A Change of Seasons...

Conference season has ended and autumn brings a whole new feel to this IJM internship. 

This summer flew by and I still can’t believe we are nearly half-way through September! Summer Madness, New Horizon and Bangor Worldwide were all really wonderful in different ways. 

New Horizon was very different from Summer Madness and honestly much different than any conference I have ever been to. My experience of Christian conferences has been limited to those specifically for youth or for women. New Horizon is a whole new ball game. Everyone welcome and there are tons of things for each group to be doing at all times. From games to seminars, it felt like there was never a dull moment. Which was a bit overwhelming for me at first. However, as the week went on, I could really see the value in gathering such a large number of people to recharge a bit together and be encouraged by what other Christians are doing in Northern Ireland and around the world.

Our IJM stand was in the main exhibition area, which led into the main tent for the morning and evening services. We had great conversations with people as they passed by and over 80 people signed Advocacy Cards for our Government Relations Campaign against Police Abuse of Power in Kenya! You can learn more about this and sign a card here. (You can also feel free to admire this Post Box, above, that I made for everyone to put their cards into.) New Horizon was a completely new experience for me, and I was really glad to be part of the week as an IJM representative.

We were also at Bangor Worldwide a couple of weeks ago. This is a conference entirely based around mission! IJM was one of over 80 missions represented in the exhibition area, so as you can imagine, I was once again a bit overwhelmed! Just being in the room with so many stands and people who represented these missions that God has called them to felt really powerful. It was a real reminder that although I am so passionate about IJM and issues of injustice and truly feel that God is calling me to a mission of justice, God has designed each of us so uniquely and has a different call for everyone. We made a few great connections during the week of Worldwide and I am excited to see these strengthen over time. 

Now conference season is over and we are in the midst of beginning the months of Autumn. Autumn brings great things for us at IJM UK. So many speaking engagements, meetings and events to organize. It is a really exciting time and one that requires great patience and prayer. Please be praying for our team as we will be extremely busy over the next few months. 

One specific thing you can be praying for is the Sara Groves UK tour! This is a great opportunity for IJM UK, as Sara has supported IJM for several years through her music. As part of this, she writes an IJM song for every album - one that will keep the message of the organisation in front of people. For an example of the beautiful music Sara makes, watch IJM's 15 year anniversary video with the soundtrack of the song, 'Add to the Beauty'. We are so looking forward to this time with Sara, so please be praying for these events!

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Summer Madness and Aaron Weiss

Well friends, if you live in Northern Ireland, chances are you will have heard about Summer Madness. Each summer thousands of young people gather for this Christian festival to hear different speakers, camp out together, attend seminars, worship together, and just have a lot of fun. At least this is what I gathered from my first experience of Summer Madness a few weeks ago!

Ruth and I had a stand at SM and held a seminar called “Life After No More Traffik.” Our stand was in the Urban Saints tent (thanks for sharing, guys!), which was also a café and a concert venue. A lot going on in our tent! YWAM was also with us in the tent and it was really lovely to meet some fellow Americans that are serving with YWAM in Rostrevor. Anywho…

We were really proud of our stand, which you can see here. Ruth did a great job while I was in the States getting everything ready for this. Loved the cardboard idea! So simple but it looked awesome. We wanted to tell people Mien’s story and take them along her journey through the board. (To read Mien’s story for yourself, click here.) Since it began, IJM has rescued thousands of victims, so we have loads of stories of hope to share with everyone. We printed several stories on the back of photo cards and asked people to take a card, pray for that specific person and pray for others like them who are still waiting to be rescued. Our goal was to have 200 people take these cards and we met that goal!

Ruth and I had some really incredible conversations with young people and youth leaders over the weekend at SM, both at the stand and as a result of our seminar on the Monday. About 50 people attended “Life After No More Traffik” and we held four discussion groups which were led by Ruth, Evangelical Alliance, Belfast Abolition Collective, and Craigavon Stop the Traffik Act Group. The aim of our seminar was to push beyond simple facts and awareness and into action. Each discussion group led by the various representatives focused on different ways to act against the injustice of human trafficking such as: Fairtrade chocolate, lobbying your government, utilizing the resources from various NGOs and challenging the demand for trafficked victims in your own community. How exciting!

