I can put into words what I felt as I was sitting there with these two men.... I just can't even begin to imagine what they have done and seen in their lifetimes. The way they have served their countries, and are now fighting human trafficking on a global and local level is truly amazing.

So... We got up on Friday, headed back to Portland... I played some soccer with my girls.. I got a few hours of sleep... I met with a band about a benefit concert for Transitions Global and then headed in to work my 12 hour graveyard shift... But I am not going to bitch and moan about it... I have a job in an economy where 1 out of 10 are unemployed... I can take care of my wife and girls... and I have an opportunity to plug in with an amazing organization who is actually in the trenches working with survivors in a truly effective way.... I am truly blessed.

Be The Change!

2009-04-21T15:44:00.000-07:00
I am so excited about the newest campaign that Transitions Global is launching!

When President Obama was on the campaign trail he talked about the "Change". Right now our country is suffering economically but people still want to help and show that the US is as strong as ever. We want to show that we can be the "Change!"

The Buck Up Campaign is the answer to this dilemma!!

Right now 27 million people around the globe are in slavery... If you have done any reading about human trafficking you have heard this statistic over and over. In his book, Skinner quotes Stalin when he says, "The death of one man is a tragedy but the death of a million is a statistic." When Stalin says this, he is speaking to a common truth that I have heard called, "The paralysis of analysis", meaning that when there is an issue that is so huge we as humans just shut down.

The Buck Up Campaign gives us the answer to the question, "How do you eat an Elephant?" We all know the answer, right? It is, "One bite at a time" I would say that we could modify the answer and say, "One Buck at a time."

In his book, Siddarth Kara makes the statement that, "if all the slaves in the world were freed today, they would have nowhere to go." Transitions Global is in the business of setting up safe and effective homes for survivors of sex trafficking. They have taken the global success rate of 30% and flipped it on its head. They have a near 80% success rate! When Transitions Global came up with this campaign they figured that if everyone in the state of Oregon (they are currently running a home in Cambodia but are working to set one up in Portland and Mumbai) gave $1 then they could run a shelter for victims of sex trafficking for 3 years!!

Imagine if everyone in the US did this!!!

This is a way that the people of the United States can stand up and put an end to slavery while they pay their light bills, mortgages, kids soccer tuitions, etc...

This is a way for the American public to stand up and make a difference!

Join me and make the statement, "I Bucked Up!"

An average girl who is not so average...

2009-04-13T01:27:00.000-07:00

Angel Daniels is a fellow abolitionist that I have had the privilege of talking to a couple of times via email and Facebook.

It is amazing to me how unassuming her website and blog are. I am absolutely amazed at the work she is doing.

It is people like her that inspire me to keep going even when I am sick, working in the middle of the night, the car needs work, bills need to be paid, there are tivo'd episodes of Lost and 24 that need to be watched, my wife needs a date, my girls need to go to the park, I need to workout, homework is due.... you get the point. :-)

Currently, Angel is working on her PhD in Clinical Psychology, with a focus on the effects of human trafficking, prostitution, slavery, and exploitation.

She has already been to Cambodia. While she was there she met with Transitions Global and was so impressed she wanted to continue the relationship with them especially in the area of Trafficking as it relates to the States.

She states on her own blog, "I became more and more intent on working with Transitions somehow, and it was at that time that I discovered that James and his wife, Athena, were expanding Transitions Cambodia into a global operation, and were starting a shelter in Portland, Oregon, for survivors of trafficking and slavery in the US! Can you imagine how thrilling that is?! It has been my goal to figure out how to help these survivors, and to start some sort of a program for the enslaved in our very own country - and now the hardest part (the getting it started part) is already being done! And by two of the people I most respect, using the most effective model of recovery worldwide! Eek!"

This summer, she will be traveling to Uganda, Africa, to study the reality of slavery and exploitation that occurs there on a massive scale. In order to fund this research, 100% of the proceeds from her art sales will be going directly to the Uganda trip.

U of O Students take action!!

2009-04-12T01:34:00.000-07:00

Last year students at the University of Oregon held a week long event called Slavery Still Exists. These are some photos from last years event.

The event was so successful that they are doing it again this year!

The week of April 18-26 will be dedicated to raising awareness about human trafficking globally and locally.

