I realize that National Slavery and Human Trafficking month ended in January, but I wanted to share an update that I’m pretty stoked about.  Yes, I said “stoked.”  I live near the West Coast now, so it’s totally appropriate.

Last month I wrote about Streetlight, an organization here in Phoenix who is doing some amazing things to combat the problem of human trafficking.  You can read the post here.

I will be the musical guest tonight at [mission], which is a service/venue who’s focused on both creative arts and global missions.  Tonight’s theme is “Glow,” and will center around Streetlight, and allow for brainstorming about what we can do locally to fight human trafficking.  I’ll be playing a few original songs as we start.

Please pray that conversations stir up actions.  And, on a selfish note, please pray that I don’t succumb to nervousness and faint.

When something seems hopeless it’s easy to shut down.

Here we are just over a week removed from the unfathomable disaster that struck Haiti, and I have to saythat I’m still unbelievably heartsick over this.  Perhaps numb would be the appropriate term to describe me this week in regards to Haiti.  If you have the time, please take a look at the devastating pictures from the Boston Globe: Haiti six days later. 

I will warn you that these images are nothing short of both gripping and challenging.  I mean, can you imagine someone you love being among the piles of bodies in a mass grave?  I know I can’t.  You can do one of two things when seeing these images…

Shut down or react. 

The first option is so easy to do.  Questions like, “what in the world can I do?” and “would anything I could give make any kind of difference?” are common among us all.  It’s hard for me to think that my small amount of money could do anything in a country who’s citizens either died or became homeless. 

The second is obviously more difficult.  Giving to the point of being uncomfortable is just that…uncomfortable.  But, to put it bluntly, it’s Biblical.  Jesus never said it would be comfortable.  I need to remember that. 

I blogged about Haiti needing us last week, and with each day the need increases tremendously.  Would you consider doing something to help?  Anything will.  I can promise you that.

Psalm 75:3 states, “when the earth and all it’s people quake, it is I who hold its pillars firm.”

As I’m sure you’ve heard, there was a major earthquake in Haiti yesterday.
Thousands are feared dead, and countless people are in need.  This is where we step in, folks.

They need us.

One Day’s Wages has set up a Haiti Relief Fund, and 100% of the funds donated (minus transaction costs) will go directly to Haiti for relief.  Below is an excerpt from ODW’s site:

ODW is proud to partner with World Concern who not only have an excellent reputation for their humanitarian work, but also have a strong presence in Haiti. They have worked in Haiti since 1978 and work with about 125,000 people. Their office in Port Au Prince is still standing and they are engaged in emergency relief work right now. ODW will keep this fund open until June 30th, 2010, but will disperse funds to WC as each $1,000 USD is raised. As always, we’ll report back to our community how the funds are being used on the ground and upon availability, provide stories, photos, and videos.

I know most of us are far away from this place, but take the time to think about their need.  And, if you’re able and feel led, would you consider contributing your resources towards this place?  I can guarantee you it will make a difference.  Don’t let the images of the disaster overwhelm you to the point of paralysis.  Remember…

They need us.

January has been declared “National Slavery and Human Trafficking Awareness Month.”  There was a call to highlight local organziations/ministries that are fighting this problem.
Today I will highlight Streetlight Phoenix, an organization here in Phoenix.

Streetlight is an organization here in Phoenix who is rescuing child prostitutes and rehabilitating them physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.  They are set to open up a campus around a safehouse in the city in 2010, which will immediately double the number of safehouse beds in all of the U.S.  If you read this blog and are in Arizona, would you consider checking Streetlight out, and perhaps donating to it?  They also have some volunteer opportunities as well if you want to look into that.

The president of Streetlight is a pastor here in the Valley.  The goal is to partner with churches around the city to join in with the fight.  I like the idea of different churches putting aside their differences, denominations, worship style, etc. to help the least of these.  Can you imagine what that would look like?

Let me know what’s going in with regards to this issue in your town or city.  I’d love to know about it.  Perhaps you would consider writing a blog post this month to highlight an organization even.  That’d be great, too!

Feel free to link to your post (only one link or spam filter will catch it) and share it.

Perhaps if we saw signs like these we’d have less of chance to ignore a rampant problem…

Today has been declared National Human Trafficking Awareness Day.  Were you aware?

President Obama proclaimed last week that January 2010 to be National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, calling for greater public awareness of the problem.

An estimated 27 million people worldwide are trapped as victims of human trafficking.  The black market slave trade is lucrative, worth an estimated $9 billion a year, according to the FBI.  One million children are new victims of forced prostitution, and 200,000 American women and children are at high risk for being forced into the sex industry. Human trafficking has become the fastest growing criminal activity in the world.

We must do something… (more…)