This is the reason we are spending the next 19 hours in worship and in prayer, it is for them. We believe that through our prayers not only will God burden our hears for these men and women, but also that He will convict the men and free the women. There are people gathering all across the country tonight praying against the sex trafficking that is happening during this years superbowl and there are many others who are fighting to see it stopped by arresting perpetrators and rescuing women.

This event has only been going for 5 hours and there is a sense that things are already breaking. Acts 16 talks about Paul and Silas in prison. As they worshiped their chains were broken off and the prison doors were opened. But, not only did their chains break, all the chains broke off of all the prisoners in the jail that night. As we worship and pray though the night our desire and Gods is that women would be rescued and perpetrators would be taken down. We are grateful that as we pray in the warmth of a building there are others fighting in the cold to see this stop as well.

At the beginning of the day I checked the Indianapolis Backpage site and there were 49 girls listed for sex. Now, 14 hours later there are 149, and that is only for Friday. We believe that our worship and prayer for these women and men is not in vain, it is breaking chains and setting people free.

Please continue to pray for the 30 million slaves currently living in chains and for their captors that freedom would come to both.

Last year we spent time in Cambodia with our good friends Wade and Erica from New Zealand. The trip went so well that we are going to make it an anual thing where we partner together for a life changing time in Cambodia. Steps of Justice will be setting up all the local ministries that we are partnering with, such as Hagar, Daughters, World VIsion, IJM, House of Rainbow love and the Children at Risk Ministry. We will also be building a house for a family who is living in desperate poverty. You can read more about this on our last post.

We are only able to bring 25 people with in June so if you are interested here is some information you will need.

Location:
Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Dates:
18 – 27  June 2012

Price:
$750 including ground fees + flights

Ground fees include meals, accommodation, transportation, visas, city tour, staff and outreach supplies.

Application Process:
1.  Fill out an application form (you can either print one here or fill out our online form, both are the same), and send it in along with a $75 USD application fee to confirm your place in the team to :                                              2106 N. 88th, Seattle, WA 98103

2.  Book your own flights to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, or get in touch with our snazzy travel agent Carol for assistance. You will need to arrive in Cambodia on Sunday 17 June / morning of Monday 18 June, and depart on Thursday 28 June unless prior arraignments are made.
3. Print an authorisation form, fill it out and post it back to us.
4.  The $675 USD balance of your fees is due no later than 10 May, 2012.

For more information:
Please download the 2012 Cambodia Outreach Manual…

Looking forward to having you with us, please contact Phil Cunningham for more info.

 Photo by Vanessa Hadford

We walk past these issues of brokenness, favoring ignorance over compassion. We often think, “If I stop, what will happen to me?” But if we do not stop, we fail to realize the empowering, restorative and transformational stories of others.

When my grandfather, Lt. Colonel Check Yee, was in ministry with the Salvation Army in China, he would often send me photos and stories of the people he served in the rural villages. Despite living in a broken society where food was scarce and the government had no concerns for its people, children were freely playing, women were chatting and laughing and men were engaging over a cup of tea.

I remember his photos were so vivid—they captured expressions of dignity and portrayed stories of hope. These stories, however, were also infused with issues my young mind could never comprehend. Oppression, imprisonment and affliction were so foreign to my carefree childhood life. I remember when I was 12, I received a photograph from my grandfather of a little girl from the village in rural China. She was around the same age as I was; she was shy, timid and quiet looking. My grandfather titled this photo, “She reminds me of you.”
It wasn’t until now, 10 years later, that I am faced with the haunting realization that this little girl could have been me.

A single image can say so much about an individual. I’ve been a witness to countless images that portray the “third world” as a place of despair. For too long, images have been used to capitalize on individuals, families and cultures. Worth has been shattered and dignity broken.
My goal as a humanitarian photographer and filmmaker is to not exploit, but to leverage stories that empower, restore and transform. I strongly believe that storytelling through imagery must disseminate truth with dignity.

From documenting a widow with leprosy in the jungles of Vietnam to seeing the plight of the homeless in the backyards of Los Angeles, I have been privileged to be a part of the lives of those who, in the midst of brokenness, can regain their sense of dignity. I wanted to highlight similar stories by producing a documentary film and portrait book series, While Women Weep. The first in the series was filmed in Kenya.

After filming for a month, I was challenged by these extraordinary women’s stories of empowerment. I learned how they have risen above circumstances and, despite adversity, are impacting others.

During the film editing process, I came across repulsing research: The majority of women who live in extreme poverty lack essential resources and the critical education needed to survive. Young girls struggle to feed their families, afford rent and pay for their education. Given such limited opportunities, many young girls feel they have no other option but to enter prostitution to pay for daily living expenses. Rape is too common—especially among Kenya’s poor and vulnerable schoolgirls.

