Federal authorities say they broke up a global child porn ring

I don't have any words for this.... This breaks my heart.

Please read the article for yourself. I have no words for this: FBI busts child porn ring

Real men don't BUY girls

Sister Donna Fread is my new favorite person. She is super cute and speaks the truth; "Real men don't BUY girls." She works for Stop the Demand in the Seattle/Tacoma area which is working to Stop the Demand for human trafficking. It's that simple. The reason why there is a SUPPLY of girls being sold for sex is because there is a DEMAND from "Johns" (the individuals who solicit sex). To stop the problem, both sides need to be addressed. I've had plenty of naysayers say, "as long as men are men, there will always be prostitution." I hate it when people say this to me because they are basically say, "Collyn, just give up. Throw up your hands and stop trying because you'll never win." I don't believe this is true. In fact, this sort of attitude is kindling for my fire, passion, and righteous anger toward the exploitation of humans for sex. Oh and Ashton and Demi agree:

A team member passed along this article to me today:



This is further proof that human trafficking happens everywhere. These girls were runaways. Think about how many kids you knew growing up who either threatened to run away or did run way... I knew a ton! In the fantasy of running way, they probably pictured freedom from whatever they thought was oppressing them at home, not sexual servitude. I'm sure they never wanted the life they now have because they ran away. They didn't know any better because, yep you guessed it, THEY ARE CHILDREN! Children can't be held responsible for becoming victims of predatory people. The only defense against this sort of an issue is EDUCATION and AWARENESS. The men who bought these girls' innocence are all around you: The guy behind you at Starbucks, the man you work with, the men you pass in the grocery store. The more we all speak up that this behavior is unacceptable and offer them help (because they are obviously not healthy in the head if they are buying 13 year old girls), the quicker we can solve this problem.

It's as simple as SUPPLY and DEMAND.

Slave labor still lives right next door

You might think that the Emancipation Proclamation ended the argument for human beings to be enslaved in the United States, but it's been going on in plain sight for years ever since. Human trafficking is a VERY profitable business, so profitable that many drug traffickers are switching over to human trafficking. Unlike drugs, humans are a reusable resource and can be sold many times over then thrown away.


A friend sent this news story to me that is sadly not shocking. A group of 20+ girls were flown from West Africa to Newark, New Jersey and promised an education, instead they were bound to modern day slavery. The truth is that slavery could be right before your eyes. I look back to my life growing up in Southern California where my parents hired landscapers from Mexico to care for our lawn. My mom always had kind conversations with the organizer and leader of the group. She gave them water, food, lemonade and tried to make their day as enjoyable as possible. It wasn't clear that these men were being held against their will and/or not given the money they deserved. Anything could have been possible (and I'm not even getting into the possibility that they emigrated themselves into the USA illegally on their own will). It irks me that there is a slight possibility those men might have been slave laborers. My family works hard to promote social justice and doing what's right, but if you don't know the right questions to ask, you cold be supporting slave labor without even knowing about it. Who knows if those men were trafficked and it's my prayer that they weren't, but the thought of it is disturbing.


Please watch this short video of slave labor in a hair salon in New Jersey. I guarantee it will make you think twice about who you are paying for services and if they are actually getting money from it or not.

Punch Consumerism in the Throat (thanks Mike H!)

Merry Christmas to all!

As you probably are aware, the holiday season is upon us. It’s the season where you feel pressured to buy your family and friends something awesome, sip hot coco, and get all cozy by the fire. My biggest concern for this holiday season is the shift from a season of grace, peace, and goodwill toward all to a season of frantic consumerism. The malls are hectic, traffic is considerably worse (and that’s BAD in Seattle), and instead of smiling at your fellow man you pass right by emotionless like a consumerism-infected zombie. I would like to invite you all to take a new perspective on Christmas present purchases: purchase with a purpose. Make every gift you give benefit not just the recipient, but someone else as well!

I would like to highlight my favorite socially conscious businesses in this post in hopes that others will learn about new and awesome gifts to buy their loved ones.

1) Freewaters

My friends Dalene and Phil Hammer are currently in Africa right now to help build a well for Freewaters. They are a new company and will be open starting in February, so while they might not make a good Christmas present, they may be a great Valentine’s day present.

2) TOMS Shoes

I love TOMS shoes… really… love! They are cute (my personal favorites: Morroco Glitters and the Wedge). I love their social entrepreneurial business model and the way they give back to the world. Everyone should own at least one pair of TOMS.