I must tell you, though… as wonderful as being at SM for IJM was… I was also BEYOND EXCITED about meeting Aaron Weiss! For those who are confused about who this is, he is the lead singer of my favorite band, mewithoutYou. Aaron is friends with Shane Claiborne (If you are confused about this name as well... shame on you! Go read the Irresistible Revolution.), who was one of the main speakers for the weekend. As Shane travels very often and likes to live in community, he invites a traveling companion, and this time it was Aaron Weiss.

YWAM asked Aaron to hold a workshop, which consisted of him allowing us to request songs (I, of course, asked for Timothy Hay first!) and ask him questions about anything. This time with him was very encouraging for me. He answered questions about his relationship with God and his answers caused me to think about God in a much bigger way than I ever have before. I may blog about this a bit more, actually, so I won’t go into detail here. Remind me if it isn’t up soon!

We also spent some time with Aaron after the workshop, learning a Sacred Harp song, which was good for the soul! Paul and I are going to look into Sacred Harp meetings in Belfast. Let me know if you want to join us! All together, meeting Aaron and spending a bit of time talking to him and singing with him was one of my favorite experiences… ever. I am so thankful for this random meeting at a castle in Northern Ireland.

Although I was completely exhausted and had a cold by the end of Summer Madness, I am so thankful that I got to experience it as part of my internship with IJM. I loved sharing about our work and telling loads of stories of freedom and justice. We met so many wonderful young people, each of them so capable of doing great things in God’s mission for justice. I am excited to go to other festivals this summer and continue to spread the hope that God is doing great things for the oppressed and encourage fellow believers that we GET to be a part of it!

Who knows… maybe I’ll get to meet more of my musical heroes along the way!

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Part of the Story

Dear Friends,

Thank you for following my blog as I am the Church and Development Assistant for International Justice Mission in Ireland. As you may know, this position is a year-long voluntary internship and I am raising awareness and support for the work of IJM and the issues of injustice that we are fighting against.

Please take the time to look through a few posts here and consider supporting me with prayer and finance. My goal is to raise £80 (About $125) a month to support my mission. This money will meet a very practical need of mine, making my student loan payment in America. This is an increasingly difficult task and I would love the support from my friends and family as I continue to volunteer for this work of justice.

I am part of the story of freeing thousands of victims from violent oppression and injustice. Please support me and be part of the story, too!

www.ijm.org, www.ijmuk.org

Much love,
Brittany

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Speaking in Detroit

In June, I had the privilege of speaking about the work of IJM at my home church in Plymouth, MI. On a Wednesday night I spoke for the youth and college groups at Solid Rock Bible Church. This was a really wonderful experience and I am still so encouraged by the response from both groups!

Speaking and hosting stands at different churches and events is one of my favorite parts of the internship. The more I speak about issues of injustice around the world, the more I am convinced that what IJM is doing is such an important part of God’s redeeming work for his creation.

Josh, the youth pastor at Solid Rock, opened the night with a game called “Agree/Disagree.” The whole group stands in the middle of the room and Josh will pose a statement and everyone chooses a side of the room to stand on, “agree” or “disagree.” He then goes to both sides of the room and each student has to give a reason for their answer. I LOVE this game! I think it is such a clever way to allow each student to think for themselves and express their thought behind it.

For this “Agree/Disagree” game, one of the statements Josh used was:

“There are more slaves today than there has been at any given time throughout the history of mankind.”

Each group had so many interesting responses to this question, but I was truly blown away by how many people didn’t know about the number of slaves in our world today! This was really encouraging for me, which may sound strange, but it helped me to remember that we are spreading the word about the reality of injustices like slavery for a reason: people don’t know about them and they need to. Some people get tired of raising awareness, but until everyone is aware of slavery, this will remain a crucial dimension in the fight against human trafficking. I was reminded of this as some of the young people there learned about modern-day slavery for the first time.

