Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Friday, September 10, 2010
Sunday, September 05, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
Human Trafficking
Dear Friends,
In a couple of months my daughter Laurel will embark on a courageous year of service to some of the most hurting people in the world in one of the most desperate places in the world. This will certainly be a life altering year for Laurel. She is in the process of raising support for this work with International Justice Mission. I have pasted below a copy of her letter, a story about a young victim of human trafficking, and support information. I post this (and tag some folks) mostly in the hope that people will pray for her, and also in hope that this note might get forwarded around, potentially connecting with those who may have interest in this ministry. Thank you for reading this.
Joel
“You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.” – Psalm 10:17-18
As hard as it is to believe, my four years at UNC-Chapel Hill came to an end in May when I received my degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. I wanted to look for an opportunity that enabled me to incorporate both my academic training and my faith. I could not get the issue of human trafficking off my mind, and stories like the one above made me want to help even more. Various conferences, conversations and convictions led me to discover the work of International Justice Mission (IJM), and I decided to apply for a Communications internship. I was so happy to receive a twelve month placement in South Asia, where I will be moving in late September to work in the fight against unprosecuted rape and forced prostitution.
It is hard to wrap my mind around these numbers, but the facts are sobering. According to a recent article in National Geographic, there are 27 million slaves in the world today, unseen and unheard by most of us in affluent nations. Worldwide, the total market of illicit human trafficking is estimated to be in excess of $32 billion, more than the annual profit of Nike, Starbucks and Wal-Mart combined (UNICEF). The brutal act of kidnapping children, some as young as 5 years old, and forcing them into sexual slavery is happening to 2 million new children every year (UNICEF). Trafficked girls are often allured with the promise of a good job. Some are kidnapped and drugged, only to awaken trapped in a brothel and forced to provide sex to customers up to 50 times a day. In some instances, these victims are sold by family members in order to pay medical bills or family debts. Police complicity often leaves these girls with no one to turn to for help.
International Justice Mission is a non-profit organization composed of Christian attorneys, social workers, criminal investigators and support staff. IJM investigators spend thousands of hours infiltrating brothels and uncovering the world of sexual exploitation. IJM staff then works with local authorities to lead police interventions and rescue victims from this horrific nightmare, placing them in safe homes where they receive aftercare and begin new lives of freedom. IJM lawyers work to secure the conviction and sentencing of brothel keepers and other perpetrators involved. The goal is address the root of the problem by prosecuting the perpetrators in local court systems and making a way for communities to make structural changes that can prevent such abuses in the future.
You can help. You can pray for the work of IJM in the fight against injustice and for the victims. And you can certainly pray for me. Please post the enclosed prayer card as a reminder.
You can also help support me financially. Because the internship is a volunteer position, I need to raise $20,200 to cover expenses such as airfare, visa fees, rent, meals and transportation—essentially all the costs associated with the assignment. This figure is daunting, and I would like to ask you to consider making a financial contribution. By making a tax deductible donation, you enable me to work with an organization that infiltrates some of the darkest places of human suffering to bring the light of hope to the desperate and hopeless victims of human trafficking. If you are able, you can mail a check to me, or you can give online easily by going to http://www.ijm.org/getinvolved/internshipsupport and selecting my name from a drop-down menu. Any amount will help me reach this goal, and all the details about providing financial assistance can be found on the following page.
Two years ago I would never have imagined that I would be writing this now. If you know me well, you are aware that this will be a challenging environment for me. Pray for me as I learn to adjust to life in a new and very different culture and manage my responsibilities there. I see this internship as a huge answer to my own prayers that God would give me a way to serve Him that would both use my gifts and take me to a place of real need. This is a life-changing opportunity for me to see and experience firsthand both abject poverty and unthinkable violence, but most importantly how God ensures that "the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish” (Psalm 9:18).
If you would like to receive regular updates of my time in South Asia, send your contact info to me at laurelgillespie88@gmail.com. Don’t hesitate to call me at (336) 209-7284 if you have further questions or would like to meet in person to talk about it. I’ll be in touch in a few weeks to follow up with this letter and answer any questions you may have.