3) Freedom Stones

Freedom Stones is an organization that is close to my heart. They operate out of Thailand (through the Pattaya Slum Ministries), Ghana, and Cambodia. They are supported by the Eastside Women of Purpose and are doing their part to help end human trafficking and poverty by creating beautiful pieces of jewelry.

These are my personal favorite because they go with everything.

4) Krochet Kids International

I just learned about Krochet Kids Intl. over the weekend and I love their ideas! The goods are reasonably priced and can really help make a difference in women’s lives in Uganda.

5) Kiva

Oh Kiva, how I love thee! This is a great organization that connects those in need with those who can give. Find an entrepreneur you want to support and choose the amount you would like to support them with. Once they have paid back their loan, you can re-invest that money to another entrepreneur.

6) Vittana

Vittana is great and I’ve been personally involved with the organization for about a year now. They are operating under a Kiva-type model but specialize in giving the gift of education. Here in the US, we can go to school regardless of our earning power through student loans. In the rest of the world where many aren’t bankable, this isn’t possible. Vittana creates a bridge between those who are poor and want to get an education and a brighter future. It’s a known statistic that the more educated an individual is, the more likely they will be to stay healthy, not have unplanned pregnancies, and give back to their communities.

7) Heifer

In many rural villages, a families wealth is directly linked to their livestock. A gift of a goat, cow, pig, llama, rabbit, etc. can change a family’s life! Plus they are pretty darn cute! Help support those in need by giving a Camel for Christmas. It’s pretty Biblical I think… Didn’t those three wise men ride Camels to welcome baby Jesus into this fallen world?

8) Foundation for Women Micro Loan Blend Coffee

This organization is run by the strongest and brightest women in San Diego. I had the honor and pleasure of meeting the founder of Foundation for Women and Elan Coffee two years ago and was blown away by their commitment to improving the lives of women all around the world through business.  Together they have worked to create the Micro Loan Blend Coffee. I can personally attest to how delicious it is because I drink it every morning. Also, it’s sold at a comparable price. It’s so important to make sure the coffee you drink is fair trade and organic because if it isn’t, its probably made by the hands of slaves, indentured servants, or children. The same goes for chocolate. Please support this wonderful organization by buying a bag now so you can enjoy your little cup of freedom and empowerment on Christmas morning!

9) Not for Sale

Not for Sale is an AMAZING organization that is pioneering the gift of freedom around the world. I had the honor of hearing Dave Batstone speak at an Anti-Human Trafficking conference in Seattle. He inspired me to keep trekking along in my journey of hope to end modern day slavery.

They are at the forefront of raising up modern day abolitionist around the world. They are wonderful at educating people about slavery, actions they can take, and how to educate others about slavery. Also, my favorite part of Not for Sale is how they are pressuring big corporations to be transparent about their supply chain so we can be certain they don’t use slavery to make their goods. This is much more common than you might think. Please check out Free to Work campaign for more information on this.

My goodness this has been a LONG post! Thank you for reading it and I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season! Merry Christmas to all!!

In Peace,

Collyn

Sex Slavery Lives in the Land of the Free

We generally don't like to think about the evils of the world... probably because it's uncomfortable and disturbing. I understand, but I also encourage you to look beyond your own comforts and realize that these terrible things like sex slavery happens in our own country with our own adult citizens exploiting own children. Turning a blind eye hasn't done anything to help this situation, but it has allowed the pimps to do their work under the cloak of darkness, shame, and pain. By not educating yourself on this, you're exacerbating the issue. I encourage you to look under that cloak and see the seedy underbelly of our failed social services, foster programs, poverty, and abuse. None of these issues will go away if we simply ignore them, but with some passion, education, and a spirit of hope, we can help change the way things are and improve the lives of thousands. It's a long and challenging road, but the way I see it is that there isn't any other road to travel. As long as a child is being manipulated, sexually abused, and robbed of their innocence, personal comfort shouldn't be your priority. These girls don't have the luxury of comfort or innocence because of their circumstance. I encourage you to FIGHT for them and say NO to crimes committed against them. This is a call to action. Be an advocate for the invisible, voiceless, and powerless.

Back in Seattle

After some time in the Bangkok hospital due to severe food poisoning, I'm back in Seattle and back to work. Thanks to Jeff McKinley because if it weren't for him, I might not have gone to the hospital... but I declined quickly shortly after we got there. No better place to decline than in a hospital where they have the right medications to bring me back! A special thanks goes to him for taking care of me like I was his own daughter. What a wonderful feeling! I still feel pretty cruddy, but hey, I'm home! It seems so surreal to come back to my comforts of home after experiencing so much sadness... but that why we work, right? Our team reconvenes tomorrow to discuss how we are going forward. What changes we will make, analyze the effectiveness of our approach, and share our debriefing thoughts. I often find myself praying that God helps me processes all the things I just experienced... all in God's time.


