Yahoo News Article On Child Trafficking

Here is an interesting story from Yahoo! about the increasing child trafficking and slavery in America. There are so many facets of the child trafficking and slavery problem, and here Yahoo addresses children trafficked into the U.S. to be "unpaid maids" (read slaves) for wealthy foreigners who are used to having child slaves in their households.

Thankfully here in the U.S. there are more and more arrests and more crackdown - but in other parts of the world it's accepted as normal life. The picture above is of the girl who is featured in the article.

Love146 Video Blog - Silent Night

I thought it was interesting that Rob brought up O Holy Night and the same verse that hit me this year when I heard the song.

In this video, he talks about O Holy Night, as well as an update on the Pink House/Round House safehome for girls in the Philippines.

William Wilberforce Law Passes!

I got this information from another blog:

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President-elect Obama is filling up his cabinet, President Bush is now considered a lame duck, and incoming members of Congress already know which offices they’ll soon occupy. But this Congress is still expected to return to work next week, and it ought to give consideration to that which is achievable and matters most.

The William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Act (H.R. 3887) is one such bill that merits attention. The act’s beneficiaries deserve freedom—the untold millions of men, women, boys, and girls around the world, thousands of them here in the United States, who are trafficked and trapped in an industry of forced labor or sex servitude. Its malefactors deserve punishment under the force of the law—the pimps and traffickers who enslave their victims and beat them to a pulp for any hint of insubordination. This modern-day slavery demands a response.

As we have recently reported, the Wilberforce Act breezed through the House one year ago with only two dissenters, and has since been bottled up in the Senate Judiciary Committee. But we have made progress on it. The Senate is now talking to the House Judiciary Committee on language that they would prefer. The bill is very close to being passed. Language differences Senate negotiators are holding out for will make it more difficult to end the modern day slave trade occurring right here in our own nation. The House-passed bill, H.R. 3887, has the right approach to the problem. Countless lives could be liberated under this bill.

The Wilberforce Act takes particular aim at the savage sex slavery that has reached our shores and crossed our borders. Many victims are lured by the promise of a job as a waitress or maid, only to realize too late that they’ve bought into a lie. Their lives are shattered and their hopes snatched away. Routine beatings and threats of harm to their families to keep them submissive are standard fare in this so-called “business,” as their purveyors seek to satisfy their lust and greed. The Wilberforce Act has the real potential to choke this vice and rescue thousands of women and girls from the slavery in our own backyard.

One means is allowing the Justice Department to prosecute pimps and traffickers in the states. Currently, federal law enforcement can only get involved if a pimp is prostituting an underage girl or he brings a woman across state lines for sexual purposes. It has become increasingly clear that states simply do not have the resources to address the trafficking industry.

The Wilberforce Act would be a gift of justice and of mercy this Christmas season. Those who are entrapped in this horrifying industry can ill afford for Congress to wait another year. Congress should end its squabbling and act.

If you agree, please contact your congressman and senators immediately to insist that Congress agree upon the William Wilberforce Act (H.R. 3887) before adjourning for the year.

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I'm happy to report that the William Wilberforce Act did pass last night, December 10th, at 6:00 p.m. We are now one step closer to abolition in this country. Praise God!

Football vs. Survival

I appreciate what The Luxury Fund is doing: trying to raise money each month for four organizations doing good in the world. Every month, you can find an interesting statistic about our culture - usually a very sobering statistic.

This month's statistic is about the SEC Championship football game taking place this week. Here's what the blog has to say:

This weekend Atlanta will host the 17th annual SEC Championship game in the Georgia Dome. I know it's a big day for a lot of people. #1 ranked Alabama fans and #2 ranked Florida fans can hardly stand the anticipation of the game this weekend. In light of this weekends focus on the big game, I thought I'd throw out some numbers for you (you know I like like throwing numbers out there).

Let's talk money.

Nick Saben coaches Alabama for an annual salary of $4 Million.

Urban Meyer coaches Florida for an annual salary of $3.25 Million.

Ticket prices (as of today) online are between $400 and $800 each and The Georgia Dome seats 71250 people.

A cup of beer at the Georgia Dome is $7.50

A bottle of water at the Georgia Dome is $2.50

I have no idea how to calculate fuel, lodging, food and miscellaneous spending for the 71,250 who will be in attendance, but I'm guessing it's ridiculous!

Now for even more sobering numbers

During the 3 hour duration of the game:

360 Children will be trafficked for sexual exploitation.

465 Children will die from lack of clean water.

2165 Children will die from lack of food.


I don't want to ruin your game weekend, but I would like you to consider the excess money that goes into recreation will so many around the world are suffering and dying every day.

Every little bit helps!! Can you give $1, $5, $10?

I promise there will be some very grateful people!

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Our priorities in our culture today are definitely backwards. My prayer is that we can shift those priorities to what really matters. I've never understood why our country pays those who educate our children so little and pays someone who can throw a baseball 90 mph so much.