I was also encouraged by the amount of response from the people at Solid Rock. So many were excited to take action and be part of the stories of freedom and rescue and justice. As they should be! Each person truly can make a difference. I think about the beginnings of IJM, which was essentially one man seeing a need and asking God to help him meet it. Thousands of victims of violent injustice have been rescued because one person saw a massive need and didn’t think it was too big a problem to solve. Each rescue tells us that the end of slavery is not too audacious a prayer to bring before our Lord.

God loves the oppressed and longs to rescue them. We get to be a part of this redeeming story. The young people at Solid Rock know that and I am so excited to see how God uses them in his mission of justice.

Let’s keep raising awareness. Let’s take action and be part of the story. Because justice for the poor is possible. God loves them. God hears them. And in the end? God wins.

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Washington DC// Training Week Part Two

Welcome back! I hope you enjoyed the video. Exciting stuff, huh?

(This is a photo of me with the other new Partner Office staff and Joe Jordano! We hung out a lot throughout the week and Joe was really lovely, making sure we were always being taken care of. As you can see, we were probably the funnest group there. Just saying. Ha!)

So Tuesday through Thursday really consisted of several seminars and meetings and we learned so much more about how IJM operates. I was very impressed by how well thought out each part of the organization is. It is evident that professionals have considered each and every detail carefully, over prayer.

Prayer is one thing I am really excited about after training week.  IJM spends half an hour each day praying together as a team. We do this in every office, including our wee office in Belfast, but it was a blessing to be a part of the cooperate prayer in HQ. Each day prayer was filled with updates from the Field Offices and from staff members about what was happening in HQ and Partner Offices. As we prayed for everything that was happening around the world, there was a real sense of peace and God’s presence in the room. It is clear to me that IJM is close to God. God cares deeply about justice and about the victims that IJM is rescuing. God hears our prayers when we ask for justice and training week allowed me to feel this in a new way as we prayed together as a team.

Friday was the last day of training. I felt both sad and relieved when the week was over. Sad because I knew it meant leaving HQ, which my heart grew very fond of. Relieved because it was a really exhausting week. Each day my brain was fully engaged learning so many new things and then in the evenings it felt like I never stopped walking! So many things to see in DC and so little time made me a very busy girl!

The very last part of training week was our commissioning service, led by Jim Martin and Sean Litton. Jim Martin, Vice President of Church Mobilization, led us in prayer and communion. Sean Litton, Vice President of Field Operations, led the service and his words were so encouraging. As he finished the service with a commissioning statement I could feel my heart beating faster and faster. I remember thinking, “This is it. I am officially part of IJM. I am part of God’s mission of justice. God is rescuing people and I get to be a part of it.” These moments have become more frequent for me.

These moments started when I was writing my dissertation on human trafficking. These moments remind me that our bodies and souls are so connected. My whole being is excited by God’s call for my life. My hands start to shake and my heart beats so fast and I feel incredible joy. Justice. I have noticed that I feel the closest to God and most alive when I am talking to people about His mission of justice.

The words we find in Isaiah 1:17 are so compelling,“Seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.”

These are commands. We are all called to seek justice. We get to be a part of God’s rescuing and redeeming plan for His creation. For now, I am responding to this call as a part of IJM. What an honor.

A very special thank you to Johanna for letting me stay with her while I was in DC. Your heart for God is so evident and I continue to be encouraged by my time with you.

Also a big thanks to all of the IJM staff who worked so hard to make training week special for us. You truly made us feel welcome as part of the team, thank you!

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Washington DC// Training Week Part One

Well friends, I can’t believe it, but training week in Washington D.C. has come and gone! From the 3^rd-9^th of June, I was at International Justice Mission Headquarters with 73 other new (although a few of us had already started) trainees. There was a mix of new HQ, Field Office, and Partner Office staff/interns/fellows.  This was IJM’s biggest group of trainees yet. How exciting to be a part of it!

I arrived on Sunday, the night before training week started and my host, Johanna, met me at Reagan airport. That night we went to Malcolm X park and enjoyed the weekly African drum circle! This was an incredible experience, so many people from several cultures playing drums and dancing together. There was such joy and unity among the people in this park, I was so glad we started the week together this way! We then had the best sushi ever and headed back to her flat so we could rest up before the busy week began!