So funny, I'm just listening to my iPod and this song just came on which is perfect: "The shadow proves their is sunshine." So true. We are working to bring light to a dark place, but their is hope! There is always hope! You can't go ANYWHERE in the world and escape the reach of our Lord of Lords, King of Kings, our GREAT and MIGHTY GOD! Praise the LORD!

Pattaya Orphanage

Click here to view these pictures larger

A few team members and myself went to the Pattaya Orphanage. All of these babies were so starved for attention and just had their arms outstretched for attention. This just affirmed my strong desire that I want to adopt children when my time comes... So precious!

Much love to all! We are taking our girls out tonight, so keep us in your prayers! We have some things lined up to take them out of the bars, so please pray that they are open to it.

God is MOVING here!

Wenesday night in Pattaya

It was my final night of teaching (and I rocked it)! Yay! We wanted to go see our friends at the bar and invite them to Pattaya Praise tomorrow night. We are paying them to go (thank you for donating ministry money) and hopefully encouraging them to make a change in their life. We have a rehab set up for them, so we hope they will accept our help. Please keep us in your prayers.

Also we are going to an orphanage tomorrow... so I'm going to see how to adopt a little thai girl... for the future of course :) I just heard they are really hard to get, so I'd like to see how this might work. :)

I'll be posting some videos for our updates... stay tuned!!

Much love my friends! God is MOVING here!

Click here to view these pictures larger

Quick update

I'm so sorry I've been so bad at updating this, but we have literally been going non-stop since we got here. Everything is going really well and our first night of teaching went well. I'm impressed at the level of enthusiasm from our students! So many possibilities! I'm so excited to be apart of this journey! More updates to come.

Today we are meeting with the Nelsons (OCCs missionaries here in Thailand) and going into the slums... i might just try to smuggle a little Thai baby back, they are so cute! Raleigh could be a big brother! haha!

Anyway, thanks for the love and the prayers! Blessings!

First night in Pattaya

The first night, we went to Walking Street, which is kind of like the hub of Sex Trafficking in the city of Pattaya. We walked down the street with prayerful hearts that God's glory would shine upon the city. There is so much to be sad for in Pattaya, but what gives me hope is the possibility of salvation, restoration, and renewal with the love of Jesus. If you have a heart time understand Grace, please look at these photos with the understanding that each of these people in the pictures can be redeemed through Christ's love, not becasue they deserve it or they have earned it, but becasue God has given us Grace.

Click here to view these pictures larger

There is much more to come... stay tuned :)

Made it to Teipei!!

That was quite possibly the easiest 14 hour plane flight ever...  I slept for 10 hours! THANK you Tylenol PM! haha! We are on a layover waiting for our 4 hour flight to Bangkok. I'm so jazzed for this adventure! Please keep me, my team, and the city of Pattaya in your prayers :) Thanks loving supporters!!

Now, i have to call my credit card companies and tell them I'm traveling.... OOPS! haha! Let's hope this doesn't go poorly! haha! Ciao ciao! God bless!

These are pictures from the Teipei airport :) We had some time to killl! haha! It was pretty amazing because they had all sorts of prayer rooms. Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish, and Christian. Pretty interesting!  

Leaving on a Jet Plane :)

I leave for Thailand tonight. We will be entering the city with prayerful hearts that our work we have done is good enough for the work we need to do in Pattaya. This is game time. I’m sure we are going to hit some road-blocks, but we are hoping for an overall smooth trip.


I’m feeling very nervous, anxious, and most of all excited! It’s a unique experience to be able travel to a foreign country with the intentions of being God’s hands and feet. We aren’t going to a sunny beach to relax. We are going into a dark city where evil has been thriving since the Vietnam War. We come bearing options to those whose hearts are heavy with their current lifestyle. We come with hope and the opportunity to reclaim the identity each individual was born to embrace. These women, men, girls and boys were made to be loved appropriately, cherished, and protected. The fact that none of this is happening currently is a reason to FIGHT. That’s what I’m doing when I go over to Thailand, I’m putting my dukes up, packing my ammo, tying on my bad-a bandana, and getting ready to fight for these beautiful people who can’t fight for themselves. I’m coming with an artillery of weapons: semi-automatic education, oozy of empowerment, a few indignant grenades, and a whole lot of Care Bear Stare LOVE! Okay, so maybe I don’t know much about actual guns, but I do know what it’s gong to take to stop the evil in Pattaya (and soon all of Thailand… then reaching to Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Nepal, etc....). It’s going to take a practical, tangible alternative to prostitution in the City of Sex. That’s what the Thailand Centers is working to provide.



