Archive for exploitation

Apr
10

Telling the Story of Jesus Throughout Generations

by newhope

by Wanda S. Lee

This past year as I began the journey of writing The Story Lives On, I had many conversations with missions leaders who well know the story of WMU® and our early missions history.

Reflecting on those conversations I was reminded of nineteenth-century women like Lottie Moon, Ann Judson, Henrietta Hall Shuck, and others who faced tremendous barriers in sharing the gospel and also met challenges in their role as women leaders during their generation. But telling the story of Jesus was more important than any obstacles they faced. They shared boldly and their example inspires us to do the same.

Likewise, numerous twentieth-century leaders opened additional avenues for missions service. These include Wana Ann and Giles Fort, who served as medical missions pioneers in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), and Mary Saunders, a nurse in Africa stayed the course in times of tribal wars. Their unique contributions to the missions story are important to tell as we seek God’s direction for the future.

New Stories Being Written

Today, there are many incredible servants finding new avenues to tell the story of Jesus. Missionaries like Ginger Smith and Kay Bennett working with homeless women and children in New Orleans and Houston while also leading the charge against human trafficking in our country. Professional people like warden Burl Cain at Angola Prison in Louisiana. And others like Taylor and Susan Field ministering in inner-city New York. They offer us glimpses of how we can tell God’s story in the midst of life’s most difficult circumstances.

It has been my privilege to collect these stories and more while sharing some of my own story in this new book. The experience of Peter and John in Acts 4:20 challenged me to examine my own life and rediscover my passion for sharing the story of Jesus. After being imprisoned and beaten for telling the story of Jesus they responded to threats of further persecution with this answer: ‘“We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.’” (NIV 1984)

Their encounters with Jesus had been so dramatic nothing could stop them from telling what they had experienced. As I reflect on the times in my life where God has been so present and so clearly directed the outcome of various life experiences, I need to be as bold as Peter and John and speak about what I have seen and heard. I hope through reading these stories of faith and commitment you also might renew your commitment to tell the story of Jesus with great joy to all you meet!

Wanda S. Lee’s passion for engaging others to understand and be radically involved in the mission of God is evident in her writing, speaking, and dynamic leadership as executive director of national WMU (Woman’s Missionary Union) since 2000. Wanda and husband, Larry Lee, reside in Birmingham, Alabama. 

 Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

0 Categories : Articles
Mar
28

Kathi Macias: Examining the Real-Life Issues of Violence and Sex Trafficking Behind “Special Delivery”

by newhope

Author Kathi Macias discusses the violence in Juarez, Mexico, which is spilling over into El Paso, Texas, and the heartbreaking true story of a notorious place of sexual exploitation in San Diego, California. Kathi treats these subjects with sensitivity and closes the podcast in prayer.

These troubling topics inform Kathi’s new novel Special Delivery, which is the second book in the “Freedom” series. This redemptive 3-novel series explores the shocking problem of human trafficking, with characters in Thailand, Mexico, and the US. Special Delivery is available as a paperback and ebook.

Free book club guides with questions for discussion and prayer points are available for Special Delivery and Deliver Me from Evil.

Informative content to help you get involved in the fight against human trafficking can be found on NewHopeDigital.com. You may find “Ideas and Resources to Join the Fight Against Modern Slavery” a helpful overview. The Release and Restore CD is an extensive resource for this issue.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

0 Categories : Podcast
Feb
15

The Story Lives On

by newhope

God’s Power Throughout Generations
Wanda S. Lee

God uses people to embody His power to change the world in miraculous ways.

Wanda Lee, national WMU executive director and hands-on missionary, leading the world’s largest organization of laypeople engaged in missions, gives an intimate, detailed narrative about the radical individuals and groups having an impact for Christ in places of hopelessness and exploitation.

As an executive,  former field missionary, and nurse, Lee hammers out a biblical response to human suffering. Reporting on the present passion of Christian leaders and laypersons, and recording past victories, this book will ignite continuing commitment to missions to the least.

Using Acts 4:12–20 as the foundation, Lee bears authentic witness to what she and others have seen and heard of God’s redemptive power:

• Radical overcoming through Jesus Christ—across audience and culture

• Liberating victory in the battle against human exploitation

• Redemptive witnesses fanning the flame of passion for the Great Commission throughout generations

Free leader’s guide for group study available here.

Ebook available.

Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Christianbook.com • WMUStore.com
Berean • Cokesbury • Family Christian • LifeWay • Mardel

Retail: $14.99
EAN: 9781596693449
ISBN: 1596693444
Item #: N124149

Publisher: New Hope Publishers
Imprint: New Hope Publishers
Pub Date: April 3, 2012

Category: Christian Living, Women, Missions
Format: Paperback, Trade paperback (US)
Language: English
Size: 5.5 X 8.5 Inches
Page Count: 192
Pack Qty: 36

1 Categories : Books, Christian Living, Impact, Missions
Feb
3

Watch the Trailer for “Special Delivery,” Novel 2 in the “Freedom” Series by Kathi Macias

by newhope

Special Delivery, the second novel in the “Freedom” series by Kathi Macias, releases in March 2012. Watch the trailer to learn more about this riveting upcoming release.

Follow Mara as she risks her own precarious safety to rescue a pregant young woman held in modern slavery. 

At the same time, halfway around the world in a Thai brothel, a young girl is rescued with the promise of being reunited with her younger sister who was adopted by an interracial couple in the States. They (the couple) are friends of the family of Jonathan Flannery, the Bible student to whom Mara now finds herself attracted.

Meanwhile, Jefe—Mara’s uncle who formerly held her as a sex slave in his San Diego brothel—seeks revenge for Mara’s testimony that put him behind bars for life.

If you have not already, you’ll want to read the action-packed first novel in the “Freedom” series, Deliver Me from Evil. Learn more about Mara, Jonathan, and Jefe—as well as the horrific and all too real problem of human trafficking, which stretches around the world even to our own neighborhoods.

The third and final novel in this series, The Deliverer, is scheduled for release in the fall of 2012.

0 Categories : Videos
Jan
9

New Hope Publishers Recognizes Human Trafficking Awareness Day on January 11

by newhope

(BIRMINGHAM, Ala.)—January 9, 2011— January 11 is Human Trafficking Awareness Day and New Hope Publishers offers many valuable resources that shed light and give actionable steps to help end modern slavery.

As seen on Fox news, Not in My Town: Exposing and Ending Human Trafficking and Modern-Day Slavery (978-1-59669-301-2, $19.99) answers questions and promotes discussion about the slavery system that crisscrosses Atlanta, Orlando, Las Vegas, New York, California, Texas, North Carolina, Haiti, Amsterdam, India, Cambodia, and beyond. The authors’ gripping journey shocks but also motivates and provides resources to equip new generations of abolitionists from all corners of society and diverse worldviews who share the common call to stop injustice. DVD included with book.

New Hope Publishers also offers the “Freedom” fiction series by award-winning author Kathi Macias. Deliver Me from Evil (978-1-59669-306-7, $14.99) is the first release in the series and Special Delivery (978-1-59669-307-4, $14.99) will be available this March.

Watch for a special article from Kathi Macias scheduled to be posted on January 11 on this site.

The New Hope Publishers Web site offers several podcasts, articles/columns, and videos on human trafficking. You may be especially interested in the article, “Ideas and Resources to Join the Fight Against Modern Slavery,” which, in one place, lists and links to much of the New Hope Digital content.

Please also consider supporting the efforts of WorldCrafts, our ministry partner, and its Set1Free campaign. The Set1Free campaign highlights artisan groups working with women freed from sexual exploitation and/or others at risk of human trafficking.

About New Hope Publishers

Representing more than 80 authors and more than 130 individual works, the mission of New Hope® Publishers is to provide books that challenge readers to understand and be radically involved in the mission of God. New Hope Publishers is the general trade publishing imprint for WMU®, a missions auxiliary to the Southern Baptist Convention. New Hope Publishers is a member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA).

For more information about New Hope Publishers, visit www.NewHopeDigital.com.

 

1 Categories : News
Sep
22

Hope Lights the Faces of Children Rescued from Trafficking

by newhope

by Melody Maxwell

What does the face of a child rescued from trafficking look like?

This question raced through my mind as our plane taxied down the runway in Kathmandu. After 36 hours of travel, I was delighted at my first glimpse of the lush Nepali landscape. I peered out the window, eager to take in the sights of my home for the week.

But the question persisted: What would I see when I looked at the children?

Perhaps hollow eyes would stare back at me blankly. Angry eyes might glare from a distance. Maybe broken eyes would well up with tears. Or scared eyes would shift back and forth, not knowing whom to trust.

Through Project HELP: Human Exploitation, I’d learned about sex trafficking and other forms of exploitation. I knew that, tragically, an estimated 27 million or more people worldwide are held in some form of modern slavery. I had read disturbing statistics about global trafficking in books such as Not in My Town.