Love,
Laurel
Manna*
Manna lived with her brother and was beaten by him on several occasions. When she was 14, she decided running away was her best option. Passing through the clutter and scuffle of a train station, a young woman noticed Manna crying and offered to help. She listened to Manna and won her trust, promising a job selling fabric. The woman led Manna to a place to rest and slept beside her that first night, but when Manna woke the woman was gone and another woman warned that her life was no longer her own. She would not sell fabric but her body. Manna refused her first three customers, but the brothel keeper pulled her hair, punched her and beat her repeatedly until she gave in to the men who had come to rape her. She tried to run away and even begged the men who raped her to rescue her or call the police. The nightmare continued for two years until another girl whom IJM had rescued led IJM operatives back to rescue more girls hidden in a soundproof dungeon. Manna was one of four young girls rescued from that dark place. She now lives in the freedom of an aftercare home that provides love, safety and schooling where she studies to become a social worker. IJM helped build a case against her brothel keepers. They were both convicted and sentenced in 2004 to five years rigorous imprisonment. With a smile that filled the room like sunlight Manna said, “I came to prison, but I am not alone. God took me from that place to here. I am requesting to God that like IJM saved me they will save even more. What is impossible for men is possible for God.”
There are several ways to give a tax-deductible* donation to IJM…
1) Give online using your credit card or debit card: The easiest and fastest way to give is to go
online to IJM’s website, www.ijm.org. Then scroll over the word “get involved” on the top of the page and click on “Internships & Fellowships.” From there, simply click on the link on the right hand side of the page for “Support an International Fellowship or Internship.” Alternatively, you can also follow this link:
http://www.ijm.org/getinvolved/internshipsupport
In order for the funds to be counted towards my fundraising goal, you must select my name,
Laurel Gillespie, from the drop-down menu when you enter your donation information.
If you do not see my name in the designation menu, you can also type in my name in
the “Comments” box.
2) Set up monthly giving: Information about setting up monthly giving can be found on the link
above.
3) Write a check: If you prefer to write a check, please make the check payable to “International
Justice Mission” and do NOT write my name anywhere on the check, including the memo
line. Instead, please attach the Donor Information Slip below with your check. Checks written
to IJM that have my name appear anywhere on the check will be returned to the donor. Checks
to IJM should be mailed directly to me, and I will forward the check to IJM’s headquarters.
Mail checks to:
Laurel Gillespie
106 East Keeling Road
Greensboro, NC 27410
“You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no
more.” – Psalm 10:17-18
In a couple of months my daughter Laurel will embark on a courageous year of service to some of the most hurting people in the world in one of the most desperate places in the world. This will certainly be a life altering year for Laurel. She is in the process of raising support for this work with International Justice Mission. I have pasted below a copy of her letter, a story about a young victim of human trafficking, and support information. I post this (and tag some folks) mostly in the hope that people will pray for her, and also in hope that this note might get forwarded around, potentially connecting with those who may have interest in this ministry. Thank you for reading this.
Joel
Laurel's Letter
“You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.” – Psalm 10:17-18
"He wears a clean white shirt, is 40-something and paces outside the massage parlor in a seedier part of the city. He could be any man. A neighbor. A brother. A co-worker. 'Hello, sweetie,' the girl greets him from the doorway, as she's been taught. She has a quota to meet. If she doesn't, she'll be beaten or scorched with an iron by the person running this brothel......The man has no way of knowing—nor does he care—that this girl was trafficked into the city. He also doesn't know or care that this girl is guarded by a man with a gun at all times, is not allowed to speak to others, and is drawn, malnourished and exhausted. He peeks inside. Dim lights. Plenty of girls. What he can't see are the squalid living conditions upstairs, the fetid room with mattresses on the floor, the medication to induce abortions, the drugs to numb the emotional and physical pain of sexual trauma......'Come on in,' she invites him, wondering that if he has a daughter, would he want her far away from home, tricked into prostitution by promise of a good job? The girl forces a smile, takes him by the hand and ushers him inside. She is only 15 years old" (“Caged Birds” by Marielena Zuniga).