The Thailand Centers will be provide business education and training to anyone who either has a legitimate business, has an idea for a legitimate business, or wants to learn how to be a good employee for a good legitimate business. We are presenting our pilot program November 8-12 in Pattaya, so please pray for our success. For more information on how we are planning on running this center, please go to http://www.globalbreakthrough.net/. Then, click on Causes and then Human Trafficking. Please stay tuned for more updates on how we are doing on our pilot program.

Human beings are the 2nd most lucrative commodity after drugs...

I unfortunately missed the Larry King Live special on Modern day slavery, but I did find this clip. As soon as I find a way to share the whole episode, I'll post it. This should serve as a wake-up call that gender inequality lives and thrives in most societies today, but are perceived differently. Most human trafficking victims are women because they are usually more venerable than boys the same age (strength, gullibility, lack of confidence, etc.). The trafficking of boys is also an issue, but I'm going to concentrate on the girls for now. Please watch this clip and tell me how it affects you.

I leave in two weeks for Pattaya, Thailand. The city itself is an attack to the senses. Ever where you look you can see sexual positions to be ordered, girls to be bought, and the robbery of innocence. It's such a sharp juxtaposition against the beautiful nature that exists in Pattaya (an otherwise beautiful place to be). As I prepare for my trip, I want to arm my readers with the reasons why I am fighting this fight. This is just the beginning...

Oh and here is a wonderful protest a friend brought to my attention: Israeli models protest women being sold as commodities.

Help me fundraise for Thailand!

When your eyes aren't set on God, they are always set on something lesser

I would like to SINCERELY like to ask the members of the Westboro Baptist church if they REALLY think that their hurtful protests are lifting up the name of Jesus and going after the heart of God. No matter how you look at this, these people are most certainly not making God smile. I know my God and He is loving and gentle. This resembles more of the "Enemy" than God because it's full of malice, hatred, and completely devoid of love.

My heart just weeps for the families of all the fallen soldiers who have to endure this horror. As if it's not terrible enough that they have lost a love one who fought for the very right to speak freely, they are being tormented by fanatical "Christians". What an ignorant standpoint to blame our troops for the ills of the world! These sins lye deeper than one fraction of the population. The biggest sin committed by dishonoring another human's life and continuing a cycle of hatred, intolerance, and pain. These members of Westboro are no better than the pimp who kidnaps a young girl, rapes and beats her until she is willing to sell herself for sex on the streets. Both groups of people are dishonoring what is most sacred: Another's life.

Our soldiers fight for our country and sometimes end up giving the ultimate sacrifice: their lives. That COMMANDS the respect of every American with a beating heart and blood in their veins. Disrespecting that sacrifice is the MOST un-American act possible. The least everyone can do is give the grieving family some time, space, and respect to burry their child, husband, wife, mother, father. That's a ONE TIME deal, and once taken can never be replaced.

Just like the fanatical "Christians" in Florida who wanted to burn the Quran on September 11th, these people DO NO represent Christianity, the love of Jesus, and the ideals that Christianity has set forth. These people are behaving more like the Pharisees in the Bible; hypocrites to the core. We can't judge others and we most CERTAINLY don't have the right to persecute ANYONE! Westboro, I'm afraid you have your eyes set on something other than God and His plan: pure evil and hatred. All we are asked to do is love God, love each other, be good stewards to the world we live in. They are doing none of this with their hurtful actions. The worst part is that I have to forgive you for these horrific acts.

I forgive you.

Liberals vs. Conservatives- Is the battle really worth it?

There is a constant push and pull of liberals and conservative Christians. It’s always been this way from the conception of the United States of America’s bi-party system. For the most part, we live with each other in relative harmony, but much of the time we also butt-heads on controversial issues… such as abortions. My roommate just showed me this video of a woman who is a servivor of a late term abortion. That it is pretty fantastic that she survived (she discusses the low to little likelihood of this being a possibility). What’s even more fantastic is how she speaks to a room. Please watch this video here and see what I mean.

 Click here to watch.