Monday was one of my favorite days of the week. Gary Haugen, the founder and CEO of IJM, spoke to us about IJM and God’s justice. This was a really inspiring day for me. I have followed IJM for several years now and have always admired Gary so to hear him speak and lead us as we began our official training for this organization was a pretty big deal for me. I made sure I said hello to him before the day was over and was struck by how humble and kind he was. I am thankful to be part of an organization led by such a godly man. He even thanked me for making the commitment to come to training week.

Our first day ended with a party with staff. We played this game in groups where you had to create your own super hero, using just a few items from a bag. Each group got the same items and it was hilarious to see what everyone came up with. Our team created “The Haugenator.” We even put paper clips on top of the bag we put on our hero’s head to create his hair. If you are not smiling right now, it is because you have not seen Mr. Haugen’s hair. I highly recommend watching IJM’s 15-Year Anniversary video, not only because it is amazing, but you will get to see the hair. You should probably go watch it and then come back to the blog. It is worth your 5 minutes. Go ahead. I will wait…

Seriously… go watch it.  You know what? I am going to finish this blog in another entry, just to encourage you to watch it! (: 

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Quarterly Prayer Day and Yellow Fields

Last Friday Ruth and I ventured over to England for the day!! IJM UK holds quarterly prayer days for the team, this was the first one I have taken part in. Our 6:15am flight to London required that I wake up at 3:45am to get over to Ruth's house on time to begin our journey. (A big thanks to our husbands for getting up early to drive us everywhere! Poor Paul had to work at 6:30 so he rushed back home for a nap before work. Thank you!!)





Starbucks at the airport was a necessity. (:

The flight was quick and the Krispy Kreme donuts made the early morning worth it! We got two each (no shame!) and Ruth bought a box to take with us for the team.

Stage 2 of our journey over was a bus ride into Colchester. This hour and a half bus trip was actually a really big blessing to me. I have always felt close to God when I admire His creation. In the UK yellow rapeseed fields are my favorite and I saw countless yellow fields on our way in. I just think this vast burst of color among the green rolling hills is so joyful. They felt even more special tucked away among the quaint English villages, filled with thatched roof cottages. It felt nice to be out of Belfast for the day. And the day hadn't even really started!


Terry was kind enough to pick us up and treat us to some coffee on our way to the church for the prayer day. When we arrived, it was so lovely to meet the rest of the UK team. After probably hundreds of e-mails, it felt good to meet everyone in person. There was a real sense of unity even though we don't operate out of the same office... let alone the same side of the Irish Sea.


A couple of women (?? oops! I forgot their names!), who have a prophecy ministry, prayed over the team as a whole and then over us each individually. This was a really encouraging thing to experience and even though I don't know the team really well, it was clear to see that God was speaking to each of us really specifically through these wonderful women. She asked each of us to record her prayers on our phone so we could listen to it again later.

After a second listen, I am still just as curious as I was when they were praying for me! I could see so much truth in everything they were saying and I still feel really uplifted by their prayers and prophecy. One really interesting thing they said was that they saw me working with children. A lot of children, about 30 of them, perhaps in an orphanage or in community. I have never really considered working with children to be completely honest with you. But this definitely has me intrigued. Not something I will pursue probably, but also not something I would turn down. We will see where God takes us! (:

The girls prepared a lovely lunch for us all and it was great to chat to everyone a bit before we had to head back to Stansted for our flight home. Becky took us to the airport (thanks!) and away we went. The day was long but I wish we could have spent more time in England. It was a real treat to be with the team. A reminder that Ruth and I are part of something much bigger than ourselves. Our mission extends way beyond our tiny office in East Belfast. IJM is working all throughout the world and we get to be a part of this mission of justice that is so close to God's heart.