The Nairobi Women’s Hospital estimates a woman is raped every 30 minutes.

According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, annually, more than 13,000 girls are kicked out of school for being pregnant. Rape victims are often forced to leave their homes, left to fend for themselves and raise their children alone. Because young girls have little financial means, unplanned pregnancies often lead to abortions. Many girls find ways to self-induce abortion; methods include chlorine intoxication, overdosing on birth control pills or using knitting needles and metal wires. According to the Guttmacher Institute, the dangers of a self–induced abortion are revolting: in Eastern Africa (2003), one in five maternal deaths were due to unsafe abortions.
As I was learning more about the plight of women in Africa, my good friend in Kenya sent me a message about her classmate, Eunice, who was the same age as me. As a young, unemployed single mother living in abject poverty, Eunice’s primary goal was to continue her education at Kenya Polytechnic University.

Despite the turmoil Eunice was facing as a rape victim, she was still striving to better herself through education. Eunice needed an opportunity to continue her studies to pursue her goal of becoming a psychological counselor for girls who have been victims of rape. I was so moved by her story that I immediately sent her $350 to pay for her term’s school fees. Through this single opportunity of a scholarship, she rose to the very top of her class and is an example for other women who have been sexually abused. Her success was so compelling that I thought about the millions of other girls worldwide who are also in need of the same opportunities.
In Kenya, I witnessed the pain and agony of countless people living in poverty. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t walk away. God was tugging at my heart, challenging me to be a voice for those who are silenced by oppression. I then heard the voice of God asking me, “Nikole, now that you have seen the brokenness of women in Africa, what are you going to do about it?”
Through Eunice’s story, I was liberated from my own selfishness. As God was challenging my heart, I felt called to start an organization to provide spiritual, educational and economic empowerment for girls worldwide. I thought that maybe, God was calling me to be a part of something greater—a part of stories that could change not only my life, but the lives of so many other women who are vulnerable to sexual abuse.
Then, Freely in Hope developed.

Our programs aim to provide for women like Eunice who are in need of sustainable opportunities to break out of the vicious cycle of poverty.

Through this process of working to advocate for those in oppression, God has been conforming my heart to feel the joys and pains of His. Daily, I hear stories of suffering, despair and brokenness. I meet people who are crying desperately for help. It breaks my heart knowing there are so many others who have not yet felt the embrace of God’s love and compassion. I only hope to fulfill God’s purpose for me by being an activator of His love and compassion by leveraging stories of dignity through the ministry of Freely in Hope.

Daily, as I bring my own brokenness to Christ,
He completes me with stories that restore.

In Luke 4:18–19, Jesus states His mission: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

As I strive to execute this mission, the Lord is challenging me to break down barriers of ignorance to proactively initiate love and compassion toward those in desperate circumstances. There, in my brokenness is where I have been transformed.
There is beauty in the broken.

I am excited to see and hear where God takes Nikole and Freely In Hope. Take some time to drop by their site and like them on Facebook.

* Learn about the problem of human trafficking in the state of Indiana and around the world.

* Engage with other believers in prayer and worship to see victims of human trafficking set free and restored.

* Hear God speak to us on how we can take action to stop the injustice of human trafficking.

The 24-hour event will be broken into two hour segments with each segment having a particular focus such as prevention, victim care, or the justice system.

If you are around the area feel free to join us in prayer and worship for a few hours or the whole time!

If you cannot attend in person, we invite you to join us in prayer from wherever you are. Here is the schedule of events:

February 3
7pm – 9pm Prevention
9pm – 11pm Victims
11pm – 1am Justice
1am – 3am Mobilization
3am – 5am Prevention
5am – 7am Victims
7am – 9am Justice
9am – 11am Mobilization
11am – 1pm Prevention
1pm – 3pm Victims
3pm – 5pm Justice
5pm – 7pm Mobilization

Here are a few links that talk about the issue from local news agencies around Indiana
- Trafficking and the big game

- Colt Player fighting trafficking

- The authorities cracking down on trafficking 

Check out the Facebook page.

January is Human Trafficking awareness month. There are approx. 30 million slaves in our world today, more than any other time in history. Many of us don’t realize this is happening, mostly because it is not in front of our faces every day. Well, the horror is that 1.2 million children are trafficked each year, some literally right in front of our noses.

Last year I shot this video of a girl being sold at the Tijuana/USA border, on the Mexico side. Watch the girl in the white on the left and the men who are with her. The video is shot out of my car as I waited in line. Human trafficking does very much exist.