As you probably know from reading previous blog post, I’m reading the book Half the Sky. What’s interesting is that abortion is one of the issues discussed and I happen to be going through that section right now. It talks mainly about how the liberals and the conservatives are going about the issue of abortion in very different ways, but both want the same outcome: decrease in unplanned pregnancies. The conservative Christian group decided to tackle this goal by introducing a “gag-rule” which would cut off funding to groups that support abortion. In turn, over the course of about 20 years, the US cut off funds to the UNFPA because the organization gave an award to a guy who helped with coerced abortions. The UNFPA didn’t actually use the US’s money to perform abortions, but the fact the UNFPA gave an award and support a guy who did. This resulted in a large increase in unplanned pregnancies. This was NOT the desired result from the conservative Christians. All of those pregnancies makes the effort of getting out of poverty even more... possibly even feeding into human trafficking. A lot of these consequences are speculative, however, it's the reality of some.


The liberals have made their err on the maternal battle just as much as the conservative Christians. Using abortion as a form of birth control is destructive to the woman, emotionally and physically... especially the coerced abortions that happen in China to control population growth. Could you even imagine? Being SO excited that you had conceived a baby but then being forced to have an abortion? How devastating would that be? It happens everyday. In America, it's the woman's right to choose, but in many other countries, it's apparently the GOVERNMENT'S right to choose. How removed!? Also, simply dispersing condoms aren't going to get the job done. Education has to come with that hand-out.

My point is this: to solve this problem, we have to work together. I love it when she said, "Put your politics aside". We both want the same thing: increased value to each life. We want our mothers to deliver healthy babies and be healthy themselves. We want our children to grow up in a nurturing environment, educated, and prepared to go out on their own. We want able bodied people to work and earn a fair wage for their labor. Essentially, we want the decrease the volume of unplanned pregnancies, decrease volume of abortions, and increase the value of life. There is a direct correlation to unplanned pregnancies and poverty, maternal mortality, disease, etc.. So what's the answer? I don't know, but a good start is increasing the availability of contraceptives (condoms, copper T IUDs, etc.) as well as increasing education around sex, family planning, etc. I also believe microfinance is a good way to help this issue because it will help pull an individual out of poverty allowing that entrepreneur's children to get better education, thus decreasing the level of poverty in the next generation. obviously, this can't be done in a day, but we can all work together over the years to find a happy medium between super leftist liberals and very conservative Christians.

Dr Yunus on the SIMPSONS!

My wonderful friend Lindsey led me to this article describing how Dr. Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank and 2006 Nobel Peace Laureate, will be on the Simpsons on Sunday night. This means a few different things:

1. The masses of people who watch the Simpsons will be subconsciously learning about the very principal that has the potential to pull our world economy up to a livable standard
2. Dr Yunus is JUST as awesome as I have imagined him to be! I saw him speak a few months ago about his new book Building a Social Business and he was so intriguing to watch. One second he would be discussing the necessity to be an advocate for the poor but then laughing about the irony of bureaucracy the next. When building bridges like he has, it's an important quality to not take yourself too seriously.
3. I NEED TO BORROW SOME ONE'S CABLE to watch it :) I don't have cable for many reasons. The main reasons is a) I don't want to pay for it and b) it distracts me from productivity too much.

So if you have cable, TV, and want to watch Simpson on Sunday night. Let me know. :)

The Governator strikes again!

California gets it! WOO HOO! Finally! Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is taking STRIDES in California to make it financially inconvenient to traffic individuals... alright, we have 49 more states to go! Read here about how this new law will affect traffickers.

Phil and Dalene Hamer: socially conscious consumer?

Phil and Dalene Hamer: socially conscious consumer?: "Did you know that you could be contributing to slave labor depending on where you shop? That's quite an accusation, and it's true! Do you lo..."

Man of my dreams: Jimmie Briggs

No matter how you slice it, we know that men are generally stronger than women... just speaking of the pure physical brawn of a man and the general delicate nature of a woman. Of course this isn't always true, but a lot of the times it is. This is exacerbated in developing countries and poorer communities when intimidation, coercion, brute force, and gunpowder is added into the mix. Welcome to the rest of the world where women are not valued at all. After reading the book Half the Sky by Nicolas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, it became clear to me that the inequity between men and women is the cause of many of the world's pain. It's so blatant too! For example, there was a story of a girl in the Congo who was raped by the bully child-soldier militia. She became pregnant and then became the social pariah of the community. When it came time to have her baby, she didn't have any doctor care. When the baby was stuck in her birth-canal (sorry to be so graphic, but there is a point... I promise), there was no one to help her. Days and weeks went by- unable to walk, feed herself, do anything. The fetus had died but left the mother incontinent from the material injuries. The communities solution to this was to put her in a hut on the outer-rim of the village so the wild dogs could kill her... Tell me, would a community rally for that same decision if it were a little boy with severe injuries and needing a surgery? I don't think so. If you don't believe me, I sincerely hope you pick up a copy of Half the Sky and at least read the first 10 pages... then you'll see what I'm writing about. Oh and not to leave you hanging on that story, a male missionary happened to come across the girl and took her to a specialized hospital that would give her the surgery she needed. As far as I know now, she is a fully functioning human being.