As hard as it is to believe, my four years at UNC-Chapel Hill came to an end in May when I received my degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. I wanted to look for an opportunity that enabled me to incorporate both my academic training and my faith. I could not get the issue of human trafficking off my mind, and stories like the one above made me want to help even more. Various conferences, conversations and convictions led me to discover the work of International Justice Mission (IJM), and I decided to apply for a Communications internship. I was so happy to receive a twelve month placement in South Asia, where I will be moving in late September to work in the fight against unprosecuted rape and forced prostitution.
It is hard to wrap my mind around these numbers, but the facts are sobering. According to a recent article in National Geographic, there are 27 million slaves in the world today, unseen and unheard by most of us in affluent nations. Worldwide, the total market of illicit human trafficking is estimated to be in excess of $32 billion, more than the annual profit of Nike, Starbucks and Wal-Mart combined (UNICEF). The brutal act of kidnapping children, some as young as 5 years old, and forcing them into sexual slavery is happening to 2 million new children every year (UNICEF). Trafficked girls are often allured with the promise of a good job. Some are kidnapped and drugged, only to awaken trapped in a brothel and forced to provide sex to customers up to 50 times a day. In some instances, these victims are sold by family members in order to pay medical bills or family debts. Police complicity often leaves these girls with no one to turn to for help.
International Justice Mission is a non-profit organization composed of Christian attorneys, social workers, criminal investigators and support staff. IJM investigators spend thousands of hours infiltrating brothels and uncovering the world of sexual exploitation. IJM staff then works with local authorities to lead police interventions and rescue victims from this horrific nightmare, placing them in safe homes where they receive aftercare and begin new lives of freedom. IJM lawyers work to secure the conviction and sentencing of brothel keepers and other perpetrators involved. The goal is address the root of the problem by prosecuting the perpetrators in local court systems and making a way for communities to make structural changes that can prevent such abuses in the future.
You can help. You can pray for the work of IJM in the fight against injustice and for the victims. And you can certainly pray for me. Please post the enclosed prayer card as a reminder.
You can also help support me financially. Because the internship is a volunteer position, I need to raise $20,200 to cover expenses such as airfare, visa fees, rent, meals and transportation—essentially all the costs associated with the assignment. This figure is daunting, and I would like to ask you to consider making a financial contribution. By making a tax deductible donation, you enable me to work with an organization that infiltrates some of the darkest places of human suffering to bring the light of hope to the desperate and hopeless victims of human trafficking. If you are able, you can mail a check to me, or you can give online easily by going to http://www.ijm.org/getinvolved/internshipsupport and selecting my name from a drop-down menu. Any amount will help me reach this goal, and all the details about providing financial assistance can be found on the following page.
Two years ago I would never have imagined that I would be writing this now. If you know me well, you are aware that this will be a challenging environment for me. Pray for me as I learn to adjust to life in a new and very different culture and manage my responsibilities there. I see this internship as a huge answer to my own prayers that God would give me a way to serve Him that would both use my gifts and take me to a place of real need. This is a life-changing opportunity for me to see and experience firsthand both abject poverty and unthinkable violence, but most importantly how God ensures that "the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish” (Psalm 9:18).
If you would like to receive regular updates of my time in South Asia, send your contact info to me at laurelgillespie88@gmail.com. Don’t hesitate to call me at (336) 209-7284 if you have further questions or would like to meet in person to talk about it. I’ll be in touch in a few weeks to follow up with this letter and answer any questions you may have.
