“Fight against Human Trafficking”
The first presentation of the Justice Project in Karlsruhe, Germany will be taking place on June, 10th at 7:30 pm. The event is geared towards the believers among the “free” churches in Karlsruhe who have a heart to work against Human Trafficking in both Karlsruhe and in Germany.
The event will be following by a weekly prayer meeting and in the fall, an outreach into the red light district of the city.
The second annual Justice Run will be taking place in Littleton, Colorado on September 25th, 2011. Last years event was pioneered by Jenny Watson, who has determined to see not only an increase in numbers of participants this year but an increase in the number kilometers. This year the run/walk will consist of a 5k and a 10k race as well as a kid’s race and other fun festivities.
The event is devoted to combatting Human Trafficking in partnership with The Justice Project.
Did you ever sit down and ask yourself, “what is my sphere of influence”? How much space have I created through my personality, work, and relationships. Most of us don’t realize it but we are spending our entire lives building and creating space around us. For some it may look like a life’s work towards a nice big house and other personal assets. For others, it may be deep and lasting relationships, a loving family, or even a strong spiritual life. Most people are far bigger than their physical frame. It is an amazing reality that, when you look at someone, you really are only seeing a very small part of who they are. The rest of that person is found in the space they created around them. The space around them tells the full story of who that person really is. So what does the space around us say of who we are? Is our labor and effort only serving ourselves and our family or is the space we are creating inviting the weak around us?
There was a powerful and extremely wealthy man who lived in the Middle East a long time ago. His name was Job. There is a whole book written about Job’s trial but it begins with Job’s life attracting God’s attention. In the story, God actually brings Satan’s attention towards Job because God was proud of Job’s lifestyle! This is so amazing to think about. Job was so righteous that God was marveling and bragging about him to Satan. Most people only consider Job for the trial that he endured but as Job is sitting in ashes, he begins to recount the way he lived his life. Towards the end of his defense, Job says,
“For from my youth the fatherless grew up with me as with a father…” (Job 31:18).
This is an amazing statement of what it means to live a life creating space for the weak. Job became a wealthy and very influential man but he didn’t wait till he was wealthy and influential to make space for the weak. Even when he was a youth, he used the space of his life to fill it with the weak and the needy. This was part of the righteousness that attracted God’s attention. Often, we look at our lives and we don’t really think we have a lot of space to offer. However, when we compare our lives with the broken and hurting around us, even the atmosphere of love we have around us is like water to dry hearts. We all have influence or resources or spiritual life that would bring strength to the weak. The truth is, the more we use the resources and influence we have for the weak, the more resource and influence God will give.
There is a great prophecy in the Bible speaking of a time when the King and rulers under Him would create these protective and restorative spaces for the needy.
“Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in justice. Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land. Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed, and the ears of those who hear will give attention. The heart of the hasty will understand and know, and the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak distinctly. “ (Isaiah 32:1-4)
This time has partially already happened throughout history but there is something yet to happen through our lives. We are all called to be these princes (rulers) who, under the leadership of our King, become hiding places, shelters, and streams of water to the poor.
As our influence expands and the space around us grows, let us consider how we can quickly fill that space with the weak.
We just posted a new page giving a summary of the vision for our first restoration center. The name came from a dream that Justin had one night, where the Lord was speaking about the center. As the Lord was giving some clarity on how this center should function, Justin saw a very larger four-leaf clover. Upon further research, we discovered that the early Irish church attributed Faith, Hope, Love and Grace to the four leaves of the clover. Just to keep us encouraged, the other day, as Justin was walking through a park with Luke, he looked down and discovered a 4 leaf clover. I think it was more than luck 
Grantville, PA: Saturday, September 25,2010
**** This run has been cancelled ****
Littleton, CO: Sunday, September 26, 2010
Jenny Watson, a dear friend and mother of 3 in Littleton, CO is hosting a 5K Benefit Run to raise funds for The Justice Project! Online registration and details about the event is available at www.thejusticerun.org.
Funds raised from these events will be earmarked for “The Cloverleaf Center”, a comprehensive restorative safe-house which is anticipated to be located in the Black Forest region of Southern Germany.
| Jorg Ziercke, the Chief Commissioner of the Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany |
A top German law enforcement official has warned of a climbing number of human trafficking cases in the country with an 11-percent rise in the figure.
“Over the course of the last five years, the number of investigations has risen continuously from 317 to 534. This means an increase of 70 percent over five years and 11 percent last year alone. We attach great importance to this form of criminal activity because the human dignity of the victims is violated,” said Jorg Ziercke, the Chief Commissioner of the Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany, Press TV reported Monday.
Thousands of people are illegally transported each year around the world, where they are sold as prostitutes, forced laborers and even exploited as organ donors, according to the report.
The United Nations has also expressed concerns that this modern form of slavery is one of the fastest growing criminal industries in the world.
The federal criminal investigators added on their annual report that the number of investigations related to human trafficking in Germany rose by 11 percent last year and 534 preliminary proceedings were initiated in 2009.
Most of the cases involved women forced into prostitution. The sex trade is tolerated in most cities in Germany but restricted to certain urban areas, such as industrial zones.
Most victims of forced prostitution are from eastern European countries while one in three perpetrators is a German national.
According to the annual report, the number of cases involving African mafia groups is also on the rise, with some groups trying to obtain a larger share of the lucrative criminal pie, using brutality and voodoo rituals to intimidate their victims.
“We are extremely worried because of the age pattern of the victims. Sixty-five were bellow 21 years of age. One in five was under age. Forty-one victims were even younger than 14 years of age.”
According to a recent report, the police in Hamburg uncovered an illegal ring trafficking Russian children for German adoption. Moreover, the number of victims used as illegal organ donors is also reported to be on the rise.
Meanwhile, the non-governmental organizations want to increase their efforts to reach out to the victims who often do not trust authorities or have a complex dependency relationship with their tormentor.
RZS/TG/MB
