You ARE making a difference!

We appreciate you! All across the USA, women, teens and young girls have have been making scarves, hats, quilts, jewelry and giving us new clothes for the girls who have been exploited through modern day slavery. These items have already put smiles on the faces of some girls. We recently returned from Massachusetts to visit our new partner Lutheran Social Services.  We went to help 3 girls and 2 children who had been trafficked into Massachusetts.   We showed up with bag after bag of new clothes, homemade scarves and hats, and handmade jewelry with prayers and verses attached. Your generosity has started a new work in these girls' lives. After we returned home we received a letter from our new partners saying "...The girls were overjoyed! One of the girl's could not understand who could care enough for her to give her these new and beautiful things. It truly meant the world to her and, I pray will give her confidence to realize that she is a beautiful person." It is truly HIS kindness that leads us to Him... Thank YOU for being a part of that kindness!! We appreciate your support!

Renee Brechtel's 15th birthday party!! The girls made jewelry for trafficked girls and collected some cute slippers for them too! You guys are the BEST!

Seek and Save

In February, Denise and I were invited to attend the launch of the United Nations' Office on Drugs and Crimes' (UNODC) Global Report on Trafficking in Persons. We were thrilled to build new partnerships with abolitionists from around the world.

Globally there is so much that needs to be done as less than 1% of all victims are found and rescued each year. It is estimated that between 14,000 to 20,000 international victims are trafficked into the United States each year.  This number is roughly the same as the number of homicides (17,000) committed annually in the U.S.  There are over 60,000 police officers specially trained to investigate homicides but the number specifically trained to investigate human trafficking can be counted on one hand! That needs to change!!  Michael saw this illustrated as he recently met with an officer who ran the DOJ Human Trafficking Task Force in one of our states. He was the ONLY officer in his state set aside to investigate cases of human trafficking. When Michael asked him what type of training he received to do his job he said,  "Training? I haven't received any training...I've had to learn this on my own."

This highlights the need for ALL of us to be aware of the exploitation (international and domestic) happening right in our own communities. There are between 100,000 to 300,000 domestic victims here in the USA.  F.R.E.E. International's "Seek and Save" workshops have been set up to train all of us how to recognize trafficked victims in our own communities and develop a local network to bring rescue and restoration to those victims. Those attending our trainings have included federal, state, and local law enforcement, health care workers, teachers, school and hospital administrators, pastors, students, lawyers, postal workers, truck drivers and lay people from all walks of life. If you have any questions about the workshop or if you or your congregation are interested in hosting a Seek and Save workshop contact us at seekandsave@free-international.org.

Prayer Requests

• Pray for wisdom, favor  and resources as we work to provide housing  and aftercare for those being rescued. Not only do the girls from Massachusetts need housing but we are receiving calls from around the country for placement.
• Strength and health for our family as we travel the country raising support, building partnerships,  and working with victims.
• Safety for us and our partners.
• More well trained police officers, lawyers, judges and first responders.

Links

The Pimps' Slaves

Recent Human Trafficking Case in NJ

Recent Opinion Piece By One of Our Partners

Retired agent calls for harsher porn penalties

Prostitution is a story of misery