Love,
Laurel
Manna's Story (from International Justice Mission)
Manna*
Manna lived with her brother and was beaten by him on several occasions. When she was 14, she decided running away was her best option. Passing through the clutter and scuffle of a train station, a young woman noticed Manna crying and offered to help. She listened to Manna and won her trust, promising a job selling fabric. The woman led Manna to a place to rest and slept beside her that first night, but when Manna woke the woman was gone and another woman warned that her life was no longer her own. She would not sell fabric but her body. Manna refused her first three customers, but the brothel keeper pulled her hair, punched her and beat her repeatedly until she gave in to the men who had come to rape her. She tried to run away and even begged the men who raped her to rescue her or call the police. The nightmare continued for two years until another girl whom IJM had rescued led IJM operatives back to rescue more girls hidden in a soundproof dungeon. Manna was one of four young girls rescued from that dark place. She now lives in the freedom of an aftercare home that provides love, safety and schooling where she studies to become a social worker. IJM helped build a case against her brothel keepers. They were both convicted and sentenced in 2004 to five years rigorous imprisonment. With a smile that filled the room like sunlight Manna said, “I came to prison, but I am not alone. God took me from that place to here. I am requesting to God that like IJM saved me they will save even more. What is impossible for men is possible for God.”
Supporting Laurel
There are several ways to give a tax-deductible* donation to IJM…
1) Give online using your credit card or debit card: The easiest and fastest way to give is to go
online to IJM’s website, www.ijm.org. Then scroll over the word “get involved” on the top of the page and click on “Internships & Fellowships.” From there, simply click on the link on the right hand side of the page for “Support an International Fellowship or Internship.” Alternatively, you can also follow this link:
http://www.ijm.org/getinvolved/internshipsupport
In order for the funds to be counted towards my fundraising goal, you must select my name,
Laurel Gillespie, from the drop-down menu when you enter your donation information.
If you do not see my name in the designation menu, you can also type in my name in
the “Comments” box.
2) Set up monthly giving: Information about setting up monthly giving can be found on the link
above.
3) Write a check: If you prefer to write a check, please make the check payable to “International
Justice Mission” and do NOT write my name anywhere on the check, including the memo
line. Instead, please attach the Donor Information Slip below with your check. Checks written
to IJM that have my name appear anywhere on the check will be returned to the donor. Checks
to IJM should be mailed directly to me, and I will forward the check to IJM’s headquarters.
Mail checks to:
Laurel Gillespie
106 East Keeling Road
Greensboro, NC 27410
“You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no
more.” – Psalm 10:17-18
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
Monday, July 05, 2010
I strongly recommend all Michael Pollan books, and this reflection on "nature" and "culture" (second Nature) is excellent and enjoyable - http://ping.fm/ARpoO
Monday, June 21, 2010
Good News about Erskine
It sounds as if the ARP General Synod meeting proved productive and effective as to the the future of Erskine College and Seminary. I have written my views before and am glad, given the news, that the members of Synod did not share my pessimism about the situation. I don't think I would have been able to sit through the whole thing but I am glad my brothers did - at least through Thursday afternoon. If you're interested I recommend that you can read Chuck Wilson's update "The Art of the Possible."
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Thoughts on the Erskine Debacle
A friend recently wrote to me on Facebook (on my wall) to inquire as to my thoughts on the recent goings on between Erskine College and Seminary on the one hand and the ARP denomination on the other. I answered his inquiry off the top of my head more or less, and he commented back. His comments are the best part of the dialogue and worth reading. I thought I would post the exchange here - with his permission of course.
from Kim Payne to me:
Joel, I was wondering if you would give me your thinking about the current mess with Erskine. I have always appreciated your thought process and would like to add it to my personal deliberations. Thanks.
from me back to Kim:
Kim, Thank you for asking me this question. To some degree I think that the present mess is the result of many many years of tension between the ARP Synod on the one hand and the Erskine Board and faculty on the other. The long standing ARP tendency to dance around issues at Synod and Presbytery out of fear of seeming contentious is coming back to bite the Synod I believe. And there is the all to common passive-aggression that goes with this tendency - the "nice" and seemingly submissive public posture and then the dogged behind the scenes effort to oppose what was decided in public.
Also, as I think to some degree that we each have that feeling (which comes to being non-born-and-bred ARP folk) of not quite having a dog in the fight. In other words, in the necessary "fight" over the direction of Erskine, the old guard, on either side, communicates subtly that this is a family feud, and if you don't have a hundred years or so in the "family" then it's kind of not your fight. It's easy just to yawn and block it out of the mind. It starts all to feel so, well, trivial.
