Dressember 7th
24 DAYS LEFT!
Or 24 LEFT DAYS ?
Yesterday we confessed that the challenge of wearing a dress everyday was already getting tougher than we thought it would be. But God blessed us with the grace to continue. And then He blessed our faithfulness with this news; we had two new sponsors!!
We want to thank The Ashbrook's, and Pastor Randy and Miss Barb for sponsoring us this month!
Sending out a special thank you to Crystal for donating the dress I'm wearing today!
By God's grace, and your generosity we've raised more then expected so far!
Today I hiked up to Sara and Hope's house so we could take our Dressember 7th pictures! What a coincidence to find we all dressed matchy!! The deep snow was almost over my tall, fuzzy, boots.
Sometimes we get caught up in our 'normal', 'comfortable' lives here in Hometown, USA and think that all this horrible 'slavery-and-sex-trafficking-stuff' only happens in third-world countries. Those places that are poor, where the people are destitute, and really, what other options do they have?
We've talked about the 59 girls rescued in India from a forced labor factory; 16 year old Angelique and her child born from sexual abuse in Rwanda; and widows in Africa who have had their property illegally seized.
But what if this issue is a little closer to home then we'd care to admit?
traf·fic
verb
past tense: trafficked;
1. To deal or trade in something illegal.
Human trafficking is the modern form of slavery, with illegal smuggling and trading of people, for forced labor or sexual exploitation.
The U.S. Justice Department estimates that 17,500 people are trafficked into the country every year, but the true figure could be higher, because of the large numbers of undocumented immigrants. {source}
17,500?? That's more people then live in the city limits of Farmington, MO!
That's 6 Potosi's! [Our hometown]
Cynthia Cordes, a federal prosecutor in Kansas City, MO., has prosecuted more human trafficking cases than any other prosecutor in the country. [Yep, in 'our' country, the good ol' USA]
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| Cynthia L. Cordes |
"The initial thought was human trafficking probably isn't in Kansas City, Mo.," she said.
Her Human Trafficking Project uncovered an underground network in her backyard. The operators at the highest levels of the trafficking rings were buying, selling forcing coercing victims from Mexico, Central America, and other countries.
Trafficking victims are easy to hide and hard to find. Trafficking rings don't stay in one area. They coerce the victims by moving them. "We see our rings going from Kansas City to St. Louis to Chicago back to St. Louis to Kansas City," said Cynthia Cordes.
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| Sara, Kerry, Hope |
The issue of Slavery just got closer. We are wearing dresses everyday for the month of December to raise awareness of this cause, and raise funds to rescue the victims and bring justice to the violators.
With the outdoor temperature below 0* we were glad to rush inside and warm up beside the fire!
The findings of the U.S. Department of Justice's 2011 report, “Characteristics of Suspected Human Trafficking Incidents, 2008-2010,” include:
- From 2008 to 2010, Federal anti-trafficking task forces opened 2,515 suspected cases of human trafficking.
- 82% of suspected incidents were classified as sex trafficking and nearly half of these involved victims under the age of 18.
- Approximately 10% of the incidents were classified as labor trafficking.
- 83% of victims in confirmed sex-trafficking incidents were identified as U.S. citizens, while most confirmed labor-trafficking victims were identified as undocumented immigrants (67%) or legal immigrants (28%). {source}
What I noticed in these stats was that most of the trafficked victims are U.S. citizens [even if they are immigrants, they came to the US legally]. And about half of them are under 18 years. This is heart breaking. Girls, just like us, having their virtue and femininity destroyed by force and fear tactics, by promises for a better life.
Celebrating Freedom and Femininity
We may not help all of the victims of human trafficking.
But maybe we can help one.
We [Kerry 25, Sara 7, and Hope 5] have partnered with Grace at Campaign1:17 to raise funds for the International Justice Mission. IJM seeks to make public justice systems work for victims of abuse and oppression who urgently need the protection of the law. {source}
Wanna join the fun?
- Commit to Praying for Sara, Hope and I this month so we can continue to stand strong in our challenge this month to stand with those who stand alone. Leave a comment below to let us know you're praying!
- Sponsor Hope, Sara and/or I, by giving to Campaign 1:17. Go Here to hear the story behind the campaign and Go Here to Donate [be sure to add a note to say who you're sponsoring!]
- Go To the Campaign 1:17 blog and leave a comment for Grace to encourage her to continue the fight!
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Don't miss a single dress!
Dressember 1st
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- Kerry