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Shine Your Light Wednesdays: Cyrus International/Trafficking Hope

October 14th, 2009 — 12:00 am
Ever since we saw the movie, Taken, I’ve had a new awareness.  When I was little, I knew that people were kidnapped, and I knew that people were in slavery….but I don’t think it was real to me.  In fact, it’s a very horrid reality for many people in our world today.  To me, this just isn’t acceptable.  It just isn’t right.  I don’t understand how another human being can be so insanely cruel to another….it’s almost as if the cruel people behind these types of crimes have no heart, no blood running through their veins.  It shows the true depravity of man without Christ.  I mentioned on here a while ago that I wanted to do more research into organizations that seek to banish adult/child sex trafficking, and I’ve found many organizations, but one has stuck out to me recently.  That organization is Cyrus International, and I really want to focus on their Trafficking Hope campaign.

Cyrus International is an organization that partners with other organizations to lend support and enable them to provide relief to oppressed peoples around the world, even here in the United States, where sex trafficking of our children is at an all-time high.  Trafficking Hope seeks to make us aware of what is going on right in front of our very eyes and seeks to restore victims of sex trafficking and prostitution.  I say victims of prostitution here, because in all reality, these women and children are victims…..a lot of them have been either kidnapped or forced into this type of work, and they are the real victims.  The sad reality is, this could happen to our own children…..we may think that this only happens over in India or in Europe, but it happens right here at home.  As Linda from Shared Hope International says below in the second video, if there weren’t buyers, there wouldn’t be sellers.  The horrific and sad truth is that the buyers are ordinary men, maybe a dad, a brother, or an uncle, who are basically living a lie.  Through all of my study and thinking about this subject, I just can’t get over how someone can just label another human being with a price tag…..especially a child, of all people.  How can we sit back when we know this is going on?  I’m getting on my soapbox just a little here, because this is a topic that gets me fired up.

Here are a few statistics for you:
• 100,000 to 300,000 children in America are at risk for sex trafficking each year.1
• 12 is the average age of entry into pornography and prostitution.2
• In the U.S. , the sale of child pornography is a $3 billion annual industry; 55% of child pornography on the Internet comes from the U.S.3
(References: These were on the Trafficking Hope website; you can read more here.)
1 http://caster.ssw.upenn.edu/~restes/CSEC.htm
2 http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/ceos/prostitution.html
3 http://www.onenewsnow.com/2007/02/bill_tackles_us_child_porn_epi.php


This whole reality just sickens me.  This is a very real evil that is present in our world today.  I’m going to post a video of an interview that the founder of Shared Hope International, a partner of Trafficking Hope, did on the O’Reilly Report.  Please keep in mind that this video is not meant to offend any, but it does show images that are certainly not appropriate for young eyes and ears…..I just feel so strongly about this subject, that I have to address it….it’s not going to go away until we raise a ruckus about it.

Now that you have an idea how widespread human sex trafficking is, especially of children, you can get informed, and get involved.  If you feel God is tugging at your heart, please research this subject out….you can find articles, videos, and more information on Trafficking Hope.  You can also contact them to see how you can get involved in their outreaches or even in supporting their efforts.  

To participate in Shine Your Light Wednesdays, read this first…..then post on your blog about a ministry/outreach/volunteer opportunity that you have come across, OR you can even share about this post on your blog, so that we can spread the word!  Make sure to link back to Real Heart Prints, and come back and sign Mr. Linky with your authentic post link below.  Have a great day! 
   


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Shine Your Light Wednesdays: LemonAid For Haiti/Elsie Lherisson

October 7th, 2009 — 12:00 am

Real Heart Prints

Welcome to the first installment of Shine Your Light Wednesdays!


This week, I chose to highlight a ministry out of both Brooklyn, New York and Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Lemonaid for Haiti was started by Paige Strackman’s children. Paige is a Christian recording artist, who used to sing with the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, and she is married to Billy Strackman, who was born in Haiti. This ministry is very dear to this family’s hearts. Their kids, Chedera, Christopher, and Conner, have been working all summer to sell lemonade, raising money for Elsie Lherisson’s ministry in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. They had a goal this summer to raise enough money to send 1,000 pounds of food to Elsie’s ministry; they were actually able to purchase 1,785 pounds of food! It is amazing how God works. They plan to have a Gospel Benefit Concert at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City this coming February.