For my part Kim I have never really believed that it was the role of the Church as the Church to be in the business of undergraduate education. Perhaps it is the business of Christian citizens but not the Church proper. Thus over the last 21 years of my experience when Erskine seemed to be, well, resistant and adversarial, I have just felt that we as a Synod should cut them loose and let them sink or swim as an independent institution. I have never really understood the long suffering on the Synod's part.
Nor have I ever understood the mission of the seminary. It has seemed too me that there has been an undercurrent of fear or anxiety over the financial solvency of the school, thus the need to keep it open to the approved list for the UMC and PCUSA and so forth. I don't know how it is possible for the school to remain in harmony with our standards and be approved by the UMC. Makes little sense to me. On the other hand, I am not inclined toward a strict theological party line (with reason). After all, I bypassed the opportunity to go to RTS and went to Regent College instead. So, personally, I don't have a personal vision regarding a strong reformed/presbyterian emphasis. It has just galled me that Erskine Seminary has been so brazen regarding the General Synod. Childish I think.
As to the College, I think Erskine would thrive if it took more seriously the integration of Faith and Learning from a more consistently Biblical perspective. I know lots of evangelical folks like to diss Wheaton or Calvin these days, but I'd rather see Erskine go that route or similar than be where it is now.
However, if the Synod's view of inerrancy requires that undergraduate science classes teach from the standpoint of a "literal" six day view of Genesis 1, then I don't see the College having academic credibility (I don't think the real "literal" view supports the young earth "literal" view). I think there is some cause for concern there.
In the end what really bothers me most of all right now is the lawsuit, and the lack of firm action in light of it. This lawsuit has had the exact effect that the Apostle Paul said that such lawsuits would have. I think it is scandalous to say the least and that Mitchell needs to go, quickly. If he is a member of an ARP church he needs to be disciplined. I don't know the man, but when you taker public actions (such as a lawsuit - even if you drop it) you invite public opinion. So, in the end, if it were up to me, I'd cut both institutions loose and let them find their own way. Joel
Kim back to me:
Thanks Joel. You and I are of like mind which is really scary or good, not sure which. In my background I would use Covenant college as the standard measurement for integration. Belhaven, Geneva and Grove City would also be helpful. As I told the coming moderator, I have no clue how not to integrate my disciplines. It is just a part of what I am and what I've been taught. However, some would say indoctrinated.
I believe the Genesis deal is a contrivance of those who are creating fear that EC become a bible college or Bob Jones. I do know there would be some heat and light from this as there is in the PCA now but I don't think it is "just" 24 hr. that is being demanded. If so, I too would have a problem with it.
You and I both are red headed step children to EC etc. I have never felt so disrespected as I have in reading some of the vitriol hurled at the ministers in this battle. Respect of the ministers was one of the hallmarks I found as I moved into the ARPC. I know it may be a vocal small minority but it is disturbing.
I would not be sad to see them go. To me, they are the sacred cow that made the temptation to be nice so appealing. I understand history, by not really having one. I know how important roots are. Yet, I can't help but see the "Idolatry" that Chuck Wilson is speaking of. Offensive, yet true.
Oh well, in a couple of weeks I will gather a couple of good friends near to me and go get a beer and bitch or marvel at how things are working. I am hopeful with the new president. I do hope he is a man who will not falter in staying the course. It is encouraging to hear the full board voted unanimously.
Now, if only we could get to the point of getting rid of the lawsuit. It has truly been an embarrassment to me and to the Lord and the church. I'm sure we can work to the other side of this morass but I do fear the fallout as it pertains to our unity (of which it may have been a false unity) and our ability to move forward with the Gospel as our cry and not "Erskine or nothing else".
I appreciate you my friend. I wish we had been able to be closer over the years but I still love you and your family. Be well and blessed. Take care. Kim"
Monday, May 10, 2010
Sunday, May 09, 2010
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