But knowing the cold facts is different from looking a real human being in the eye.

As I spent time with girls and boys recovering from unspeakable horrors, though, my anxiety soon turned to amazement.

What does the face of a child rescued from trafficking look like? I discovered that it looks a lot like the face of your child, or mine. Lit with laughter one moment, wrinkled in pain the next. Full of gap-toothed grins, wide-eyed curiosity, and mischievous giggles.

During my time in Nepal, I learned that children who have been trafficked are just that: children.

My own eyes gleamed as I laughed, danced, and sang with girls and boys very much like those everywhere. I smiled with gratitude for ministries such as The Apple of God’s Eyes, with whom I volunteered in Nepal. They and other groups like them restore the gifts of childhood and hope, through God’s grace. And I was moved to tears by the faith of the workers who dedicate their lives to such a mission.

Truthfully, I realized that all in that place is not smiles and laughter. My face falls when I think of the trauma these children have endured, and the lingering effects they may experience. I’m sad I will not be there when their mouths occasionally quiver and tears begin to fall.

But I am comforted by the fact that God knows and responds to each upturned face. God knows the number of hairs on Daya’s head, whether Ruth has dimples, and how many teeth Anish has lost. God hears each secret cry and offers beauty for ashes, joy in place of mourning—and peals of laughter to replace tears of pain.

Isn’t it just like God to provide a glimpse of hope through the face of a child?

Melody Maxwell is design editor, Children’s Resource Team, national WMU®. She visited Nepal in August 2011.

2 Categories : Articles
Sep
21

Stand for Orphans and Stand Against Human Trafficking

by newhope

by Rick Morton

The world’s orphan and human trafficking crises are inextricably linked. Orphan ministry means being engaged in the fight against slavery and human trafficking.

Obviously, orphans are among the least powerful and most vulnerable people on earth. That is why I believe that God has been so direct in His call to care for them. They are defenseless, and God by His very nature is a defender. In His call to emulate His holiness, He wants us to be defenders as well.

From their lack of standing and significance in society, orphaned children are easy to exploit. Mostly, when they are taken, they are not missed. When they are abused, they are not heard. And sadly, there is a seemingly endless supply of orphans to be used and cast aside by a depraved system of abusers.

According to the US State Department, somewhere between 600,000 and 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders each year, and approximately 50 percent of those trafficked are children. Orphan children can find themselves in dire circumstances, serving in forced labor and even prostitution at the hands of a well organized and lucrative global criminal system bent on their exploitation for the gain of others.

  1. Some children are sold into slavery by their families or are given away by their families on the promise of a better life for the child, and thus they are rendered fatherless in the process.
  2. Others are abducted into slavery from the streets with no one to notice their absence or to come looking for them.
  3. Orphan graduates, those children who “age out” of an institutional situation, face great difficulty and can be easy targets for human traders and pimps. With nowhere to turn for the basic necessities of life, they give up the one commodity they possess—themselves—to pay the price for their subsistence.

As ambassadors of Christ, we must stand in the gap for these helpless children. They are our concern because they are God’s handiwork, and they are being treated unjustly. The presence of this kind of injustice is dishonoring to God.

To God’s glory from His example, we must look for practical ways to care for exploited orphans and to rescue them from their oppressors. How can we as individuals and as churches take part in making a difference for a vulnerable orphan? We have to be creative to make a real difference.

While we must look for little, personal ways to rescue exploited orphans, we also need to band together and use the collective voice of the church. We must stand up as citizens and voters to insist that our local, state, and national governments take action on orphans’ behalf. We must use our place in the world as a tool of pressure to make laws that fight back the slavery and oppression of these precious children.

—Adapted from Orphanology: Awakening to Gospel-Centered Adoption and Orphan Care © 2011 by Tony Merida and Rick Morton. All rights reserved. Published by New Hope Publishers®, Birmingham, AL.

Rick Morton, along with his wife, Denise, played an integral role in the cofounding of Promise 139, an international orphan-hosting ministry. He serves as discipleship pastor at Temple Baptist Church in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Rick and Denise have three children, all adopted.

2 Categories : Articles
Aug
8

WorldCrafts Releases Fall Catalog

by newhope

WorldCrafts, a ministry partner of New Hope Publishers, recently released its new Fall 2011 catalog featuring more than 200 handcrafted, fair-trade gifts from artisans across the globe. A diverse mix of items graces the catalog pages from these categories: Christmas, home decor, stationery, jewelry, accessories, and children’s.

