Home.

I’m home once again and convinced that a year has never gone so quickly or been so defining. While I am enjoying catching up with family and friends, I find myself missing South Asia already. I hope to have the opportunity to share with many of you personally about our work and how structural change is coming- slowly but surely- to places that need it most. And of course, this year has held so many fun memories even beyond the work… survive highway travel in auto rickshaws- check; make beautiful jewelry with rescued girls- check; master the art of making chapatti (almost) check; see the Himalayas- check; learn how to get rid of lice- check (and check).

As mentioned in my previous posts, this year has held many moments of struggle with God regarding the injustice that seems to reign in some places in the world. Yet, as I reflect on this year, I feel affirmed that God has ordained that we be His hands and feet to bring justice to those who have been denied it. I have learned that when men and women of God stand in the gap on behalf of the oppressed, He is faithful to give them the power to bring justice for those who have been denied it. Of course, this doesn’t always happen according to our timeline or plan, but it’s happening. As my final update, I want to share a story of one of our cases that illustrates God’s goodness in working things together for good.

A few months ago we received a referral of a young woman whose mother had threatened to send her to a brothel after she completed her school exams. This was no empty threat- her mother had trafficked her younger sister two years earlier to a brothel in another city where she had been forced to prostitute to support the family for the past two years. After receiving the information and investigating accordingly, our office worked with another IJM office to rescue both sisters the same day. As with many of our young clients, the 17-year-old girl rescued from the brothel presented as hostile; she wanted to go back to her family, despite their abuse and exploitation.

It took about two months to have her transferred to our city where her sister could meet her. Their initial meeting went terribly, and we all worried that the older sister would regret her decision to go against her family and seek justice for herself and her sister. Our office continued to support the older sister while praying for these sisters diligently.

The week I left, I had the privilege of supervising the second visit between these sisters along with one of the IJM Social Workers. I watched in amazement as the girls slowly and calmly warmed up to each other, began telling stories, and laughed together. Another IJM client living in the home also joined, and we found that this girl, fifteen years, had been speaking words of truth and comfort to the younger sister- her new best friend. The result had been a transformed attitude in the young sister. A victim of commercial sexual exploitation herself, this girl encouraged the young sister to learn something while in the aftercare home and to consider what her life would be like if she returned home. She shared her own story of betrayal by her family and was able to minister to the young sister in a way that no one else could. What had meant to destroy was being used to bless.

As we drove back to the office, I was overcome with the manifestation of Isaiah 61:1-3 that I had just witnessed. I continue to revel in the beauty of God’s timing and divine appointment of this friendship.

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.”

I would be remiss to sign off without thanking you one last time for all your prayers, encouragement, and support over the past year. I feel so incredibly blessed to have had the opportunity to see God bring beauty from ashes, give gladness for mourning, and bestow praise instead of despair… all for the display of His splendor. And I ask that you would continue to remember the victims of human trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation and continue to support the work of justice however God moves you to do so.

With love and thanks,

Ann

2010 So Far...

I realize it’s a bit cliché to say, but, honestly, I cannot believe it’s April already! An update of the past few months in South Asia…

January crawled by initially with anticipation of three visitors at the end of the month. A friend from college dropped in for a long weekend and then my Mom and her “co-sister,” as the national staff describe her (she is actually my brother’s mother-in-law), Chris, came for a week of checking out my city and doing some traveling down South. I can’t tell you how fun it was to show people around my home.

Enter February and our team once again began rescue operations. In February, we saw some major women and a minor girl come out of a life of forced prostitution. Amazing. One of the women has already opted for rehabilitation services and will soon begin computer training, English classes, and counseling. My roommates and I had a small situation in February when one of them had to spend a few days in the hospital due to a persistent parasite- but all is well now, and we have some pretty good hospital stories to tell from the experience, so there’s the silver lining.

In March, one of our advocates celebrated a conviction of a woman who had abetted the repeated rape of one of our referral cases. The survivor came to our office the day after the conviction with sweets to say “thank you.” Later that day, she was able to celebrate International Women’s Day at the government home where she was once a resident and be recognized for her courage in testifying against her perpetrator- an empowering and inspiring experience.

And now April is here, the first weekend of which was spent traveling to some amazing places in South Asia with the other interns and fellows. It was so nice to get out of the city for a bit and enjoy some fresh(er) air and good company!

April is already shaping up to be a busy month with an assessment of the Model Aftercare Home project, many repatriations for rescued girls to their home states, and the rolling out of our Staff Care Plan to support our employees in their work that exposes them to a great deal of trauma.

In terms of what I have been learning- beyond budgets and program design and implementation, of course- I feel that God is revealing more and more about what is good and what He requires of His people. As a disclaimer to my upcoming personal outpouring, I certainly don’t mean to sensationalize the work here or the people doing it. Amidst the rescue operations and convictions and breakthroughs with rescued girls there are everyday tasks- reports to write, data to manage, emails to return, lunch to order (which typically falls to me, as I consistently get hungry before anyone else in my department). It’s an office like any other in many ways, yet I think God has been teaching me through the consistent selfless love shown by my teammates.

