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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