Students and community members will learn about human trafficking and go door to door to raise awareness and support for Transitions Global’s Portland Shelter Project, a secure aftercare facility for survivors of sex trafficking.

The event is sponsored by ASUO Executive Office, the Substance Abuse Prevention Program, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, Oregon Human Trafficking Task Force, University of Oregon Philosophy Department, and Transitions Global.

“Slavery Still Exists” week is going to engage the campus community and the city of Eugene to become aware of the issue and to do something about it.

The week will begin with an installation of 27,000 flags on the campus quads to represent the 27,000,000 people in modern day slavery.

In addition to the lawn project, and the lecture night, students will campaign door to door across Eugene to educate people about sex trafficking in Oregon and to raise support for Transitions Global as part of their "Buck Up Campaign".

The "Buck Up Campaign" is an initiative started by Transitions Global that organizes University and High School students around the issue in an effort to raise awareness for their Portland Shelter Project. Transitions Global needs to raise 1.2 million dollars to cover the capitals costs for the shelter. They have successfully raised half of these costs already, and are hoping that public support will build momentum towards the completion of the project.

On April 23rd The University of Oregon will host Bill Hillar, SAPP instructor, human trafficking expert, and father of sex trafficking victim; and James Pond, founder and executive director of Transitions Global.

"We know that when students are in engaged in issues of social justice, they feel more connected, they feel better, and they do better in the classroom. I am pleased that this group is bringing awareness to human trafficking on campus, says Dr. Robin Holmes, Vice President for Student Affairs. "This university is creating global citizens, and if students aren't engaged in making the world a better place, this will not be a dynamic campus.

Old enough to know better

2009-04-05T18:36:00.000-07:00
I saw this picture last night and then I read this quote this morning: "Nobody knows the age of the human race, but everybody agrees that it is old enough to know better."

When I found this photo the caption read, "It pays to be Russian." As if it were a good thing.

This is so vile... most of these girls are underage, most of them are there against their will, and most of them will never see a dime that is made from them laying on there backs over and over and over again.

I have heard it said that this issue is one for the christians to deal with, or the feminist, or individual governments. I would argue that this is one for the human race to take care of. We are, "old enough to know better" and "we should be ashamed of ourselves."

We are so proud of globalization and being accepting of different cultures, but at the same time we have let this gender bias flourish and enabled men to create a commodity out of little girls.

We might be able to soothe our conscious and flick on another episode of "24" or "Lost" and say that we are not the dirt bags that are out creating a stain on the human condition.

When I start to think like that I am reminded of Edmund Burke's words, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men (and I would add, women) do nothing."

Belts Breaking Bondage

2009-04-01T20:00:00.000-07:00
Today I got an email that I was totally stoked about and wanted to share with everyone.
There is a student group of activists at Ohio University that formed at the beginning of March. They call themselves, "Belts Breaking Bondage"
They sew and sell waist belts and donate 85% of the profits to different anti-trafficking organizations. They were so impressed with the work that Transitions Global is doing in Cambodia and in the US that they wanted to make sure we received the first check!
This is so great! I get so inspired when I see people join together and use their passions and abilities to help end slavery!
Thank you so much, "Belts Breaking Bondage"!!!

Ok Ok

2009-03-28T11:04:00.000-07:00
So in December I renewed my commitment to blogging and then promptly quit... However, for the last several months I have been busier than a one legged man in a.. well you know the rest.
I will admit that for this first time back I am reposting a note from Facebook but I think it is worthy of retelling...

(Originally posted to FB on Feb 27, 2009)

Yesterday afternoon I had a wake up call that hit me like a surprise hook to the jaw.

Part of my job responsibilities with Transitions Global is to field calls that come into our business line. I don't get a lot of calls as the number is new and most people have our cell phone numbers. However, I do get the occasional "I want to help out", "Can you answer this question for my research project", or "I am responding to this post on Craigslist... do you think it is sketchy."

Yesterday was different... I got a call from a lady who is representing a girl that was rescued from sex slavery her in Portland this past week. She wanted to know if we had a secure shelter for this survivor. A place where this girl could be rehabilitated and reintegrated into society.

This is where my world temporarily fell apart... I had to tell her that, "No, we don't have a facility set up yet and we cannot help her directly." I quickly fumbled to give her some resources that I had, and put her in touch with our Director, so he could follow up with her... but the damage was done.

