October Update: An Ounce of Prevention

They say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. In the fight against human trafficking, this phrase couldn't be more true. If we could stop the flow of vulnerable people who are so easily lured by traffickers, we could greatly reduce the number of people who have their lives taken from them. We had some exciting movement in our attempts to bring our prevention program to the schools in Orange County, FL. Read about it in our latest newsletter here.

August Update: A New Adventure

This month, Sarah is off to a new adventure. She is stepping out in faith in a direction that God has been leading her over years and years. Now is the time. See what's new and see some other photos from our summer in our newsletter here!

May Update

This month not only hear about a huge breakthrough in our ministry but also get a glimpse of our family. It's birthday month in the Pippin home! Read the whole newsletter here.

8 Years After Tragedy

Every year on 4/16 I reflect a lot on what happened that day at VT; but more than remembering where I was and what happened, I wrestle. I struggle with the evil that happened in my town on my campus. I am burdened with the questions of why God would protect one of my friends, yet allow another to be killed.

Both friends loved God. Both had loving, supportive families, with bright futures ahead of them. Yet one is gone, and the other enjoys his life as a young father. Why? What would Lauren be doing today if she were alive? She would most likely be a missionary in another country, serving God and loving others. Maybe she'd be a mother also raising her kids to know and love God and people.

Beyond the isolated incident on that spring day in Blacksburg, it makes me look at all the evil in our world. We live in a society where people are enslaved so that we can pay less for products, where domestic violence is rampant, and children are forced into prostitution to satisfy the lust and greed of men. This is not to mention the terrors of ISIS, Boko Haram, and others around the world. Evil is rampant. It is not just Active evil, but Passive disinterest. If the U.S. came together, we could easily feed all the hungry children of the world, but we don't. We don't care enough. There are so many problems in the world, we get overwhelmed and change the channel when we see the images of the starving children in Africa. Out of sight, out of mind. I'm guilty as charged.

I'm left with questions of why and I don't have an answer. I am certain that if God's grace was NOT present, our world would be far, far worse. However, why does He choose NOT to act in some situations while He does in others? Why does He prevent one child from being taken by human traffickers while others suffer years of abuse? Why did one class barricade the door 8 years ago, while others did not?

I believe the Bible is true and God is loving, so in faith, I believe God knows what He's doing and try to trust that He had the best in mind for each victim and their family. Suffering draws us closer to God and opens us up to deep life change more than anything else, so I know from experience that God can use the painful times to grow us. Often, it's the only way He can get our attention. I wish this were not the case. I don't like to hurt. Can't there be another way to get our attention?

In my own life, I believe God used this and other loss soon after to begin the process of showing me a lot about myself, my heart, and my issues. I shared more about this in my reflection last year. But I also believe He used it to open my eyes to the reality that God calls His people to actively pursue justice and work against evil. Had I not gone through the evil that one student chose to inflict on others, I may not be so passionate about working to fight for justice and an end to human trafficking today. I have seen evil and I want to stop it with God's help. I guess there's a silver lining in my story. I only hope there is some good that can be found in each life that was touched by this tragedy.

Today, I pray for those who loved and lost 8 years ago. This day must be gut wrenching for many of them still. I ask God to be close to them and hold them this and every day. May He continue to bring hope and healing to those who are hurting as a result of this and every tragedy in our world.

neVer forgeT

February Update: Answered Prayers!

2015 has been a bustle of activity. From the National Weekend of Prayer to End Slavery to the 7th Annual Orlando Human Trafficking Awareness Day event, we have been quite busy. But these things are just the tip of the iceberg. We are most thrilled about the opportunity we were given to bring our new dynamic human trafficking prevention program to a public high school. Check out our full update to read more about it here.

Strength and Justice

Sitting in the same room with a victim of trafficking and 3 of her traffickers is an eerie experience. Today I did just that. I never spoke with them, but I listened and I learned. The 3 traffickers were sentenced in a federal court to years in prison for their abuse and exploitation of this teenager.

I looked at these people and thought, "How could you be this capable of such horrible evil?" They looked like any normal person you'd pass on the street. I saw their families crying for them. The ring leader even had a family and young children! I feel for the kids who will reap the consequences of their father's terrible choices and pray that they do not follow his path. He will be in prison for the next 20 years.

But what touched me most was the courage of a teenage girl who had the strength to testify against her captors, people she had trusted who turned on her. In today's sentencing, she bravely shared how she has been recovering from the drug addiction the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder caused by her traffickers. She is still in counseling but is growing. She will have a different life if she carries such courage with her into her future. I believe she will because to stand in the courtroom with the very people who abused her took guts, and she may have more than anyone I have ever met. I admire her.

In the span of a few minutes, I witnessed human strength on two ends of the spectrum. On one end was strength used to degrade someone for selfish greed. On the other was strength used for justice, to make things right (righteousness). God was in that courtroom today giving His strength to this teenager. He was also present, bringing justice and restoring order to a broken world. The justice system in our country may not be perfect, but today was a good day. Today, traffickers went to prison for a long time and will no longer be able to exploit and abuse children.

Now we pray for this soft-spoken teen's continued healing and restoration but we also pray for those entering federal penitentiaries. We pray that God would intervene in their lives, that they would truly repent and their hearts would be changed by grace. We pray for them knowing that, if the circumstances were different in our lives, we could have made the same horrible choices, and we praise God for His grace in our lives that kept us from that path.

Making up for Lost Time

In our transition, life has been a bit busy, so we apologize for not posting our prayer updates from the past few months. They have been quite full. We hope as Christmas approaches you are also able to slow down and enjoy the season. Maybe you'll have time to read our past few newsletters. You can view September, October, and our Thanksgiving note. Thanks for your prayers!