I actually had the privilege of hearing Elsie speak at the Brooklyn Tabernacle the summer before last (where I also first heard Paige sing). (Elsie is on the left). To listen to Elsie’s story of how God saved her and called her to go to Haiti was just an experience I will never forget. Elsie worked to start the Caribbean Grace Children’s Feeding Program in 1996 and feeds 600-700 hungry children twice a week in her ministry in Haiti. Elsie has said that when she doesn’t have enough food for all of the children, she has to pick which ones are fed that day…..I can’t imagine not being able to feed my children; even here in the States there are programs to help those less fortunate, but in Haiti, these programs are non-existent, according to Elsie in a report that the New York Daily News did on the kids’ fund-raising.
Here are a few facts to think about:
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
Over 50% of Haitians live on less than $1 a day.
Fewer than 75% of children attend school.
It only takes $5,000 a month to feed 600-700 children and provide them with a nutritious meal.
Not only does the Caribbean Grace Children’s Feeding Program feed these kids, but it also has a scholarship program in place to help pay for uniforms, school supplies, and tuition, so that children can attend school. It helps not only those entering their first years of school, but those entering universities and trade schools, as well.
If you feel God tugging on your heart, seek Him out; get involved! You can pray for this ministry, or you can donate to try and provide the funds that Elsie needs to give these kids good meals. You can click on the Donate button, and it will take you to the donation page that Paige has set up for this program.


You can also help spread the word about this ministry by taking the Lemonade for Haiti button code below and posting it on your blog. Let others know, so that together, we can shine our light! (Matthew 5:14-16)
LemonAid For Haiti
Shine your light by highlighting a specific ministry or volunteer opportunity that is dear to your heart or one that you’ve just learned about; or even share ideas on how to support those in ministry/volunteers….link up with Mr. Linky below! Please be sure to only put your authentic link to your Shine Your Light post in Mr. Linky, though….and be sure to grab the button for this meme (located on my sidebar). Also make sure to link back to Real Heart Prints in your post.

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Daybook for Monday, October 5, 2009

October 5th, 2009 — 12:11 am
FOR TODAY. Monday, October 5, 2009…
Outside my window…it is dark.
I am thinking…that I’m so tired, and I have to get up so early in the morning….(I’m doing this at midnight). What am I thinking?
I am thankful for…family and good times together.
From the learning rooms…this week, we are studying about South American ancient history, and I think we start studying about Rome this week. Math is going great! Jacob is slowly learning his facts over again, and it’s clicking with him so far.
From the kitchen…will be something, not sure yet, but I do know that we’re definitely stopping for Jack in the Box tomorrow. Yea!!! Love their tacos!
I am wearing…jammies and robe for a few more minutes.
I am creating…new memes on my blog, Shine Your Light Wednesdays and Time Out Tuesdays.:)
I am going…to St. Louis for an eye appointment.
I am reading…a book from a different genre than I usually read, but it’s for a review….Haunt of Jackals.
I am hoping…to get, at least, a little sleep tonight.
I am hearing…silence, since the kiddos are sleeping in their beds.
Around the house…have to catch up on laundry and dust, vacuum, and mop sometime.
One of my favorite things…is getting together with family that I haven’t seen in a long time and the memories that it brings, even though those memories may break my heart sometimes….I just miss the old days and all the good times we had, and I long for that time and the people I love who are gone, like I’m homesick for them.
A few plans for the rest of the week: Well, here goes: Eye appointment in St Louis; school; Jacob to Tae Kwon Do, and he tests this week for his blue belt; Jacob to soccer practice and game; errands/library; writing assignments/reviews/MamaBuzz work; church/choir stuff; chili dinner with Dan’s Wed class on Fri; etc…..Ok, now I’m tired just looking at my calendars.:)LOL
Here is a picture for thought I am sharing…This is our niece, Callie. Isn’t she beautiful?:)
For more Daybook, link up with The Simple Woman.

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Shine Your Light Wednesdays

October 3rd, 2009 — 10:12 pm

Real Heart Prints
Shine Your Light Wednesdays will be starting soon here on Real Heart Prints. My hope in starting this series is to inspire you to reach out and lend a hand….whether it be here at home or far away…..Our pastor at church has been preaching a series on Razing Hell (Raze here means to destroy). We, as Christians, have to destroy the devil’s strongholds in our own communities, and in order to do that, we have to take a stand and reach out and serve and shine our lights stronger than we ever have before…..this is my way of “Razing Hell.”

Shine Your Light Wednesdays is going to be about ministry, volunteer opportunities, etc. Every week I will feature a different missionary, ministry, or volunteer opportunity and just write about what they do, where they are at, and how we can help. At the end of each post will be a Mr. Linky, so that readers from all over can either discuss the feature and share their post link, or they can share another ministry/volunteer opportunity. If we spread the word, think of how many lives this could change.:)

If you are a missionary or are involved in a ministry, and you would like to see it featured here, please contact me, and we will get a date set up. My hope is just to inspire readers from all over the U.S. and around the world to “shine their light.” After all, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven”- Matthew 5:14.

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