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Stories of Hope

No More Traffik (NMT) is a human trafficking awareness campaign in Northern Ireland. NMT hosted a week-long series of events from May 12-20 with the support of over 30 partners (organizations and businesses). IJM UK hosted an event called Stories of Hope. I was in charge of organizing and running this event! Before I go on to explain more about Stories of Hope, let me just say a MASSIVE thank you to everyone who helped organize and facilitate this event. THANK YOU! (:

It was an incredible night!! We expected about 50 people to come along... about 150 came! We still can't believe it. We are so thankful for such a good turn out! As we ran out of seats, more and more people kept coming through the doors. Everyone squeezed in together on sofas and all around the floor. The Dock Cafe in the Titanic Quarter were kind enough to allow us to borrow their venue for the night. The cafe is so lovely I don't think anyone minded too much about the seating issue. There was a real buzz about the place and it felt amazing to know that we had all worked so hard to put the night together- and here it was!

Loads of volunteers helped with the run-up to the event and helped up get all set-up on the night. A special thank you to Laura Hawthorne, who helped us with this event from the very beginning! Starbucks donated coffee and so many IJM supporters donated desserts to make this event really warm and welcoming. Tash of 24/7 Prayer helped us set up a station where people could write down prayers or statements of hope, for Belfast and beyond to become slave free! The photos you see hanging by the station are of a girl called Mien, IJM rescued her in (2006) and we shared her story of hope. To read Mien's story, click here.

Lynda Bryans, a local broadcaster, hosted the event for us. She and Ruth shared a few stories of victims IJM has rescued recently. New Irish Arts were also kind enough to donate some time to us and they played about 4 pieces throughout the night. We alternated between stories and music, which really gave the night a well-rounded feel.

Tim Doak, a local professional photographer, recently went to Cambodia and worked with girls that had been rescued from sexual exploitation, teaching them different photography skills and techniques. Some of them had never even held a camera before! We showed the photos that the girls had taken and Tim shared a bit about his experience in Cambodia. He even got to visit the field office in Phnom Penh! So jealous. If you would like to see some of the photos, click here. For Tim's website, click here.

At the end of the night, we pointed people to the stations to respond with sharing their own hopes and prayers. I would encourage you to comment on this blog post and share your own prayers and hopes for an end to come to slavery. You can also take a look at IJM UK's prayer wall on their Facebook page and pray specifically for the work of IJM. Injustice is too prevalent throughout our world, but I really believe that through prayer and action, we can see great change. Pray. Research. Act. God has a mission of justice and He calls us to join Him in it. I really feel like working with IJM is a great way to follow this mandate. I am thankful that God has given me this opportunity. 

Stories of Hope was a really wonderful night. Thanks to all who came and took part in our event!! For more photos from the night, click here and here. The second album will allow you to see the photos I have included here on the IJM UK's Facebook page. Make sure you "like" their page for further updates! You should also share Mien's story with someone you see today! Stories like Mien's show that we can really see change in the fight for justice. That is definitely worth sharing (:

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Mien's Story

Svay Pak is a small village 11km outside of Phnom Penh. Essentially it is a collection of wooden houses and huts. But Svay Pak is overrun by pimps and human traffickers who pressure families into selling their children into the dozens of brothels that line the streets of the village.

Mien’s family was destitute, her father a violent jobless alcoholic. Just to put food on the table her mother regularly borrowed money from local loan sharks on unmanageable terms. Their financial situation was not a secret, and as pressure mounted, multiple pimps and brothel owners began pressuring Mien’s mother to sell her into the brothel to ensure the family’s survival. At first Mien’s mother resisted, but finally she succumbed. And at age 14, Mien’s virginity was put on auction at a local brothel about a block from her home.

On the Cambodian sex market an underage girl’s virginity can be sold to wealthy foreigners for anywhere between $500 and $5,000. Because of her “value” to the brothel owner, Mien and other young virgin girls were locked in a pink room of the brothel called the “virgin room” to prevent them from running away. Once a man was found willing to pay a high enough premium, Mien was raped for the first time. She was then allowed to return home but required to report back to the brothel on a moment’s notice. She had become a commodity.

From that first day forward, she was raped an average of three times a day. And she was “worth” less and less every day because, at age 14, she was no longer “new.” In 2003, just a few months after Mien was sold into the brothel, IJM conducted a large operation in the village of Svay. Sadly, because of the many lies the brothel keeper told her, Mien was very frightened when she saw the combined IJM/Police operation happening. She hid in the bushes. Mein watched as 37 other girls aged 5-17 were rescued that day. But she was left behind.

