Event at Northshore Baptist!

Dads and Daughters
mark your calendar and register for a special evening with your dad or princess

Friday, November 7th, 7-9 pm.

'Precious in His Sight '

is an evening of dessert, entertainment, dancing and pictures.
Whether your princess is 5 years old or 50,
it will be a night to remember.
Proceeds will benefit Safe Haven, Cambodia
and Havilah School, Nicaragua.
Pictures begin at 6:30 pm, so be sure to come early to preserve the memory.
The event takes place at:
Northshore Baptist Church in Bothell.
Cost is $25 per person.
You can register online at nsb.org


A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Cambodia Safe Haven, which will house at risk women and children, some of whom could otherwise end up caught in human trafficking.
If you would like flyers/posters for your church you can contact Stephenie Burke at stephenieb@yahoo.com.

Proverbs 31:8-9

Partnering Together to Change Lives luncheon

Saturday, October 25, 2008, I had the opportunity to attend a fundraising luncheon for the Tronie Foundation and Northwest Family Life.

First, Northwest Family Life and the Tronie Foundation are partnering together to open a shelter to house victims of domestic violence and human trafficking. What an endeavor! As of Saturday afternoon, they needed another $10,000 by Tuesday (today) and the shelter would be theirs. I haven't heard if they reached that goal with Saturday's donations but I have been praying they did!

It will mean a shelter in the Northgate/Seattle area and will be the second shelter in Washington State geared to assist those victims rescued from human trafficking. Rani Hong told her story and shared with us the video from her and Trong's appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show (Personal aside - it was all I could do to keep from monopolizing Rani Hong after the luncheon. How much I hope to talk with her about opening a shelter in the Everett/north area!).

What an amazing undertaking this is and I am still so thrilled to see how God is moving people to rise up against this issue. In addition to now helping those rescued from human trafficking, Northwest Family Life has been helping victims of domestic violence since 1989. They are unique in a couple of ways. First, they began and continue as an organization who assists Christian families deal with domestic violence. Second, they treat not only the victims but the perpetrators as well. It was wonderful to listen to the story of a woman who turned to Northwest Family Life and because of their help is still with her husband today, their family is intact.

I also had the privilege of meeting a few more SPU students who are part of The Abolition and speak to a young woman who is heading up the Washington screening tour of The SOLD Project. We hope to make The SOLD Project one of the films in our Film Festival. More details on that event to come shortly. One of the SPU students I met, Jennifer, performed a song she had written just two days before the event. What an incredible, amazing talent she is! The song was moving and thought provoking and I look forward to hearing Jennifer again.

Next up - Linda Smith of Shared Hope International will be in the Seattle/Bellevue area November 20-23rd. Stay tuned for specifics on her visit. As soon as I have them, I'll put them here.

Also - keep November 20th on your radar. That is the day of SPU's day of fasting and prayer and prayer labryinth. I will mention it a time or two more before it arrives.

That is it for today, I believe. Remember - comments and information are welcome here!

Proverbs 31:8-9

In the Seattle PI

In today's Seattle Post Intelligencer:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/jamieson/384200_robert21.html

Proverbs 31:8-9

Constance

A powerful video. Thank you for telling us about it last night, A.






The artist is Mr. J. Medeiros.

Proverbs 31:8-9

October 20th Coalition Meeting

Tonight's Coalition meeting saw many new faces and a healthy agenda! It is tough to start something new when you only meet once a month, your "core" group isn't completely formed as yet and there is just so much that you need and want to get done. Sarah took us through a good portion of the agenda and a lot was discussed.

A couple of events were added to our list:

(1) November 20th - A day of prayer and fasting at SPU. A prayer labyrinth in Welter Hall on campus from 7:30 to 10:30 PM. They will end with a time of corporate prayer at 10PM. For more information, go to www.theabolition.org.

(2) November 7th - A Dad/Daughter Dessert (...and dance...) fundraiser will be held at NorthShore Baptist from 7PM until 9PM. Go to www.nsb.org for more information.

(3) November 20th: Details to follow - Linda Smith from Shared Hope International will be in the Bellevue/Seattle area from November 20th - November 23rd. More information to come!

As I mentioned before, a lot was discussed. That will have to come in another post, after I have had a chance to put it together cohesively.

Let me know via the comments section if you have any questions! Be sure to leave a way for me to contact you.

Be blessed.


Proverbs 31:8-9

Welcome!

If you have just recently heard about Fight4Freedom, welcome. I am very glad you're here. I thought I'd outline just a few things I hope to accomplish here and let you in on a little bit about me, too.

Human trafficking was first brought to my attention almost six years ago now. It was round-about, the way I learned of it but there is no surprise in the idea of learning about one horror in the world bringing other horrors to your attention. That's what happened with me. I was in church listening to a sermon on what happens to school girls in a country in Africa and the humiliation they are forced to endure and when I started to research that further, I stumbled across human trafficking. The vileness of it sickened me and I simply could not believe that people were actually doing this to other people. I turned everything inside of me and I had to figure out what to do about it. This sermon, by the way, happened just a few weeks after I had prayed asking God to break my heart with those things that break His heart.

For five years I spent my time reading everything I could find regarding trafficking and when I first started doing that there wasn't a whole lot offered. Now there is so much a person can feel overwhelmed. The only thing I can say to you in that regard is... don't. Please don't.

The enemy would love to have you languish there - in overwhelmed-ness (I know, it's not a word but it works here) and do absolutely nothing. Please don't allow him to paralyze you that way. Each and every person can and does make a difference in this fight to end slavery. If you feel you can't contribute "much" it is your little that tells a victim they matter and that turns your little into something huge.