I had to tell her, "No... I cannot help you." This wasn't me giving another presentation, spouting out facts about human trafficking, and how horrible it is, and then trying to convince people that this is a worthwhile cause to give to. It was me.. right here... right now... saying, "No."

Over the last couple of months I have been working feverishly to build a fundraising infrastructure for Transitions Global. I ran a marathon last week, I am running a 5k with a group of people in mid-march, we are planning a cigar and wine event tentatively for April, we are working with Churches, we are working with bands, I am putting together a group of people to summit Mt. Hood in July, we are planning an immersion trip to Cambodia in August, I am putting together a triathlon team to race in July... and this is just a few of the things I have been working on... but for a moment all of this came to a screeching halt. I had to say, "No"

I am sorry little girl. I know you have been abused beyond all imagination and I know that you desperately need a safe place to feel real love, and to wrk through all of the crap that you have gone through, and to figure out how you are going to proceed with life but... I cannot help you.

I am sorry... I haven't done a good enough job at raising funds yet... I haven't been able to convince people that this is important... I am sorry, but "No"

My wife walked into the room and asked me what was wrong and through stifled sobs I tried to tell her what had happened only moments before.

As I drove to class last night I began to think... I can really let this bum me out or... (and this is the option that I have chosen) I can use this reality to increase the already raging fire on the inside of me, so that hopefully next time I can say "YES!!!"

Thanks for letting me vent...

The Business of Freedom

2008-12-30T03:15:00.000-08:00
I have studied the issue(s) of Human Trafficking for the last two years, raised $12,000.00 this past year, funded a mini- documentary, traveled to Cambodia and Tunisia and yet I feel like I am just scraping the tip of the iceberg.
I am working my way through Kevin Bales' book, "Ending Slavery" and he talks about our need to consult with a panel of experts on how to abolish slavery. The problem is that there is no panel of experts.
Hope is not lost, Bales points out that this issue is only a $32 billion industry. That may seem like a lot to the "average Joe the plumber" but, in the grand scheme of global funds, it is a drop in the bucket. Ultimately, this is not a lot of money and this issue can be resolved in our lifetime.
In all the studying that I have done I have found one common denominator. This movement... takes money! It takes 5 bucks here, 10 bucks there. It takes corporate sponsors, government grants; youth group car washes, etc. You get the picture.
The number one phrase that I heard while I was in Cambodia was, "depending on funding." I heard it to the point that I became nauseous. Hearing this bothered me on several different levels. First, because I see these non-bureaucratic groups who have streamlined what they do and they are accomplishing tremendous things. They could do so much more if they had more funds. Then I come back to the States and I see presentations by different "funding organizations" and it is almost Taboo to ask for money. I see these people talk about the issue, get people to the point of emotionalism, and then they don't close the deal. They just leave it open-ended and tell people that they can practice "open source activism." Open source activism is just another way of saying that, "we don't really have a way to use you right now, so go try to find something to do to contribute to the cause." The sentiment that everyone can get involved is great but the sense of non-direction combined with the paralysis of such enormous issue leaves most feeling completely helpless. Here is an idea... rather than spending $3.80 on your large caramel coffee everyday why don't you invest that into the life of a child? (3.80 X 5 days a week X 4 weeks a month X 12 months a year = $912) $912.00 X 1,000 people = $912,000.00
I use the above equation to illustrate that if a lot of us do a little, we can make a huge difference. I also say this because while we are pondering whether or not to give up our sugar and caffeine fix, there are girls who have been rescued from the slave trade and want with all their heart to go to English school for the year and can't because they don't have $600. There are girls who are waiting to be rescued but the groups that are doing the intervention don't have any place to put them, because the groups who run the safe homes don't have enough funds to duplicate the incredible job that they are doing. At this point I am just talking about the girls and how slavery has affected them... Every group that I talked to in Cambodia said with a sigh of frustration, "and we haven't even begun to address the issue with the boys."
While all this is going on, well-wishers are telling For Their Rescue and other organizations that essentially, we want to do more than just send money. I love that people want to help, but if the groups that are in the trenches can't afford to pay themselves what makes people think that there is going to be a vacant spot for them to work in? These groups need money! It takes money to buy ink cartridges, to buy paper, computers, toilet paper, petrol, food, hygiene items, etc, etc, etc.....
I don't mean to be crass about this subject and trivialize it by turning it into dollars and cents. I haven't been back from Cambodia for two weeks and I already miss the country deeply. I miss the people and the girls that I met. I also look forward to the people I will meet in Africa, Haiti, India, Europe, South and Central America. BUT.... The cold hard fact is this.... there are cruel, twisted men and women out there that are in the BUSINESS of Slavery. If we ever hope to abolish slavery, we need to be in the BUSINESS of Freedom!