This is why I'm a fan of Jimmie Briggs... He is literally going out of his way and speaking up for all the women who have been forgotten over the years. It's true that women are far more vulnerable than men... which is why we need more men like Jimmie to stand up and ask each man to "Man Up". It's a responsibility. I know what you might be thinking, "Collyn, you're taking us back 30 years! What about all that "Women's Equality" stuff?" Well, I most certainly think that intellectually men and women should be revered as equal. In fact, there are things that women can do that men can't and vice versa. I don't know where people perverted the idea of equality to stretch so grotesquely across the board... are you all blind? Of course there is a MAJOR difference between men and women. One can give birth, the other can't. The way our minds even WORK is different- Men have a more difficult time multi-tasking, where as most women excel in this area. Of course, these are BROAD generalizations and don't apply to every man and every woman, but if there is one thing that we can all agree on, it's that men and women are DIFFERENT. What Jimmie gets is that women all over the world need men to stand up and say, "No, it's not okay to gang-rape a village of women into submission. It's not okay to sell your daughters to a pimp so she can be trafficked. It's not right for men to buy young girls (and boys) and perform disgusting sexual acts with them." This sort of stuff has been happening since the beginning of time, but guess what: WE KEEP GETTING STRONGER AND WISER! Let's use that momentum to free women from sexual bondage and violence. Please vote for Jimmie Briggs so he can continue his work with a little bit more help. All of you men who have a Jimmie Briggs inside, please stand up!

Why I love George Clooney even more now...

Human Trafficking is an issue that affects all of us... even here in America. I encourage you to watch this trailer and think about how none of us should have the luxury to divert our eyes. It is our responsibility to speak up for those who don't have a voice. The reason this issue has gone this far is because not enough people have stood up and said, "No, this is NOT okay." This could be your little neighbor girl, the boy down the street, the kid walking to school alone. Millions of children are trafficked inside the boarders of our FREE country everyday... How could that NOT make you angry? Lets convert that energy into advocacy for change. Together we can speak up against this attrocity, but first, you have to educate yourself.

Some other great resources are below:

http://www.globalbreakthough.net/

http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/

http://www.sharedhope.org/

http://www.slaverymap.org/

http://www.seattleagainstslavery.org/

http://www.ijm.org/

www.polarisproject.org

Post Thailand Letter

Dear Family and Friends  

I followed God’s call to the Northwest about three years ago.  I’m still not certain the kind of work God has called me to do here vs. any other city in the country or for that matter in the world.  Last Christmas 2009,  I was making my plans to move to Austin to pursue my MBA at the University of Texas in Austin.  I hadn’t secured admission nor had I taken my GMAT yet.  I began feeling desperate in the Northwest as my days began to run together into one big mush resulting in minor impact in the end.  Still uncertain if I should stay or if I should go, I moved into a temporary living situation with a friend. This would at least give me until May to listen and better understand God’s call on my life.  During this time of reflection God effectively rocked my world.  In March I went to Thailand and by May I found greater purpose in life.   God has shown me my call is to help end Human Trafficking in Southeast Asia.

I have been back from Pattaya, Thailand for almost four months.  I would have written this sooner, but I honestly didn’t have the words to bring this together.  I’ve needed this much time to process all that has happened.  I was sick with a bad cold when we left Seattle on Friday,  March 12^th, 2010. I was determined God wanted me to be in Pattaya at this time.  I persevered through nearly 22 hours of travel time.  Many of you have had the pleasure of traveling while being sick, so I’m sure you know the joy that I experienced.  Honestly, it was joy! I had joy that I was on my way to a new adventure God had for me if I persevered through the discomfort and the pain, that God would meet me and use me the way that He wanted to.  

I fixed my eyes on James 1:2-4, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”  We arrived in Pattaya on Sunday afternoon and headed straight to church.  I felt like all I wanted to do was collapse in bed and sleep the sickness away, but I persevered… at least until after dinner.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get to go down the famous

Walking Street

with my group on the first night because I decided it would be better for me to get a good nights sleep.  Hopefully I would wake up refreshed and without sickness in the morning.  Glory be to God I did wake up a new woman on Monday morning!

