Survive125: I dare you!

Could you survive on less than $1.25 a day?

Survive125 is a game brought to you by 58:, a global initiative to end extreme poverty by living out Isaiah 58. And Compassion is part of the 58: Alliance.

In Survive125, you are asked to make the daily decisions nearly 1.3 billion people living in extreme poverty face every day. In doing so their struggle becomes yours.

My daughter and I tried the game. We couldn't make it. Are you ready to play?

Well hang on. It's 8 minutes long but I want you to check out this video first.



What is 58?

58: is an unprecedented global alliance of Christians, churches and world-class poverty-fighting organizations working together to end extreme poverty in our lifetime.

Three of the organizations I am passionate about are a part of 58: Compassion, International Justice Mission and Living Water International. Who's missing? YOU!

Play the game, watch the video and remember, for 1.3 billion people around the world, poverty is not a game!

Sex and the Superbowl

I am an avid football fan. I have only missed watching 1 Superbowl in the last 24 years.

I never really stopped to think about the dirty underbelly of the game.

The Superbowl is the single biggest human trafficking incident in the US! A recent USA Today article highlights this sad story: Child sex rings spike during the Super Bowl

I find this disturbing.

Of course any large event; the Olympics, the World Cup...it's the same story.

What can we do?

Well if you are in the US you can send a message to President Obama. The International Justice Mission is making it easy. You can click here and find a petition to send to Obama asking him to help stop modern day slavery. I would encourage you to send a copy to every one of your government officials.

Outside the US, maybe you can copy and make a variation of this petition for your leaders as well.

You can also help organizations that are fighting this terrible modern day atrocity:

International Justice Mission, IJM Canada, IJM Germany, IJM Netherlands, IJM UK

Free the Slaves

The Salvation Army

Even if all you do is pray, and IJM has a prayer bulletin, you can do something!

Today is the day to get involved. Let's remember Philippians 2:4, "not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."

5 Weeks for Freedom

For the past 5 weeks, a team of 15 ordinary people have been doing an extraordinary thing - cycling 1800 miles of the historic Underground Railroad as part of International Justice Mission’s 5 Weeks for Freedom http://www.5weeksforfreedom.org campaign to raise awareness of modern-day slavery. This symbolic journey began in Mobile, AL, and will conclude when the riders cycle into Buffao this afternoon.

The riders – from students to grandparents – have undertaken this extraordinary journey to bring new life to the historic Underground Railroad, raise awareness of modern-day slavery and to support IJM’s frontline work to end it. Throughout their route, they have been welcomed into major-league baseball stadiums (the Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds both hosted FREEDOM NIGHTs featuring the team during their games) and small-town churches alike, as tens of thousands across the country have rallied around their cause of modern-day abolition.

The 5 Weeks for Freedom riding team will be welcomed into Buffalo with a tour finale and Freedom Concert at the Town Ballroom, 681 Main Street, headlined by top-40 recording artists Green River Ordinance (GRO), whose hits “Come On” and “On Your Own” topped radio charts nationwide last year - and are a big hit in Buffalo currently. We’ve seen the people of Buffalo rally around the urgent message we carry with the 5 Weeks for Freedom campaign – we’ve had a great response and expect a crowd to celebrate the end of 5 Weeks for Freedom.

It’s an inspiring story – and the riders are an incredible team, each with a compelling personal story that led them to make this epic ride.

Two of the riders took time out of their schedule to answer some questions about the ride:

Iron Mike Barrow, 57, nurse, from Elizabethtown, KY
Joanne Frank Barrow, 53, nurse, from Elizabethtown, KY

1. Why did you want to get involved in the 5 Weeks for Freedom campaign?

Iron Mike: I got involved because I believe that the cause was worth supporting. I feel like everyone can participate in ending slavery in some fashion or manner. There is a Biblical call to justice, we are called to it. The work of IJM is something that I can get behind and support by riding my bike.

Joanne: I got involved because human trafficking has been in my forefront of my mind for the last two years or more, and I had been trying to figure out how I could do something about it. Being a part of the 5 Weeks for Freedom campaign, I could reach many people. Every time you talk to somebody they don’t seem to grasp the enormity of it. So with this campaign, I got to talk to many, many people. The reception and surprise of some people is amazing. Some people jumped on the band wagon immediately and said, “What else can I do?” It’s been a great encouragement to know that with this campaign we have reached so many more people with this urgent message.

