when "they" became "we"

In the process of writing my weekly series Missions Monday, I have spoken to many organizations doing good in the world today. I have heard their hearts on what they do and all that God is doing in them and through them along the way. 

I love being able to share that with others each week.

Something was different when I was first contacted by The Exodus Road. 

They had sent a personal invitation to join the team.

I watched Matt and Laura share their hearts in this video.

I knew I wanted to be a part of what they were doing and I said "yes." 

Everything changed in that one moment when "they" became "we."

What inspires me about this group of people that I have joined in the fight against human trafficking and child slavery is that we are all of one mind, heart, and purpose.

From Matt and Laura who lead the way to the undercover investigators on the front lines to those of us that share the stories of hope like Sarah's, 

we are all abolitionists who have an important part to play in the rescue.

I am so very blessed to be part of The Exodus Road team. 

Would you like to join us in the fight for freedom?

You can learn more about our organization

and how you can get involved by visiting our website here:

The Exodus Road - Website.

You can connect with us on Facebook here:

The Exodus Road - Facebook

and follow us on Twitter here:

The Exodus Road - Twitter.

My friend Holley Gerth invited me to join a group of dreamers that she affectionately calls her God Sized Dream Team. What a blessing to be part of this group. 

We will be gathering each week on Tuesdays at Holley's to encourage each other to dream those God sized dreams.

Won't you join us?

What is your God-sized dream?

Holley had written a love letter to dreamers. Her book You're Made for a God-Sized Dream is full of words of encouragement and will speak to your heart.

Blessings,

Entering the Bat Cave - The Exodus Road

Today for Missions Monday I wanted to share this fantastic article 

from one of our team members at The Exodus Road - Kelley J. Leigh.

Do you ever feel discouraged about how to enter the enormous gap between human trafficking and life in the suburbs?  Exodus Road staffer, Kelley J. Leigh, is an ordinary  middle-aged mom to four sons and recently wrote an article over at Burnside Writers Collective about the paralyzation we ‘regular’ people feel about what to do when it comes to sex trade.  She describes her friendship with the founders of The Exodus Road candidly:

“ … frankly, having social justice superheroes as friends comes with issues; like, the constant nagging feeling that I am in reality, a total social justice slacker — like Lois Lane standing outside the empty telephone booth wondering where Superman went.”

But she offers us an accessible way to begin our own journey into social justice:

I decided it doesn’t matter who gets to be Batman or who is Alfred. 

We are all in this together.

My former social justice slackitude stemmed from my belief in super heroes. “Those people” do this stuff, not me. “I’ll just leave them to their supernatural business and check in on them every once in awhile.”  However, I now see them simply as ordinary people who have followed God, one harrowing step at a time.  They didn’t start out as superheroes.  Back alley brothels and hidden cameras only entered the story after a long  series of small choices stepped them toward the bat cave.  It’s the same for all of us.  After the smallest pause and question, “What now?”  "What Next?” is always an invitation.  It’s a Jesus invitation. “Follow me.”  Steps which obediently follow inevitably lead us to love God or love people in powerful and unimaginable ways.

And what does the LORD require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. - Micah 6:8

My friends’ journey to empower rescue started out as a tangled ball of wire, unwound one turn at a time, until it stretched around the globe.  I have been in a similar tangle, wondering what to do next.  I don’t get to fly to the places where children are freed, but I do get to support people who unlock the prisons. And I can’t speak to US diplomats about prosecution and legislation, but I can write for change. I can redirect my weekly “skinny cinnamon dolce latte” money to the purchase of needed investigative equipment. It starts in the little things toward God’s heart.

One turn at a time.  One seed of holy unrest, watered.   One humble step. One choice to say “Yes” to the One true God who has a heart to rescue us all, one soul at a time.

Start small.  Water the seed. Let it grow.

Be a hero in this larger story.

Join the rescue.

Kelley J. Leigh lives in a quirky little mountain town in Colorado.  At mid-life she decided to leave behind full-time marketing and consulting work to focus on writing.  The rest of her time goes to her husband, four sons, and the recovery of lost car keys. Someday she hopes to own an old scooter and embarrass her sons by wearing the very dorky helmet around town. Read the rest of the article, HERE.

To learn more about what we do and how you can get involved, please visit our website here:

The Exodus Road - Website

You can also connect with us on Facebook here:

The Exodus Road - Facebook

and follow us on Twitter here:

The Exodus Road - Twitter

Blessings,

Fasting for Freedom

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: 

to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, 

to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? 

Isaiah 58:6

Today I am beginning a week long time of fasting and praying for those 

in the bondage of slavery and those working so hard to help free them.

As part of The Exodus Road team, I have listened to the stories 

and viewed the pictures that make me weep.

Stories like Sarah's and the pictures of children.

They have become more than statistics for me.

My heart is broken for them.

Each one is mine to lift up to Him.

Will you join me in praying for their freedom?

You can learn more about The Exodus Road 

and how you can get involved by visiting our website here:

The Exodus Road

You can connect with us on Facebook here:

The Exodus Road - Facebook

and follow us on Twitter here:

The Exodus Road - Twitter.

Blessings,

A Look Back at 2012

Looking back at what I've written in the past year 
and am feeling so incredibly blessed.

Not by what I've written, but by you all sharing
your hearts in response to my heart on the page.

I am so thankful for each one of you who 
have read, responded to, and shared my words.

