Great news, Google just gave $11.5 million dollars to help fight human trafficking.

Read about it here: ARTICLE

Somebody's Baby by Jon Foreman

Listen to the song HERE.

Moving Forward

a quick update, I spoke with Joel (the principal of the school we'll be volunteering with) last night via Skype and--I am very excited :) We talked a bit about what Mackenzie and I will be doing and just practical things. And the hot weather. And we met his two cute little kids! Turns out there is *a lot* that needs to be done, and once we get there we can fill the roles that we feel fit us the best. There are also some really cool graphic design projects that they are in the process of doing right now. One is a documentary ! about how kids are growing up in the area--how things really are. Another is helping with the layout of a new Social Studies textbook that is coming from a Christian perspective. !! Wow.

a few prayer requests:
1. Joel mentioned they are currently using Microsoft Publisher for the textbook project -- any designers with me here are allowed to gasp. He said other software would be a Godsend.

2. Joel and family are currently in the states. Pray for safe travel for them and a blessed time with family under the circumstances (a funeral).

3. Mackenzie turns 21 on Jan. 7th, which means her license expires. She will be issued a paper license but will not receive her hard copy until a week after we've already left. I'm not sure how this will work regarding getting back into the U.S. or logistics in that, because I'm sure the paper one will expire. We could mail the hard copy, but what if it never arrives? Anyway, prayers for that appreciated. I'm a little fuzzy on rules for this.

4. Of course, pray for the trafficking situation in the world and specifically Chiang Mai Thailand. Pray for the kids enrolled at the school, that it is an opportunity for them to receive an education they otherwise would not have. Pray for the school and the teachers to be fruitful.

We're moving forward, mostly because time keeps ticking :) We're excited.

-MERRY CHRISTMAS-
God Bless you.

All things

I am constantly at awe in the ways that God works through our lives / my life. Right now I can look back on my life of even just a year ago and see vast differences in the way that I process information and I sit back and feel like this old, silver-haired oracle of a woman who says to herself "ah, yes, God works all things toward good".

God is preparing me whether I know it or not, and I'm not just talking about this trip to Thailand, I am talking about life.

All I Need by Radiohead

Human Trafficking in Nebraska -- Interim Study Hearing

Today there was a hearing held at the Nebraska Capitol. It was an interim study that was being conducted in order for the senators in the judiciary committee to find out exactly how big of a problem human trafficking is in our state.

Let me add here that it has been a huge learning experience for me to have been involved this past year in following the human trafficking bills in Nebraska. A year ago I would've read that first paragraph and said "huh??" Here's an easy to understand graph of how a bill becomes a law. If you've looked that over, what it DOESN'T say is what an interim study is. An interim study takes place if the bill does *not* move out of the committee (picture #3). (There are many committees with different topics, such as education, agriculture, revenue, etc.)If the committee deems the problem is important they will study the issue in between sessions. See, the senators in the Legislature are in session from January-February of each year, in between times they have other full time jobs and study the bills. They have a hearing regarding the topic, and the human trafficking one occurred today! Following? If not, maybe just call me, it would be easier to understand if I talked you through it. Also, I do have a limited knowledge, I may've misstated something above, just for the record :)

There were two bills that were regarding human trafficking in Nebraska last legislative session. One was about escort services (which are essentially underground prostitution and human trafficking rings), the other was about strengthening our human trafficking laws. When presented to the committee, the senators were very surprised, they did not realize--like many of us--that human trafficking was a problem in Nebraska. They decided, rather than move the bills on, to study the topic in order to craft another bill that would be more encompassing. Hopefully the bill will address concerns such as: strengthening our human trafficking laws, regulate escort services, make the punishment higher for men soliciting sex with minors (currently it is a misdemeanor), give more education to law enforcement and provide safe homes/beds for women who want to escape/have escaped with no place to go.

----LINK--->HERE IS AN ARTICLE ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED TODAY!!
It is accurate and I recommend that you read it--there were many informed people who presented at the hearing today.

The notes I took at the hearing were rather scattered, but here are some thoughts/things that I wrote down.

One thing I was astounded by was that men (primarily, but also women) who are engaging in sex with a minor are usually charged with "pandering" which is a class 4 felony--the lowest class to be charged. This means that they are essentially charged with a misdemeanor and given a fine (this year a man was charged $350, as quoted by Casady in the article). When the fine is paid, the misdemeanor goes off your record--a slap on the hand! Your wife, boss, friends don't find out--it's easy. This is why we need to strengthen our laws.

Here is another quote by Casady, directly from the article:

Lincoln Public Safety Director Tom Casady said most people who are trafficked are exploited because they have mental illness, are poor or drug addicted. A couple of years ago, he examined the histories of 10 prostitutes and found they had a combined record of 105 runaways, 44 child abuse reports and 35 sex assaults all before age 19.

My question is what are we doing to help these girls *before* this happens? It is a breakdown in the family. We need to stand together and be watchmen for the children--we live in such a broken society, but we cannot give up! As Christians, we are carriers of LIGHT and are called to bring light to the world through Jesus Christ because of his sacrifice.

I am reading a book called Mending the Soul: understanding and healing abuse. I am not very far, so I am wary of recommending it, but I'll let you know my thoughts once I finish (not that you should take my opinion..). Here are few questions to ask (pg 22):

-Why are adult female prostitutes three to four times more likely than nonprostitutes to have been physically or sexually abused in childhood?

-Why is it that women who have been abused during childhood are significantly more likely to be revictimized in adulthood?

-Why is it that 50 to 70 percent of psychiatric inpatients and 70 percent of all psychiatric emergency room patients report a history of childhood physical or sexual abuse?

Tough questions. I've been wrestling with them ever since I read that page.

One last quote:

Nebraska and Iowa are among 41 states and the District of Columbia that lack strong laws to punish the perpetrators and protect the victims of child sex trafficking, according to a new national report.

The report, released last week by the advocacy group Shared Hope International, gave Nebraska a grade of F and Iowa a D. Ten states received higher grades, including four that received B's: Illinois, Missouri, Texas and Washington. No state received an A. http://www.omaha.com/article/20111204/NEWS97/712049881

Please continue to pray for Nebraska to be SLAVE FREE. Pray for the victims AND the perpetrators AND the Senators involved in drafting the bills (specifically Senator McGill). Pray that the Holy Spirit would help them to draft a bill that will confront the issues of human trafficking in Nebraska head on.

One big concern that was brought up at the hearing is nobody seems to know how big or widespread the problem is. We suspect this is simply the tip of the iceberg. It is difficult to draft a bill with out having empirical data. Pray that the Holy Spirit would lead and reveal information.