Transitions Global

2008-12-30T03:10:00.000-08:00
This is a really good video about Transitions

My highlight

2008-12-28T02:45:00.000-08:00

I was in Cambodia for two weeks... We saw some amazing things, but for me the highlight is displayed in this picture.
Fritz and I were filming a mini-documentary about a young lady who was trafficked and eventually became a client at Transitions Global. She has been there for just over a year, she has gone through their reintegration program and while we were there she moved out of their safe-home and into an apartment with one of the other clients from Transitions.
In this photo we are outside the slum were she was born and were trying to get photos and video for her story. When all of the sudden she sees her mom. We have no idea how long it has been since they have seen each other but both Fritz and I were freaking out at this point... I mean what are the odds of this happening?
Anyways, they chat for a few minutes and then our movie star ask our driver/translator for money, so that she can give it to her mom. I butt in at this point to find out what is going on and figure out what is going down... I reach for my wallet and I only have $8 left for the day (the rest of the money is back at the hotel), so I took it all out and gave it without hesitation....
This young lady looked at the money as if it were a million dollars and then looked at me as if to say, "Are you sure?" In that moment I had one of those times where you have a thousand thoughts all at once.... I also started getting something stuck in my eye (because I don't cry.. It must have been really dusty) as I thought about how much it meant to her to be able to give this to her mom and how I was able to do this for her without any strings attached. How many men had she looked at before that had so many sick and twisted strings attached to their "provision"?
The whole transaction took less than a moment but I will remember it for the rest of my life!

Trip to Cambodia

2008-12-28T02:33:00.000-08:00
At the beginning of the month I went to Cambodia along with friend/photographer, Fritz Liedtke. We took the trip for several reasons. I wanted to get a more intimate knowledge of the region and learn more about the issue of trafficking as it pertains to SE Asia and more specifically to Cambodia. I also wanted to meet the people who are on the ground and in the trenches fighting to abolish slavery. I wanted to learn about these people/organizations. I wanted to hear their heart, so that I can relay their message to people here in the States.
We also went to obtain photos and video footage, so that we could tell the story of trafficking as it pertains to this part of the globe. Fritz did an awesome job of obtaining photos and video. We will be releasing these through multi-media in the weeks ahead. Fritz and Dayn Arnold are working at editing and producing several different videos with the footage that we were able to capture while we were there.

My newfound commitment to blogging

2008-12-28T02:20:00.000-08:00
Wow! A lot has happened since March... Mostly though I realize that I am not the greatest at blogging. So, as a pre-New Year's resolution I am going to attempt (in my spare time) to start posting blogs on a regular basis.

Still Prevalent and Relevant Today

2008-03-03T18:26:00.000-08:00
This is a quote from "Who Cares?" which is a speech from General William Booth (the founder of The Salvation Army).

"You must do it! You cannot hold back. You have enjoyed yourself in Christianity long enough. You have had pleasant feelings, pleasant songs, pleasant meetings, pleasant prospects. There has been much of human happiness, much clapping of hands and shouting of praises - very much of heaven on earth.

Now then, go to God and tell Him you are prepared as much as necessary to turn your back upon it all, and that you are willing to spend the rest of your days struggling in the midst of these perishing multitudes, whatever it may cost you.

You must do it. With the light that has now broken in upon your mind, and the call that is now sounding in your ears, and the beckoning hands that are now before your eyes, you have no alternative. To go down among the perishing crowds is your duty. Your happiness from now on will consist in sharing their misery, your ease in sharing their pain, your crown in helping them to bear their cross, and your heaven in going into the very jaws of hell to rescue them.

Now, what will you do?"