This blog is a journey and I hope to eventually share authorship with others. I also hope you leave comments in the comment section of a post if it strikes a chord with you. I will ask that you keep your comments clean, honest and above all else - respectful. If someone says something you disagree with, please do not attack them. I hope people know they are welcome here and come here to find information and a good, safe place to ask questions. I also hope it serves as a place our Coalition can "meet" in between Coalition meetings.

If you live in the greater Seattle area and are interested in possibly attending an upcoming Coalition meeting, please let me know or check out the various "what's happening" posts. I will update them as often as possible. Additionally, if you know of an event that is happening, please don't hesitate to let me know. I hope to eventually set up an events page but in the meantime will update via posting.

One last thing before I close - the signature verse on every post is Proverbs 31:8-9 and those verses read:

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.

Those are my life verses.

Thank you for reading and I hope you come back often.

Blessings to you!

Proverbs 31:8-9

Local Update - Several arrested on slavery charges

A few more articles on local slavery cases.


http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/383390_slavery16.html


http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/382834_prostitution11.html



Proverbs 31:8-9

Partnering Together To Change Lives

The Tronie Foundation, in partnership with Northwest Family Life is planning on opening an office in the Northgate Mall area. Their goal is to work toward opening another shelter for rescued human trafficking victims in the not-so-distant future.

To help fund this new office, the Tronie Foundation is hosting a "Partnering Together to Change Lives" event on Saturday, October 25, 2008. It will be held at the Space Needle from 11AM until 2PM. The cost is $35 per person and that includes lunch.

Deborah Horne, reporter and producer for Kiro News Channel 7 will be Master of Ceremonies and Roni Hong, a human trafficking survivor, will be the guest speaker.

Please consider attending this event. Tickets can be purchased through The Tronie Foundation website, www.troniefoundation.org.

Blessings!

Proverbs 31:8-9

Upcoming Abolitionist Events

Sarah was so wonderful in forwarding a list of upcoming abolitionist events. I thought I would add them here:

1. Sept. 18-Nov. 20: Community Awareness Class on Human Trafficking, Thursdays, 7PM at Mill Creek Foursquare Church. Go to www.mc4square.org for directions. Classes are free. It's not too late to participate!

2. October 8-9: Not For Sale Campaign Advocacy Days in Washington, DC. For more information go to www.notforsalecampaign.org.

3. Oct. 9, 13-16: Premier of Call + Response documentary (see trailer at www.callandresponse.com) In Seattle at the Metro Theater (4500 9th Ave. NE, Seattle, 98105) - 7 & 9 PM shows. If the showing goes well, the film will be expanded to include the AMC Loew's.

4. October 16: Re.member Tour (open to the public) - presentation by Roni Hong from the Tronie Foundation. First Methodist Church (7PM) - across from Seattle Pacific University. Sponsored by the abolition, an anti-trafficking group of college students and Fi:ght (Freedom Initiative (contact: freedom-initiative@live.com) , a coaltion of local abolitionist university students. (Awesome young people, by the way!!!! I am so excited by the enthusiasm and brilliance of the young people I have been blessed to meet as I start working more and more with human trafficking. They motivate me to work harder, too!!!)

5. October 20: Western Washington Coalition Against Human Trafficking (7PM) meeting in Mill Creek, WA. If you would like more information on where this meeting will be held, please leave a comment with a contact email on this blog.

6. October 23: "Stop the Demand for Trafficking in Women & Children," a presentation by Roni Hong (trafficked survivor from the Tronie Foundation) - 7-9PM at the St. Francis of Assisi Parish Center (15236 - 21st Ave. SW - presented by the Intercommunity Peace & Justice Center. Contact www.ipjc.org - 206-223-1138; open to the public)

7. October 25: Stop Exploitation Now is holding a Celebration of Inspiration event. The information I received reads "This will be an inspiring event where we examine the work of four women including CNN Hero, Somaly Mam, who are bravely working to stop sexual slavery and implement our projects in SE Asia." Tickets are $75 each and you can get information on purchasing those tickets from their website, www.stopexploitationnow.org.

8. November 14-15 - Shared Hope International is celebrating their 10th Anniversary and is holding a "Sharing Hope Anniversary Event" in Washington, DC. Please go to www.sharedhope.org for details and to register if you are interested.

9. January, 2009 (last two weeks) - Free presentations in the Seattle area given by Jane Tafel (Hagar International Executive Director USA). If interested in setting up an appearance at your church, school or community organization, please email Jane @ Jane.Tafel@hagarinternational.org.

10. May 8-9, 2009: Unbound Conference at University Presbyterian Church (sponsored by Fi:ght). If interested, please leave a comment here (with an email contact) and someone will get in touch with you.

11. David Batstone (from the Not For Sale Campaign) & Brant Christopher Road Show - "A Backyard Abolitionist Tour" - dates and cities TBA (watch for information on http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/)

This is just some of what is happening in the Seattle area. Awareness is the first step in eradicating slavery. I pray that you and all of those around you will learn as much about human trafficking as possibe. There is someone living in slavery near you. I guarantee you that. They shouldn't have to - with God's help, we can put an end to it. We are His hands and feet.


Proverbs 31:8-9

It Happens Everywhere

So many people think trafficking happens "somewhere else" - usually overseas. It's happening here. In the United States. In Washington (and all the other 49 States, for that matter):


http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080930/NEWS01/709309872/0/ENT#Everett.man.gets.26-year.prison.term.for.pimping



Proverbs 31:8-9