2. What has this experience been like for you?

Iron Mike: It’s been many days of hard riding. It’s been a big sacrifice personally as far as the time and having to actually quit my job; but one thing I do believe is that with great sacrifice comes great reward. I know that by doing a seemingly simple thing like riding a bicycle, I am helping to rescue someone from oppression somewhere in the world, someone I may never meet, someone I may never see – and that feels good. It feels good to know that you are doing something that has a very high level of cause and effect. I see a direct relationship between what I’m doing and helping someone.

Joanne: First, it’s been extremely rewarding getting to know the members of the team and also working with IJM. Getting to know more specifics about the cause, hearing the specific stories of rescue and actual work that is being done by IJM. On the other hand, it’s been very difficult, taking me way outside of my comfort level. Every day has been a challenge to get up and ride my bike again. There have been some days when I really haven’t wanted to, and for me the physical exhaustion has been more than what I expected - but at the same time it’s cool because I have done it, 1800 miles. In the end, the struggle makes it worth it. Yesterday I rode my first century – 100 miles – and went 109 miles and have never done that before in my life. I kept to saying, “Lord, if I ride these 100 miles today, please rescue someone. It was pretty hairy, but it went well. So it was a great day.”

3. How has this ride changed you?

Iron Mike: It has changed me in that I have discovered that when we stand together and join in a cause that is bigger than ourselves, and do something oftentimes difficult, that great personal reward comes from that. The community that has formed within this group of riders is a mirror image of the body of Christ and how Jesus meant the Church to be.

Joanne: It’s changed me because it’s opened me up to the bigger possibility that we serve a God that is a huge God; but he’s bigger than I ever imagined in my mind. I’ve been very surprised and amazed how God has worked through meeting different people, putting people in places that were open to hear the word and were anxious and excited to hear the word. God has orchestrated this whole thing, and it’s increased my faith hugely – just to let God work. We say yes and He does the work through us.

4. What kind of response did you get from the towns you passed through?

Iron Mike: The response has been mixed: when we talk about the issue of modern-day slavery we get a lot of blank looks, a lot of “I didn’t know about that”, a lot of “that’s not really happening here” a lot of general lack of awareness of this issue that this is something that affects the community they live in. It’s an eye-opening experience for many people because oftentimes they don’t recognize this issue by the name that we call it – human trafficking, modern-day slavery. The other part of this is that we have been welcomed with open arms by churches, communities, people at gas stations – the whole entirety of this 1800-mile journey.

Joanne: An interesting question – response was mixed. For some, it was a believable issue and they could embrace it and do something about it. Most people were surprised and I think that they felt some passion toward the issue once they realized what was going on – and they thought it isn’t ok and they were very willing to step up and take the message to other people. The churches have been outstanding as far as taking the message to their body and really wanting to do something about injustice in the world. Sitting in the church and doing nothing isn’t enough anymore – you need to be active. Their call to movement has been increased by the 5 Weeks for Freedom campaign.

5. What happens next? How do we/you stay involved in this issue?

Iron Mike: Once you have become knowledgeable about modern-day slavery, that knowledge requires action. Some of the action I personally intend on taking it to use every opportunity I have to work with IJM to share the knowledge of this scourge of modern-day slavery using social media platforms, and continue to beat the drum and motivate people to join me in this fight and become a modern-day abolitionist.

Joanne: The best thing is to stay in touch with the issue, keep searching out information wherever you can – by reading books, on the internet, with IJM’s website (www.5weeksforfreedom.org). I plan on staying in communication with a lot of the churches we visited, finding out what they’re doing and seeing if there is any other way in which I can help them continue on in their journey for justice. Of course, the bicycle tour group will stay in touch and if we have a big reunion , it could be a big celebration to find out what has been accomplished since we went on this tour – rescues, field operations, how many more people are aware and involved in the issue. And of course, I plan on sleeping for about four days when I get home.

Thanks Mike and Joanne.

How Real is the problem:

• An estimated 27-40 million children, women and men are held in slavery – more slaves than over 400 years of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
• Nearly 2 million children are exploited in the global sex industry.
• 30% of widows and orphans in sub-Saharan Africa have their homes or property stolen from them when they are most vulnerable.4 billion of the world’s poor aren’t effectively protected by their countries’ laws against violent oppression.

Will you get involved today?

The Truth Isn't Sexy

Over the last couple of years I have become more aware of the issues of human slavery and sex trafficking.