The first few days, the team and I got a feel of the city.  We met with the missionaries that have been living there for many years doing Gods work.  All of them filled us with hope when they shared their stories of the kind of change that has already occurred in the past five years; yet Pattaya still has far to go. The main missionaries are a married couple that head up Bridges to the Nations in Pattaya, Thailand.  They told us of their first outreach to the women and men working as sex slaves in Pattaya.  They held a banquet for what was expected to be about 50 people.  Their plan was to treat the women with dignity while treating them to good food.  While they were hosting the meal they told their captive audience how much God loves them.  A little over 150 women came to the event.  At the end of the night, the pastor gave the women an opportunity to hand their lives over to Jesus Christ at which time every person stood up to do it. The pastor said, “Oh no, no. You must not understand the impact this has.”  So he explained again and offered another opportunity to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  Again every woman stood up.  He assumed they still must not understand, so he told them to all sit down and he explained again the impact of making Jesus their personal savior. They all stood up one last time.  Each and every woman accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.  This was about 5 years ago.  As the missionaries were telling us this story, I realized how thirsty these people are for the Living Water that Jesus provides for us all.

While I was in Pattaya, I felt so close to God.  While in this closeness I finally figured out what Jesus is all about. We visited the slums, which were surprisingly clean!  The slums I’ve been to in the past were in Mexico and they were putrid.  The only way people could work was to go into the dumps and find recycled goods.  The slums in Thailand (although I’m sure there are more that are worse off) were actually a happy place.  There were kids running around with white powder on their faces to keep the bugs off, old women supervising the children’s playtime and young men getting ready to go to their jobs.  All in all, it didn’t seem so bad.  Sure, they didn’t have the comfort of air conditioning, a memory foam mattress, or even clean clothes, but they were full of joy.  They were beautiful. They welcomed you with open arms despite what you were wearing or how your hair was done.  This is such a far cry from our warped Western world where many make judgments on the types of shoes you wear, how your hair looks, or even if you have nice teeth.  In the slums, they received you however you are.  They met me where I was at. 

Don’t get me wrong, there are many reasons why it’s not healthy for people to live in the slums.  Poverty is by no means glorious, but like everything else, there are two sides to the coin.  This became apparent to me when I saw some young girls, no older than 10 years old.  They were beautiful and just coming into their developing bodies. They were prey to be swallowed by this city.  It’s not uncommon for “bar managers” to come into the slums and recruit girls to come with them to the city for a job.  These slums weren’t even 15 min away from

Walking Street

(the street that encompasses all that is evil in Pattaya).  It was as if they are sitting ducks.  In the next few years, they will unfortunately and most likely find out what this once sleepy fishing village has turned into.  

If I were one of these girls I would go into the city as well.   Simply because I wouldn’t know anything different then the promise of money so that I could buy my parents a more secure house.  The sound of the bar manager’s offer would sound worth it.  That is until the damage is done when they are robbed of their innocence.  I can understand why these girls have chosen this life for themselves.  When I was there age, I would have done the same exact thing.  The only difference between me an them is that I was lucky enough to be born into a family that was not only able to protect me from such evil, they educate me and empowered me to be an advocate for “the least of these”.

For the first half of the trip, I was filled with such despair for the city.  I HATED the white men that were there proliferating the pain that these girls felt.  Literally, everywhere you looked, there was a fat, disgusting white man with a beautiful little Thai girl on his arm.  I prayed for God to show me what my purpose was for the city and asked Him why he had sent me to a place that seemed so far gone.  It took me some time, but in the end I realized that these men are just as hurt as the women they are hurting.  What’s the saying? Hurt people hurt people!

In America, Europe, Russia, wherever these men are from, they are a simple Mr. Joe Shmo, no one important. Maybe they are married, maybe they are single.  I have grown to understand that more likely then not they don’t feel like kings in their everyday life.  When they come down to Pattaya and buy a beautiful girl who is excited to get taken care of, he probably feels like a king! It takes very little money to entertain himself and his girl he purchased. The girl feels like she is going to be taken care of for at least a day or two… if not forever (or at least that’s they hope).  I can see how the man feels like a MAN!  He is able to PROVIDE for this girl and make her smile.  Who knows if this is possible in his everyday life.  Most likely it is not.  It was with this realization that I started to see little glimmers of hope for the city.

