6 With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly[a] with your God. --Micah 6:6-8
Human trafficking is a real problem. Not just a plot twist we might see in a movie or a book. This does not come from the imagination of writers. Being trafficked is the reality of hundreds of thousands, probably millions around the world.
I am participating in a fundraiser for the Freedom Challenge. We ladies are hiking on July 8th to raise money and awareness for this problem. The funds go towards Operation Mobilization projects “focused on freeing oppressed women and children.” The projects are to prevent trafficking; and to rescue and restore women and children from trafficking. Please click the link to learn more. Or click this next link to donate to my personal page. I have until Friday to raise $1,000 (I only need an additional $372). If I raise that, I can continue in the challenge and any additional funds go to our local organization here (Awaken) that helps women and children escape from being trafficked. If you feel led, every $10 or $20 donation adds up!
Nikki’s Tahoe Regional Challenge page
What does this have to do with foster care? It is estimated that 60% of child sex trafficking victims in the US have been in the foster care and other child welfare systems. These are children who are at high risk because of factors such as post traumatic stress, adverse childhood experiences, and running away.
Additionally, when children age out of the foster system, they often do not have the skills they need to live on their own and they are vulnerable to predators. Those children (young adults really) need mentoring and education. Chapter 18 in Help! I’m a Foster Parent describes how the Roulliers are striving to make a difference to these youths in their city.
We all cannot do what Penny and Bill Roullier do. We all cannot be a caseworker or a foster parent. But we can all do something to contribute to helping. Maybe that’s prayer (it’s definitely prayer), maybe contributing money to something like an aging-out ministry (see chapter 18) or to a hiker in the Freedom Challenge or your local Awaken-type of organization. Maybe that’s being there to help restore a woman coming out of trafficking, tutoring her or her children, decorating the safe house.
What does the Lord require of us in this fight for our women and children? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with Him. (Micah 6:8)
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