A while back, one of my best friends had shared with me a verse from Philippians that she had been meditating on… At the time, I enjoyed hearing her insights, and this January, the verses came back with conviction:

Philippians 1:9-11 (The Message)

“So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover’s life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God.”

I’m not sure if I had mentioned it before, but part of my role since October has been to manage the three Case Mangers in our aftercare department. I’m certainly learning a great deal, and I couldn’t ask for a better (and more gracious) team. However, one of the hardest things I have to do in this role is to call the Case Mangers- late at night, early in the morning, throughout the day- and ask them to do things that go beyond the call of duty.

For example, a few weeks ago, I called one of the Case Managers who had been up since 5:00 am so that she could accompany and provide support to a victim who was testifying in court, and asked her to come to the office (a two hour commute) so that she could be present for another rescue operation- an all night event. I apologized profusely for this request while she giggled and said, “No problem, Ann. I am coming.” And she came. And when I talked to her the next day at 7:30 am when she finally reached home, she didn’t complain or talk about how tired she was- she excitedly told me about the highlight of the operation- one of the women wanted rehabilitation!

And then, last month, another Case Manager left for an aftercare home at 5:00 pm after a long day at work. Two hours later, she finally arrived at the home where she was to meet a newly rescued girl. She called me at 10:00 pm that evening to let me know she made it home safely and recounted about how she was able to pray with this young woman and give comfort to her in a very scary time. I answered her with a weak “thank you.” Her response? “It’s my pleasure, dear.”

I can only imagine this is the kind of heart Jesus had in mind when He commissioned us to not only love much but to love well. And let me tell you, that kind of love certainly makes Jesus attractive. I’m so thankful to be here, pursuing justice alongside a team who are daily teaching me how to seek justice out of selfless love. It’s pretty incredible.

I so appreciate your ongoing prayers for the work and for me and those I work alongside. Thank you.

Human traffickers find easy prey amid the rubble of Haiti

Island of Lost Children - The Atlantic
(January 18, 2010)

International Justice Mission - Seven Trafficking Perpetrators Convicted

Happy 2010!

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season with family and friends. November and December were some great months! Here are some highlights…

• Thanksgiving in Rome! My visa requires that I leave the country every 180 days, and a week in Rome was the perfect way to obey the rules, get some fresh air and enjoy time with my great friend, Michelle, who so graciously agreed to meet me half way between here and home!

• At work, December was almost entirely consumed with Christmas parties- eleven in all-hosted by IJM aftercare staff at each of our partner aftercare homes. Throw in shopping for gifts for all the residents and home staff and organizing the food and programs and you discover that the social workers I work with should be moonlighting as party planners. They did an amazing job!

• At home, we did some fairly high class Christmas decorating, complete with a homemade Nativity scene and an (outline of a) Christmas tree! Christmas in South Asia was low-key and relaxing. Though it was a bit sad to be far from family and friends, remembering Jesus’ birth affirmed the reason I came to South Asia in the first place- service out of gratefulness for the sacrifice made on my behalf. It felt right to be here this year.

• Our office had seven convictions of perpetrators in November and December! We talk a lot about making structural change around here, and these convictions are a critical component to doing just that by making perpetrators think twice about exploiting women and children for profit. To read more, please click on the link above.

As we start 2010, I am thankful for all the headway God allowed our office in 2009 and hopeful for what is to come as we begin this new year of seeking justice. I realize I am basically just speaking in bullet points now, but I have some specific projects I want to update you on things around the office (mostly specific to our aftercare department) and ask for your prayers for our work!

• Implementation of the Protocols for Minimum Standards of Care is an on-going project with one of our partner aftercare homes. Please continue to pray for positive and trusting partnerships between IJM and the partner aftercare home to make this place a model facility for girls rescued from commercial sexual exploitation.

• Partnership with the government homes is tricky business, yet absolutely necessary. All rescued women and girls spend at least some amount of time in a government home immediately following rescue, some for just 21 days while most spend upwards of 4 months to one year and beyond. Our hope is to improve relationships with these homes in order to gain better access to the residents as well as be able to make crucial infrastructure improvements to the facilities, meet basic needs, and enhance rehabilitation and reintegration programs.

• Building a more efficient case management system is also on the agenda for our case managers this year. I am excited about the opportunity to work closely with the social workers to do this, though, as with nearly everything I’ve worked on since coming to IJM, I feel a little in over my head by the task.

• Please pray for some crucial positions in our office to be filled: Assistant Director of Aftercare, Clinical Programs, Counselor, Case Manager, Director of Investigations, and Director of Church Relations. Pray that God brings qualified candidates with a passion for the work of justice to join us.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your on-going support, prayers and encouragement. I wish you all the best in 2010!