Well, it’s the final day of our very first 31 Days Of Freedom campaign and I am sitting here just blown away by what has been accomplished. What a Twitter campaign! Thank you to all of our artist and author friends who helped us get the word out: Max Lucado, Mandisa, Nancy Alcorn, Matthew West, Mac Powell, Pete Wilson, Mark Hall, Bart Millard, Meredith Andrews, Brandon Heath, Michael Hyatt, 10th Avenue North, Mike’s Chair, Taylor York of Paramore, Philip Larue, Audrey Assad, Matt Maher, Bebo Norman, Fireflight, Christine Caine, Jack Mooring from Leeland, Bethany Dillon, Wynona, TobyMac, Sheila Walsh, Michael W Smith, Louie Giglio, Britt Nicole, Phil Wickham, Francesca Battistelli, Johnny Diaz and Hawk Nelson. WOW! And there were many more who tweeted and retweeted, and to all of you who did the same….thank you! These little tweets went a long way in educating and bringing awareness, not only to the problem of slavery that still exists around the world, but the reality that it may be happening right across your street.
So where do we go from here? The Home Foundation is focusing heavily on restoration. As a Christ-centered organization, we believe that’s what the church does best: restoring the broken. The United States has a serious problem with sex-trafficking. Atlanta, GA is on a world stage. Not only are they the worst city in America for sexual slavery, they are the 13th worst in the WORLD. This is happening all around us, yet  i can’t even count the number of faith-based shelters on 2 hands. We plan on changing that.
Through partnerships with major cities across the US and our Christian Trafficking Shelters Association, we plan on building shelters that will not only provide safety, but will treat the body, mind and soul. But we need funding. We are DESPERATE for funding. And every dollar helps. So do what you can. Some can give $10. Some can give $10,000. Just please give something. In doing so, you will be supporting something that has always been on God’s heart. Justice.
Psalm 140:12
I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy.
Proverbs 28:5
Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand it fully.
Isaiah 1:17
Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed.
Micah 6:8
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

To make a donation, please visit the home page of www.thehomefoundation.net and click on “Make A Difference” on the left hand side of the page. Thank you for making 31 Days Of Freedom such a success. But now we must move beyond just 31 days. We must make justice a lifestyle so that we can bring forever freedom, even if just for one.

Thank you for whatever you are able to give. May it be multiplied for the sake of freedom, in Jesus name.

Love,
Natalie

Isaiah 30:18
The LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice.

He carved her face with a potato peeler to mark her as his.

Her mom sold her to more than 100 men, so she could buy drugs. Her dad didn’t know until police called to tell him they had arrested his baby.

Her captor kept her chained under a bed in a basement. She was too weak to make a sound when law enforcement searched the basement the first time they got a tip about a line of men parading in and out of the house. Thankfully, the second time, one of them heard just enough of a whisper to find her.

These are only a few of the horror stories I’ve heard since learning that U.S. children are being trafficked right under our noses.

Surely these stories can’t be true. Not in America. Not in a Christian country. But, the statistics make it impossible to deny the hideous truth:

• An estimated 100,000-300,000 U.S. children are at risk each year.
• 1 out of 3 children are forced into this vicious crime within 48 hours of becoming homeless.
• The average age they’re forced into it is 12-13.
  

And the one that grabs my heart the most? Their average life expectancy after being forced into this traumatic life is 7 years.

7 years.

Each hour that ticks by, their chances of survival decreases as they are beaten, raped repeatedly, forced to act out gonzo pornography, starved, put under the knife for a botched abortion, given sexually transmitted diseases….

In fact, as you read this, there are children, possibly in a short mile radius of you, living what you’re reading.

Their silent cries are grieving God’s heart. Are they grieving ours?

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.