Maybe you aren't aware of these issues and how prevalent they are. The International Justice Mission has 2 fact sheets with the basic info:

Sex Trafficking Fact Sheet
Human Slavery Fact Sheet

The International Justice Mission is fighting even now for those victims of sex trafficking and human slavery. I want to encourage you to check out their site and avail yourselves of their many resources. They have a prayer bulletin that I hope you all sign up for.

In addition, the Salvation Army has a website with a list of resources and links:

The Truth Isn't Sexy

Please, pray about this issue and find out how you can help.

5 Questions with Gary Haugen.

Welcome to 5 Questions With.....

Today's guest is Gary Haugen. Gary serves as President and CEO of International Justice Mission (IJM), an international human rights agency that rescues victims of violence, sexual exploitation, slavery and oppression worldwide. Before founding International Justice Mission in 1997, Haugen served as a senior trial attorney with the Police Misconduct Task Force of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. In 1994, Haugen was detailed from the U.S. Department of Justice to the United Nations’ Center for Human Rights, where he served as officer-in-charge of the U.N.’s genocide investigation in Rwanda. Haugen is the 2007 recipient of Prison Fellowship’s annual William Wilberforce Award, recognizing an individual who has made a difference in the face of formidable societal problems and injustices. Haugen and the work of IJM have been featured on The Today Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dateline NBC, FOX News, MSNBC, CNN, National Public Radio, Forbes magazine, The Washington Post and The New York Times, among many other outlets.

And now let's get to the interview:

Hi Gary,

Question 1: What one word would describe your current relationship with God?

Peace

Question 2: What led you to found the International Justice Mission (IJM)?

I wanted to empower fellow Christians to love their neighbors (in very practical ways) who are suffering under violent abuse and oppression. I sensed they wanted to help – but didn’t know it was possible – or how to do it.

Question 3: Why should Christians get involved in helping IJM?

Because there is indescribable joy in being used of God to bring real, life-transforming rescue to those who are in desperate need of justice. Who doesn’t want to experience God’s heroic love poured out through them?

Question 4: International Justice Mission starts every day in prayer. How important is prayer to the work of IJM?

How important is it to the lamp that it stays plugged into its power source? Not much good for very long without it. Not even much of a lamp actually. The work of Justice is God’s work. I couldn’t imagine doing it without talking to Him about it.

Question 5: What can we do? Not everyone can go overseas so how can the "average believer" help those caught in slavery, sexual exploitation, etc?

Pray for those who are being abused – pray for them the way you would if they were one of your own family. Which means getting to know them as family (and IJM can help you do that). Next, send someone who can go overseas and bring help – and then pray for those rescuers as if they were in your own family. IJM can help with that, too. Finally, invite those in your family (and those who are like family) to join you in the fight. Do those three things and God will do very large things – larger than you could have thought or imagined.

Thank you Gary.

There you have it. I would encourage you to check out the IJM Website and to get involved today!

To see past 5 Question guests, check out the rotating interview links on the sidebar.

Just Courage/IJM

"There must be more to the Christian life than this--more than church each Sunday and waving to my neighbors and giving some clothes to Goodwill when I go through my closet each spring."

With this premise, Just Courage takes you on a challenging and engaging journey of adventure. I came across this little book while reading Anne Jackson's blog last year. When I ordered the book, I was not prepared to be challenged to do something more in the area of justice. Reading the stories set forth by author Gary Haugen I became more aware of sex trafficking, modern day slavery and a host of other issues. As a Christian, I felt like I could not ignore the issue now that I was aware of the extent of injustice. Gary kept me on the edge of my seat with story after story from the front line battlefield!

This led me to research Gary's organization, The International Justice Mission.

The International Justice Mission (IJM) is a human rights agency that seeks to secure justice for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression. The IJM lawyers, investigators and aftercare professionals work with local officials to ensure immediate victim rescue and aftercare, to prosecute perpetrators and to promote functioning public justice systems. With offices in the US, Canada, the UK and Germany, there is an office close to where you live.

The book was an incredible eye opener to an issue I had not been fully aware of. Gary lists further resources at the back of the book. One of those was the IJM website. You need to check that out. If all you do is sign up for the prayer bulletin and PRAY, you will be helping out in a tremendous way. However, there are a host of ways to get involved.

Sex trafficking is real! Modern day slavery still happens. Please, order this book. Visit the website and let the Lord stir your heart with compassion.