You all are a treasured gift.

Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.

Philippians 1:3

Today I wanted to share some of my favorite posts from the past year with you.

Seriously Still  

In January, I shared about God calling me to be still with Him. 

Surrender

In February, I shared about exchanging my weakness for His strength.

Love Begins at Home

In March, I shared about what Family Ministry looks like in our own homes.

Hold My Hand Mommy!

In April, I shared about moments with my boys that taught me more about God.

Me, Mr. Clean, & God

In May, I shared about a time that I have my deepest conversations with God.

Making the Most of Drive Time

In June, I shared about making the most of every moment we have with our children.

8 Truths About God Every Child Should Learn

In July, I shared truths from The Lord's Prayer to teach our children.

Enough for Today

In August, I shared about standing on the promise of provision from God.

Dear Me...A Letter to My Teenage Self

In September, I joined other bloggers in writing a letter to myself as a teenager. 
This was by far the most challenging post I wrote all year and is still the hardest for me to read. It is the post that had both positive and negative responses, but through it all I knew it had to be shared.

If it touched one person's life, then it was all worth it.

You Are Welcome Here

In October, I shared about our longing to be welcomed and the power of those words.

I Did It Scared

In October, I also shared about one of my biggest fears and how God is bigger.

We Promised Forever

In November, I shared about celebrating 20 years married to my warrior.

The Answer to a 7 Year Prayer

In November, I also shared about the power of my Abba answering a prayer.

Missions Monday - The Exodus Road

In December, I shared about God breaking my heart and joining The Exodus Road team.

For the Hidden Heroes

In December, I also shared a letter of encouragement written to the undercover investigators of The Exodus Road and invited you to write one as well.

Again I want to thank you all.

Thank you for joining me here and allowing me 
to share my heart and sharing yours right back. 
I am looking forward to what God has 
in store for us in the coming year together.

Blessings,
Wendy

For the Hidden Heroes

There are hidden heroes that go into the dark places and give everything they are to rescue those who are prisoners in a world that most of us could never imagine. 

Our undercover investigators for The Exodus Road are on the front lines of the war against human trafficking and are some of the bravest people I know.

But even the bravest heroes need an encouraging word. 
They need to know that, while they are hidden, they are not forgotten.

Here is my letter to them:

Friends,

I feel like I can call you that. We have never met, 
but I know your hearts and have heard your stories.

Thank you. Thank you for everything you do. 
I know you don't expect a thanks for it.
You do it for those you rescue and that is enough.

I know what you do impacts you in ways that I can never imagine. 
What you see. You go into the dark to be the light. You offer hope in a world that seems hopeless. You offer rescue to those who can't see past the prisons.

I am sure there are moments when you are discouraged.

Take heart.

You are making a difference, friends. With every person you have rescued that now knows freedom, you are making a difference. With every prosecution that takes a trafficker off the street and into prison, you are making a difference.

I am sure there are moments that you feel alone.

I am here. Praying for you. 
Lifting you up to Him for courage, strength, and safety.

I am here. Telling your stories. 
Letting others know about all you are doing and those you are doing it for.

I am here and we are in this together.

Although we are miles apart, we are of one heart and mind in our mission.

I will do my best here to match your best there.

Stay strong, warriors.

Shine your light bright.

Much love and thanks,

Wendy

Would you join me and write a word of encouragement to them as well?

Handwritten letters can be mailed by January 5 to:
The Exodus Road 
PO Box 7591 
Woodland Park, Colorado 80863

You can also write a letter to them online here.

To learn more about The Exodus Road and
how you can get involved, you can visit our website here:
The Exodus Road - Website
You can connect with us on Facebook here:
The Exodus Road - Facebook
and you can follow us on Twitter here:
The Exodus Road - Twitter

Missions Monday - The Exodus Road

Today I am going to be doing something a little different for Missions Monday. Usually I share about various organizations that you and your family can get involved in. Today I want to tell you about an organization that I am involved in and ask you to join me.

Today I want to introduce you to

The Exodus Road.

From the website:

"The Exodus Road exists to empower the rescue of victims of sexual slavery. Operating primarily in Southeast Asia, we believe that a major component of fighting human trafficking and child slavery lies in working with local law enforcement to find situations of trafficking and to then assist in the rescue of victims and the prosecution of criminals. By decreasing the profitability of the trafficking industry for the criminal, we will eventually slow the mechanisms that make the exploitation of women and children so lucrative."

I would like to say that it was the statistics of human trafficking that prompted me to get involved with The Exodus Road.

These statistics are staggering. Overwhelming. And not wholly what led me 
to be a part of what The Exodus Road is doing to fight trafficking.

It was pictures like this one.

And this one.

It was the faces of those who are trafficked that broke my heart.

It was Sarah's story and her rescue from slavery 

that broke my heart even more.

Then I heard Matt and Laura Parker share the story of how 

The Exodus Road began in this video.

I am so very blessed to be part of The Exodus Road team and am looking forward to sharing the stories of all those we are fighting hard to rescue through an incredibly heroic team of investigators and even more so the stories of those who have been rescued.

Will you join me taking this journey on The Exodus Road?

You can learn more about this organization

and how you can get involved by visiting their website here:

The Exodus Road - Website.

You can connect with them on Facebook here:

The Exodus Road - Facebook

and follow them on Twitter here:

The Exodus Road - Twitter.