There were many places of impact that I saw throughout this trip, but the impact I feel worthy of noting in this letter is how invaluable it was for me to go on this mission team vs. the business team at this time. From a business perspective, I could see how so many models were malfunctioning and abusive in Pattaya.  All it would take is a little capital and someone with business sense to come in and fix it all.  I learned that a fix isn't a fix unless God is in the center of it.  It's so easy for me to take God out of the picture when it comes to business because the only business I’ve experience has been on very secular level.  

I've been on fire for Microfinance for a few years, but I haven't really taken into consideration that God should be in the center of that process for there to be real hope.  I’m not suggesting instituting a prostilization aspect of microfinance in Pattaya.  What I am suggesting is exhibiting an unconditional love for these people who have so much potential that goes far beyond business is business.  Jesus hung out with the prostitutes, the money lenders, the tax collectors, those who were “unclean”.  Whether each of those people eventually came to accept him is unknown.  What is known is that he LOVED on them in a way they’ve never been loved before.  Those people were accepted with all their pain, hurt, scars and everything else.  This trip altered my prospective from, “here, let me fix this for you” to “okay God, do your work here and let me be your hands.”  I have grown to realize when God is at the center, the most important and influential thing is Love.  They will see Jesus’ love in their lives and hopefully come to know Him and his redemptive power.  The people rescued will have their hope restored, but most importantly, they have the promise of redemption through Jesus.

These women and men who have been exploited for money have such deep wounds that can only be healed through God's love and redemption through Jesus' blood.  This all became apparent to me when our group visited a hair salon owned by the Tamar Center (the center reaches out to the girls and boys in the bars, offering them a different way to make money) on Soy 6.  It was being run by two women who were rescued out of the bars Pim and Kay.  They shared their story and deep pain with our group.  Each of them opened up their hearts to us and showed us their pain.  Each had tears in their eyes.  Each shared the new hope they have found in Jesus.  I was filled with hope for the city again.  They each ended their stories with praise to the Lord that they have a new life.  Kay said it so well when she said, "I'll never go back to my old life.  God is all I need.  God is enough."  My heart was full.

I’m now preparing for my second trip to Thailand.  In the past four months, I’ve been working with a business team to construct a business education/training center in Pattaya.  We have constructed a business plan, financing plan, curriculum, and a secure model that will hopefully be able to be planted anywhere in the world.  Realistically this has been my second job outside of Costco, and it has been my joy to work with this team.  I am only 24 years old and I’ve never created a business, much less written a business plan, curriculum, or planned a major fundraising event.  It’s all happening and it’s all of God’s handiwork.  He has put such an amazing team together who tirelessly has been working on this project ever since we returned  to American. Glory to God!

I want to thank you for your support.  Many of you have been praying for me on my new journey and some have even provided me financial support.  For this I thank you from the bottom of my heart! I’m going on for another mission trip November 4-14^th.  I ask for your prayers again as I prepare for this next trip.  I will be sending out a formal “fundraising” letter, so if you feel prompted to give, please let me know.  All financial gifts are tax-deductible and will go toward my airfare, travel, hotel, and food.  I’m planning on hosting some fundraising events in the future, so if you would like to participate in them, please let me know as well.  

Additionally, my group is hosting a fundraising dinner Saturday, October 2^nd, 2010 at the Hollywood Hills School House in Woodinville.  I will be sending more information about this event later.  If this is something you would like to participate in, I would love to see you there.  The money raised through this fundraiser will go toward the business center.  I know that God wants me to return to Thailand and I know that God will provide the finances, strength and health however He sees fit to provide.  What is most important to me are your prayers on my behalf.

Thank you again for your love and support!  God has truly blessed me by allowing me to be in each of your lives. Thank you again!

In His Unconditional love and Peace,

Collyn Leigh Eppel

First Post

I have now entered the world of blogging.... at first, I didn't think I would be a fan of blogging, but now I think I'll like it.  I enjoy sharing what I learn about human rights issues, poverty solutions, microfinance, and action items to be taken that will make a difference. This blog will be about human rights issues, observervations of the world, ideas on how to make it a better place, my adorable dog, and the places I find my joy.A lot of it will be my synthesis of an articles, books, movies, etc..

I will start of by blog by sharing my post-Thailand synopsis letter. I went on my first mission trip to Pattaya, Thailand in March 2010 and got a first hand glance of how human trafficking and prostitution have destroyed so much beauty in Thailand. It's safe to say that the trip dramatically changed my life. Please read my very vulnerable synopsis of my experience.