Lose Your Cool

When I first picked up Zach Hunter’s book Be the Change, I had no clue how it would start me on a journey that hopefully will be life long. I had no clue that simply starting a LC2LC (Loose Change 2 Loosen Chains) campaign at my church could turn into one of the biggest parts of my life. I had no clue that it could turn into something that my father has entitled “Olivia’s little crusade” or has made my friends get used to hearing me ramble on and on about human trafficking that they either just smile in amusement or sort of shake their heads.

Zach Hunter is releasing his third book, Lose Your Cool, today which is on the topic of finding what you are passionate about, finding those things that change not only the world, but yourself as well. Most of you know what I am passionate about, those two things that grip me and I am utterly in love with, the gospel and fighting sexual trafficking. Some of you know how it’s my dream to work as a counselor for victims of trafficking and prostitution, working to help transform them with the power of the gospel. I am so very thankful that God has used Zach to introduce me to this passion and burden for ending modern day slavery and bringing justice to the oppressed.

Lose Your Cool can be found here as well as head over to invertbooks.com to get some cool free stuff. You can follow Zach on Twitter and tweeting about the book enters you to win some really sweet prizes. I can’t wait to get my hands on the book and see what Zach has to say, and… I hear that the story of Amy Carmichael is included in the book, so it must be good. ;)

Hope in A Stranger’s Eyes

 

She smiles as she dances to and fro 

Around her do her dresses flow

Her Amma and Pitaa surrounded her with love

Yet in her future was pain undreamed of

In one instance it was all gone

Her parents from this world were withdrawn 

Alone and afraid 

There soon came a promise to be paid

Her grandfather consented

But little did he know the girl’s body would be rented

A promise of work 

Turned into years of hurt

More alone then before

Hope was left at the door

As she was abused time and time again 

She was bound in her mind by chains

Soon all her innocence was taken 

All of what she knew as right was shaken

The light left her once alive eyes

She was now a zombie with no left life inside

The years past in silence and abuse

There was nothing more to lose

No reason to go on 

No sign of a dawn 

Then one day she saw a glimpse of hope

In the eyes of a stranger she found strength to cope

There was something different and something magnificent

About the joy that was seen in the strangers’ existence 

Something about this stranger gave her hope to go on

A hope for a dawn

Soon was coming a way of escape 

In the long day that the brothel was raid 

In the midst of chaos she knew there was hope

Finally released from the surrounding darkness

Finally released from her chains

Yet something deep inside still remained. 

The hurt and guilt and pain

She thought they would never go away

The scars that she had on her young heart

She feared deeply would never part

She was soon brought away

To a place she knew would be safe

Again she saw the stranger and was surprise

And this time she had a chance to ask about that joy inside

In passionate tones the woman explained

About freedom in Christ and the sacrifice He made

About the blood He shed so she could have life

And how for her soul He paid the costliest price 

Wonder struck the girl as she realized the truth in those words

Eagerly she embraced

This God full of mercy

This God full of grace

She let go on her hate and her guilt that clung

To her soul and let it fall 

Unto the shoulders of her risen God 

She became a follower of her Savior body and soul

She finally found a way to be whole

Now many years later she’s back on the street

Sharing her Jesus will all that she meets

Because of one stranger that showed her God’s love

Now she’s become that stranger and is a servant of the Lord above

She smiles as she dances to and fro 

Around her do her dresses flow

Her Amma and Pitaa surrounded her with love

Yet in her future was pain undreamed of

In one instance it was all gone

Her parents from this world were withdrawn 

Alone and afraid 

There soon came a promise to be paid

Her grandfather consented

But little did he know the girl’s body would be rented

A promise of work 

Turned into years of hurt

More alone then before

Hope was left at the door

As she was abused time and time again 

She was bound in her mind by chains

Soon all her innocence was taken 

All of what she knew as right was shaken

The light left her once alive eyes

She was now a zombie with no left life inside

The years past in silence and abuse

There was nothing more to lose

No reason to go on 

No sign of a dawn 

Then one day she saw a glimpse of hope

In the eyes of a stranger she found strength to cope

There was something different and something magnificent

About the joy that was seen in the strangers’ existence 

Something about this stranger gave her hope to go on

A hope for a dawn

Soon was coming a way of escape 

In the long day that the brothel was raid 

In the midst of chaos she knew there was hope

Finally released from the surrounding darkness

Finally released from her chains

Yet something deep inside still remained. 

The hurt and guilt and pain

She thought they would never go away

The scars that she had on her young heart

She feared deeply would never part

She was soon brought away

To a place she knew would be safe

Again she saw the stranger and was surprise

And this time she had a chance to ask about that joy inside

In passionate tones the woman explained

About freedom in Christ and the sacrifice He made

About the blood He shed so she could have life

And how for her soul He paid the costliest price 

Wonder struck the girl as she realized the truth in those words

Eagerly she embraced

This God full of mercy

This God full of grace

She let go on her hate and her guilt that clung

To her soul and let it fall 

Unto the shoulders of her risen God 

She became a follower of her Savior body and soul

She finally found a way to be whole

Now many years later she’s back on the street

Sharing her Jesus will all that she meets

Because of one stranger that showed her God’s love

Now she’s become that stranger and is a servant of the Lord above

(Note: there has been quite of WordPress buginess while writing this post so if something is screwed up I appologize. Currently I can not get the paragraphs to work right so again I appologize and I will try to get it working as soon as I can.) 