Isaiah 61:1b

Deena Graves

Traffick911, Dallas TX

Our Orphans

For a long time I was clueless about the orphans in our midst. When I would read passages like Deuteronomy 10:18 which says that the Lord “…defends the cause of the fatherless …”, or Deuteronomy 27:19 which states, “Cursed is the man who withholds justice from the alien, the fatherless or the widow”, I would ignorantly think how fortunate we are to not have any orphans in our society. In my naivety, I reasoned that if there was any child that didn’t have parents, the local children’s services organization was there to have them properly placed into foster care, or rarely into a group home. I was oblivious to the fact that each year, hundreds of thousands of young people run away from abusive homes. I had no knowledge that each year, thousands of children living in poorly run foster homes are abused, sexually assaulted, and left with little choice but to go to the streets to survive. I was completely unaware of the fact that there are between 100,000 and 300,000 children under the age of 18 here in the United States that are being used in commercial sex and therefore are victims of domestic minor sex trafficking. Yes, we do have orphans in our midst…thousands of them. And God is calling us to be His hands and His feet to help these fatherless that are all around us.

That’s why the Home Foundation, in part through the Christian Trafficking Shelter Association is beginning to draw together groups from across the country that are being raised up by the Lord to defend the cause of these abused orphans. Shelters in various stages of development are networking together to help each other learn how to minister to these orphans and most importantly, to bring them into relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. God truly does defend the cause of the fatherless, and is doing it through the Christian Trafficking Shelter Association!

Jeffrey J. Barrows, D.O., M.A. (Bioethics)

Health Consultant, Human Trafficking
Christian Medical Association
Founder & Executive Director, Gracehaven
Director, Christian Trafficking Shelter Assoc
jbarrows@gracehavenhouse.org

http://www.gracehavenhouse.org

Freedom isn’t free. It isn’t an entitlement, automatic or a “given”. It comes with a price, at a cost, and always has.
People have given their lives for freedom. In some cases the price for freedom is different than what initially comes to mind .
In history, we have often been able to identify those without freedom visibly by their race or by the shackles around their ankles. But that is no longer the case.
Today, there are people in our own country who are bound by invisible chains. They suffer in silence, longing to be free.
As Americans, we don’t like to acknowledge that we have American citizens living right here in our very own country that are modern day slaves! But it’s true and it’s an epidemic.
There was a time when I wasn’t free and I thought I was the only one!  When I finally found the courage to break my silence and let go of the rope both physically and mentally,  I found a new kind of freedom.
I found that freedom is not only physical, it is also deep within. Man can give us external freedom, but only God can truly set us free!
John 8:36 says “so if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed”.
My thoughts at this time of year, when we are enjoying fireworks and fun and family, is a prayer that others will be released from the bondage of slavery (mentally and physically) and know the gift He has given us. The price He paid, for our freedom!

Theresa Flores
Human trafficking Survivor
Author of The Slave Across the Street
And Director of Awareness and Training of Gracehaven.

How does 31 Days affect me?

I love going to the movies. In my crazy world, i love to take an afternoon and go to a matinee. Sometimes, it’s an escape. Other times it’s just to relax. Or maybe I’m on a sweet date with my hubby. Whatever the reason, I love to watch a movie.
As I think about many of the victims of human trafficking, they must feel as though they are in their own personal horror movie. But they never asked to be the star of this show, and they wonder if the horror will ever end. I wonder where they escape to in their minds. As the unthinkable is happening to them day after day, night after night, they must escape in their minds just to survive. What kind of story might they be writing? What fairytales do they dream in order to escape the horrors of their realities? Oh how I wish I could reach in to every dark room, every cage and every dark corner of despair and whisper, “you are not alone. Someone is writing your story. And He has the final word in your life.”
This month, I will be giving up my movie habit. No more cinemas, redbox or Comcast OnDemand. I will give the money my husband and I would have spent on our movie tickets and movie snacks to The Home Foundation’s domestic shelters program. It’s a small sacrifice, but I pray that God will multiply the effort. And I have also committed to pray every day for freedom. I will pray for the oppressed for 10 minutes every day for 31 days, and that God will “Let justice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream”. (Amos 5:24.)

Join me. What will you give up?

This is ALL for freedom,

Natalie Grant

The Affero Project is a grassroots online community of global justice advocates who join together to give small change every month and vote to decide where the money goes.  It’s simple… You Give, You Vote, You Decide.  The Home Foundation is partnering with the Affero Project and is the organization listed as representing the human trafficking category.  Please check it out and support our partners! http://afferoproject.com/

Affero Project Launch Video from afferoproject on Vimeo.