When the brothel was shut down, Mien’s family migrated to a town in the north called Siem Reap – where Mien was once again sold into sex slavery with seemingly no end in sight.

But Mien’s story does not end here.

Miraculously, three years later, at the request of the Siem Reap police, an IJM undercover investigator entered a local brothel looking for minors and among 20 other girls, the investigator discovered Mien looking destitute and sad. In January of 2007, IJM and the Siem Reap police conducted an operation in this brothel. Mien was rescued and brought to Agape Restoration Center back in Phnom Penh. It took time, but Mien eventually learned that she was finally safe.

After significant care and trauma therapy, Mien, along with 8 other victims, was actually able to testify against those who had perpetrated these crimes against her. Because she was able to tell the truth about what had been done to her, all five perpetrators were convicted and sent to prison. Results such as this send a clear message to other traffickers in the area that the trafficking and exploitation of young girls will not be tolerated and those who do it will be held to account.

At AGAPE, Mien says, “My life went from bad to good.” She resumed her education and enrolled in a vocational training program to learn to become a tailor. Mien now works part-time in a successful tailoring business, thus offering her a legitimate income and the chance to be successful, independent and free. She also works at the aftercare home’s SilkWorks Vocational Centre, which employs former trafficking victims and produces beautiful silk pillow covers.

Today, Mien is a remarkable woman who has since got married.

The story does not end here, either.

About the same time Mien was rescued, Agape decided to open an Outreach Center in Svay Pak – the village where Mien grew up and was sold to the first brothel. 

As a site for the center, Agape rented one of the former brothels that had been shut down in IJM’s 2003 operation. It turned out to be the very same brothel where Mien was first raped.

This center now holds classes for children, a health clinic, Sunday services and other community services with the goal of completely transforming the community of Svay Pak – a place that was once a scene of horror, slavery and the most unspeakable crimes against children.

The main thoroughfare of Svay Pak used to be jammed with brothels in which hundreds of young girls were on open sale to sex tourists and foreign paedophiles.  But today there are no more brothels lining the village’s main street.  Now, there are outreach centers; once a place of abuse and exploitation, today the area is a beacon of hope.

And now, three years after her rescue, Mien volunteers at the center, sharing her story with other children at risk in the village of Svay Pak. Here’s what she says:

My first time there, when the car stopped, I felt so scared to get out. But when I did get out it was good. Everything has changed. Before when I was here I was forced to be a prostitute, now when I teach the children I feel like I am staff. I am proud of this.

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Welcome!

Hello friends!!

Welcome to my blog for International Justice Mission! For those of you who don’t know, I am currently volunteering as an intern for IJM UK. I have completed my first month as Church and Development Assistant here in Nothern Ireland and have loved every minute of it!

I have followed IJM for several years and have admired their work from afar, always hoping to one day become more actively involved. The mission of International Justice Mission is to protect people from violent forces of injustice by securing rescue and restoration for victims and ensuring public justice systems work for the poor. Through the collaboration of local authorities and IJM lawyers, social workers and investigators, IJM has brought freedom and relief to thousands of victims of violent oppression.

Last year, I wrote my dissertation at Queen's University Belfast on human trafficking. The title of this was "A Missiological and Theological Approach to Human Trafficking." I truly feel that God has called us to live a life of mission, and that this mission includes the fight against injustice. God is the God of justice and we are called to join Him in this mission! As I wrote my dissertation on human trafficking, it became so clear to me that God has called me to this mission of justice. Specifically to tackle the issue of human trafficking. 

For this next year, I feel that God is calling me to carry out this mission through my internship with IJM. I truly believe that each of us has something amazing to offer to the mission of justice and that our contribution makes all the difference. By spreading the word about the issues of injustice going on throughout the world and sharing about the good work of IJM, I know God is furthering His kingdom and mission of justice. 

I will share more about IJM with each blog post, but this is the taster for now! Want to know more right now? Take a look at some of the links on the top of my page. 

If you would like to support me financially in this internship, there is a "Donate" button at the bottom of the page.

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Last month marked the 15th Anniversary of IJM. Take a few minutes to watch the video below. Well worth your time!!

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