Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed”

Nothing makes me feel more desperate than knowing that there are precious women out walking 82^nd Avenue because they are forced to be there, or don’t see another solution to providing for their family.

Construction is underway on the donated space but our wonderful supporters aren't sitting back and waiting to minister to at-risk girls.  Adorned In Grace and 76 gifted volunteers hosted their second annual Dress for FREEdom on Saturday, April 13, 2013 in Portland, Oregon. 

It was the spring of 1948. A simple double-deck farmhouse dressed in weather-worn red, sat proudly on a plot of rich dirt. The green hills around it seemed to roll, and the house in their midst was used for hard workers - laborers who tilled, planted, and weren't afraid to get their skin dirty. They had a plan. They understood a crop would rise up from their sweet-soil in a few months, because they lived by a law that had always stood trustworthy: you reap what you sow. "The farmer knows just what to do, for God has given him understanding." (Isaiah 28:26 NLT).

The movement to abolish modern day slavery requires help from all people, but there is one group that holds a unique and very powerful role that is instrumental to stopping human trafficking. 

Men. 

“The question is not whether or not we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be….the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists” -Martin Luther King Jr.

Some people think prayer can be a waste of time. Some don't do it anymore because they believe God isn't listening. Or that human trafficking has become such an overwhelming evil that prayer cannot even touch it - let alone affect anyone involved, on a personal level.

As a kid, I (not so) fondly remember going to sleepovers at a friend’s house and someone suggesting we watch a scary movie. These nights usually ended up with me lying on the floor, paralyzed in fear and unable to sleep. I hated it, those moments when your imagination runs wild, which typically resulted in my mind replaying the horrific scenes I had witnessed and extrapolating them to something much worse. Yet for some reason, at the next sleepover, the same thing happened. Then at the next, and, again, the next.  

In September, the Adorned in Grace Design Studio began a weekly after-school workshop for girls. In the past year, Adorned in Grace has held a number of special events that have attracted more than 50 girls, and these workshops, in addition to newly established monthly, all-day workshops, give these girls another place to go for guidance, mentorship, and a chance to creatively express themselves. 

As a freedom fighter in Portland, I’ve felt like a lone ranger. My group, Stop Child Trafficking Now (SCTNow), has many partners, but none I considered true allies here in Portland…until recently. Many share the common goal of eliminating the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC). I never considered how I could truly partner with any of them until Connect PDX was formed.  Dione Katelhut of the Junior League of Portland made sure I was invited, and what an honor it was. Over 70 organizations gathered to do exactly what was intended: CONNECT.

For many of us, the life that we lead falls short of our dreams for things that could be, but for many the dream of holding a loved one just one more time trumps all others.

According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, in the United States 800,000 children are reported missing each year, an average of 2000 per day.

Included in this number are 58,000 children taken by non-family members whose intent is sexual exploitation and vandalizing the innocence of a child.

“Pornland, Oregon: Child Prostitution in Portland” proclaims the headline to Dan Rather’s report, detailing months of research into child prostitution,  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-rather/pornland-oregon-child-pro_b_580035.html. Rather describes scenarios individuals, safely wandering the internet or reading through a newspaper, would view with skepticism or perhaps completely ignore in favor of news about a Hollywood scandal or political hopeful.  The article defines the financial benefits and moral depravity involved in child trafficking and how it occurs in the very communities where most people want to relocate.

The sins of the father…

      When I was very young, my father stole my innocence, causing me to live in a world of darkness, loneliness and despair. I do not recall a time when I was not sexually abused. My father repeatedly violated me. Others also abused me, including a friend’s uncle. A great step-grandfather would not keep his hands off me as I unknowingly tried to sit on his lap. A neighbor boy lured me into his house, pulled out a knife, blindfolded me and proceeded to molest me on his kitchen counter.

How can ex-felons and ex-addicts stay clean? What will help them move forward in life? Is there any program that can make a difference? John Shepherd, founder and president of M25 Ventures, believes these captives can be set free, even when our society wants to keep them chained down. The answer, for him, is found in building God-honoring, productive lives.

Chuck Swindoll said:

 In vain I have searched the Bible, looking for examples of early believers whose lives were marked by rigidity, predictability, inhibition, dullness and caution. Fortunately, grim, frowning, joyless saints in Scriptures are conspicuous by their absence. Instead, the examples I find are of adventurous, risk-taking, enthusiastic and authentic believers, whose joy was contagious, even in times of full trial. Their vision was broad, even when death drew near. Rules were few and changes were welcome. The contrast between then and now is staggering.

First, thank you to each and every person who took the time to pray through this time of rescuing this young woman, enslaved in the sex industry. It could not have been done without each one of you and I am so grateful for the outpouring of love.