WorldCrafts develops sustainable, fair-trade businesses among impoverished people around the world. The WorldCrafts vision is to offer an income with dignity and the hope of everlasting life to every person on earth.

Artisans represent more than 30 countries on 5 continents: Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America. Many of them are part of the Set1Free campaign, which highlights those groups working to free women involved in or at risk of human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

Lives are changing. Women leaving dire poverty and even sexual slavery are being trained, given fair-trade employment, and told of joy that lasts for eternity. Whole families can escape desperate circumstances.

WorldCrafts encourages its customers to host parties to support the artisans and to raise awareness about fair trade and human exploitation. More information is available at WorldCrafts.org.

For a free catalog, individuals may call 1-800-968-7301 or email customer_service@wmu.org. A pdf of the catalog is also available at WorldCrafts.org.

Enjoy free shipping on WorldCrafts orders of $75 or more from August 3 through August 17, 2011. Online orders only. Use promo code NEWYR1.

—New HopeDigital

 

1 Categories : News
Jun
23

Christian Responses to the Economics of Sexual Exploitation and Human Trafficking

by newhope

by Mark L. Russell

In my last column, I discussed the complexities of economic growth in India, particularly how it has opened the door to gender-selective abortion, which in turn, is producing a gender-imbalanced society ripe for increased sex trafficking.

Priscilla Center, Northeast India. One of several Set1Free WorldCrafts artisan groups in India.

This is an ugly picture and flies in the face of what most of us think when we imagine economic progress. The good news is that once we recognize a problem, we can start to develop Christian responses to it.

Here are a few ways we can make a difference for India right where we are.

Think
We need to think differently and more deeply about these problems. In my experience I have noticed that people tend to develop a quick negative bias against a country or people group when they hear of inhumane activities like gender-selective abortion. It is obviously understandable to recoil in disgust, but we need to move beyond that initial reaction.

We may be tempted to boycott India, but that would be an improper reaction, which would do little to solve the problem. Rather, we need to support economic progress in India. India still needs jobs for her people to prosper. They still need our support. We need to think “pro-India” not against her.

Instead, we must begin to think in terms of long-term change. There is not a quick-fix solution. The conditions that have given rise to gender-selective abortion in India developed out of centuries-old cultural understandings and beliefs. (Remember, gender-selective abortion is illegal in India. This is not a legal issue, but a worldview, or heart, issue.) Superficial, knee-jerk responses will not aid in sustainable change. India needs committed, thoughtful people willing to engage the hearts and minds of her citizens.

Buy
Believe it or not, we can buy for a change. There are scores of good, Christian organizations that are working to combat the social ills and sins of India, particularly in the sex industry. For example, WorldCrafts sells products that ultimately provide dignified employment to women leaving sexual exploitation. A list of some highlighted groups can be found at http://www.worldcrafts.org/set1free.asp.

The next time you are looking for a gift for yourself or someone else, think about buying from one of these organizations, knowing that your purchase will contribute toward economic progress that is accompanied by a broader understanding of the way the world works and what God desires of us.

Give
Don’t buy something you don’t need. In some cases, you can support business-as-mission (BAM) enterprises by making a financial donation.

Relying purely on business profits puts them in direct competition with people who do not value human dignity nor care to offer complementary services and benefits to their employees. A simple gift to a BAM company can go a long way in supporting counseling, medical care, job training, and Bible teaching for local employees.

Preach
Some people believe that the gospel and economics are separate and that the workplace is no place for faith. I beg to differ. The situation in India highlights the fact that we need to preach the gospel always and everywhere. Economic progress, without the life-transforming power of the gospel, is not redemptive; in fact, it can multiply sin.

Leaving people in poverty and misery is not an option for the Christian either. We must be on the forefront of socio-economic development. Therefore, we should not be tempted into blocking off business and economics from the church. When the church goes to work and goes to market, she needs to take the gospel with her. Lives are at stake.

Pray
Now that you know more about the situation in India, you have something to pray about. Take two minutes right now and pray for India and her girls.

Mark Russell is a widely respected voice in the missional community. He has lived in Russia, Chile, and Germany, and has traveled to more than 70 countries to carry out a variety of business, educational, humanitarian, and religious projects. He is the author of The Missional Entrepreneur.

0 Categories : Articles, Columns, Mark Russell
May
27

Mark Russell: Fair Trade and Human Exploitation

by newhope

Mark Russell defines fair trade and discusses consumer responsibility.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

0 Categories : Podcast
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