Project Rescue

 I’m obsessed. I realized that quite awhile ago but it’s hitting me again.  What is this obsession of mine, you ask? What is this thing that when I hear it I instantly sit up strait in my chair and excitedly look at my friends with a smile on my face? Or make me want to break down weeping with sorrow and pain? This is a relatively new obsession for me and has grown as my knowledge grows. So what is it? Slavery. Particularly when it comes to young women who are sex slaves. It breaks my heart and all I want to do is to weep with these girls.

 I have to wonder if some of you broke out your calendar, checking to see if there was any “justice” or “freedom” holiday. :) No, it’s no holiday, unless “Olivia is Uber Passionate Again Day” but that happens almost weekly… maybe it should just be a day of the week. Wouldn’t that be fun? :) And yet it’s more serious than just that. It’s one of the things that God has laid on my heart with an incredible burden and I can’t ignore this call on my life to pursue justice.

A few months ago I was looking around Leslie Ludy’s website and stumbled across Project Rescue. I was so excited to find this anti slavery mission that was not only working with mainly women and doing mostly aftercare work but was also mainly located in INDIA!!!! (Those of you who don’t know, I also have a slight, moderate ok, huge obsession with India and a burden for the people there.) Last night I looked at their site again and was overcome with a renewed passion for these young women and a deep desire to help.

 Not only is Project Rescue providing medical care, education, counseling, and a home to victims of human trafficking, they are offering hope and freedom in Christ! They are boldly and apologetically a Christian mission and they share the light of the gospel to those in the darkness. So please go to to their website and check them out! It’s such a fantastic and needed ministry. Just think about the ripe harvest waiting to be gathered when it comes to these sex slaves! What a desire for love and hope that must dwell inside of them and there is no one else who can better satisfy their desire than Jesus! For He has already said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

 So what can we do to help? Well of course we can pray. That is a huge thing that is so important. But in addition to that I think that educating ourselves and others is a great place to start. Project Rescue have some great article links on their site like this article from the New York Times about sex slavery in Asia. Also you can find stories of former slaves on their site as well. If you are on Facebook I would encourage you to join the Project Rescue cause as well as the group they have. Not only is this showing support for the organization but it can also open up windows of opportunity to share with friends. One last thing that is unique is that you can buy items made from the survivors in Nepal HERE.  Pashmina shawls, hats (they are really really cute!), journals, bags, and table runners. All very beautiful and  are giving these women a chance at a new life (and you don’t have to worry about the workers being paid fare wages for once!).

 God loves the fatherless and the opressed and hates injustice. We are the hands and feet of Christ on earth. Our responce to seeing injustice is action, or at least it should be. What will your responce be?

International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

Today is a holiday that I hope will someday not exist. No, I don’t just want this to just stop being a holiday, I want the reason for this holiday to go away. “What is this holiday?” you may ask. Well today is the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery. 

It’s a holiday that we hope to someday eliminate, yet it’s a holiday so little amount of people know about. Slavery seems so far off and foreign, even a problem that isn’t quite real to us. It is a shame the number of people who think that slavery was ended by the civil war. I have seen the surprise people have about modern day slavery in my church’s campaign against slavery. Thankfully this in an issue that is getting more notice. People are starting to realize the huge problem human trafficking is and they are spreading the word.

Slavery and Human Trafficking is one of the great evils in our world, and something we need to raise our voices against and fight against. We need to take a stand for the weak and enslaved, those who can not speak for themselves. As Christians we are called to seek justice, “learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.” (Isaiah 1:17). Also in Micah 6:8 it says, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”.

Justice is something that is very near to God’s heart. He is perfectly just and He loves justice (Deuteronomy 32:4, Psalms 33:5). We are commanded to not pervert justice or to deny it but we are to follow it (Exodus 23:2,6, Deuteronomy 16:19,20) (NIV). The Bible continually commands us seek justice and that God does justice. There are 138 passages in the ESV version of the Bible that include the word justice. So when we see injustice, we can not ignore it. To ignore it is to sin (James 4:17).

So what can we do to fight against slavery? What can one single person do to end such a huge problem? The answers is that there is a lot we can do. The first and foremost thing to do is pray. God is sovereign and He can turn the hearts of kings (Proverbs 21:1), or slave owners. John Newton, the author of the most loved hymn “Amazing Grace”, was a slave trader before he became a pastor and an huge influence in the life of William Wilberforce, who was the leading force in ending slavery in England.

Second thing we can do is to spread the word. Let people know about modern day slavery and human trafficking. As I said earlier, this is a problem that most people don’t know nearly enough about. Use the God given opportunities you have to let others know.

Third thing is to give money. International Justice Mission(IJM) and Free the Slaves(FTS) are the two best organizations that I have found for fighting slavery (they are also great resources to get more info). I know that for IJM, the cost of freeing a slave is $500 dollars. FTS has on their website a list of how much things like sending a former slave child to school or such costs. They also give you the opportunity to sponsor one of their workers on the front lines. I would encourage any of you who have a passion for ending slavery to try to start a campaign in your church or school, or even do a justice concert or other event and have an offering for IJM, FTS, or any other abolition organization.

Let’s not ignore this problem any longer but raise our voices in defense of the weak, oppressed, lonely, abused people out there that are suffering under slavery. I want to leave you all with the word to one of my favorite songs by Tim Hughes:

“We must go, live to feed the hungry
Stand beside the broken
We must go
Stepping forward keep us from just singing
Move us into action
We must go”