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Bike For Shelter Thank You Video

This is a video that I did as a thank you to all the volunteers who helped with Bike For Shelter!

the devil is in the details

Over the last two years I have lived and breathed, all things, Human Trafficking. I still have a lot to learn, but there is something that I have noticed during this time that is turning into a concerning trend...

I have noticed a great majority of people who are moved to donate time or money to organizations solely because of the issue. The issue itself is very emotional and very moving. The thought of little girls trapped in cages and sold for sex. Who wouldn't want to help?

However, it seems like people are so moved by the cause and a good website, philosophy, video, or photos that they do not ask the hard questions.

What I mean is.... At the end of the day, when the donor time/buck has stopped... What is actually happening? What lives are actually being changed? What are these organizations actually doing?

There is no doubt that this issue is huge, and that there are many avenues to use in order to end modern day slavery. Some of these avenues are; Awareness/Education, Legal (such as changing laws or prosecuting perpetrators), Law Enforcement, After Care, Etc...

The thing is... I have seen a ton of groups that have a lot of "fluff" and seemingly no substance. Or worse than "fluff" is when they use "faith" to draw people to support their organization. They use "fat" words like; Campaign, Task Force, Coalition, Villages, Communities, Strategic Initiatives, Targeting Predators, etc.... I call them "fat" words because they are words that make it seem like the group is doing a lot, but when we stop and think about it... we are not really sure what they mean and/or what is actually being done.

I understand why people stop at the "fat" words.... We are all really busy. We care about the issue and we are compelled to throw our money at the first cool website that pops up and then tell ourselves that we did our part... Or we go the extra mile and volunteer at an event with another friend. We do this because we want to do something, but we just don't have the time to drill down to the details....

Recently there was an article that came out about a group who claimed to run an aftercare in the US. I remember looking at this groups budget a couple of months ago and thinking, "there is no way they can do what they say they are doing." They are now being sued for misuse of funds by the Attorney General.

I am sure there were a lot of people who bought into the story, the cause, and the website. I am sure the donors figured that no one who claimed to do such amazing work could be misusing funds.... I hope the AG is wrong... I hope I was wrong... I hope this group comes through the investigation and lawsuit and they prove everyone wrong. Not for themselves but for the survivors that they claim to serve.

Please do not misunderstand the purpose of this post... I am not trying to "call out" other organizations. I do not feel that is my place. What this particular post is for.... is to encourage the average Joe or Jill who wants to make a difference.

I know the "devil is in the details" but please believe me when I say that it is worth that extra time to ask the hard questions.

The Johnson's are moving

So here we are... on another chapter of life. I love this journey of life!

I love that the journey is cyclical and not linear. I love that it is beautiful, ugly, crazy, sane, disgusting, wonderful, happy and sad. It is both wild and calm.

If there is one verse in the Bible that I have clung to over the years it is, "A man's mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure."

There have definitely been seasons in the journey where I have questioned this verse but so far it has proven itself true.

So, the next chapter means that we are moving to Jacksonville, Florida (closer to the Holy Land, aka "The Swamp"!).

I have been offered a job that would position me to make a significant amount more than my current job. God knows with three daughters and a wife, I need to make all I can. :-)

Mar is extremely excited about the opportunity and the girls have mixed emotions... but overall we are happy about this next stage in life. That is not to say that we will not miss the friends and family that we have here in Oregon!

I came to Oregon over 6 years ago amid non ideal circumstances... I thought I would never like it here and yet... I am saddened thinking that I won't get to deal with the winter road ice... wait.. that is a joke... I won't miss that at all!

All kidding aside... The last 6 years have been a time of restoration and vision casting. I will miss the beauty of Oregon and I will miss her people.

Most people are excited about this but the number one question I have fielded is, "What will this mean for your work on Human Trafficking?"

I have spoken extensively with the founders of Transitions Global and we are all looking at this move as a positive! We will be expanding our reach into the South Eastern States.

I have been researching Human Trafficking in Florida and believe me... there, unfortunately, is much to be done!

So, it might be a couple of weeks until my next blog... but I will be sure to post once I get settled in!

Much Love and Enjoy the Journey!

Seth

Bike For Shelter in the News

I met the mother of a trafficking survivor

Ok.. .So, some of you know that I am working like mad to help coordinate www.bikeforshelter.org

I have the rest of this afternoon and tomorrow before the event on Sunday.... So, needless to say, I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off. :-)

One would be correct in asking the question, "If Seth is so busy then why the heck is he taking time to blog? Shouldn't he get to work!?!"

I had to share this, because it is what will keep me going this weekend!

I was in Staples about 15 minutes ago faxing something that I had already faxed and I shouldn't have been there because I am really busy... Honestly I had a lousy attitude and it was just a pain in my butt. (sure go ahead and judge me, I am sure none of you have ever done that :-) )

However, there was apparently a reason I was there. The lady behind the print counter asked how my day was and I did the usual small talk... I told her about the event and how busy I was. I told her I never imagined that it would take this much work to get several hundred people on bikes to ride around in a big circle.

She tells me she totally understands and that she will email her friends about the event because she used to work with "Bike Oregon". I thought, "Wow, that is huge and could get us some more exposure." She then asks, "What is the cause?" Which prompts me to launch into my standard Human Trafficking speech that I have given a thousand times....

The response I received was different than any other to date.

She stood their stunned..

She then broke and was on the verge of tears as she told me that her daughter was taken when she was 16 and was prostituted all over the South Western states. She told me that the guy who took her impregnated her and that she is now a 25 year old, single mother, who is an alcoholic.

Now it was my turn to be stunned! How in the world was I having this conversation?

I quickly asked her if her daughter had gotten any help and she said, "That she just drinks to numb the pain and the memories."

I gave her my info and told her to contact me and I am going to work with our Director at Transitions Global to get her some help.

I am honestly blown away... And now I have to run to pick up t-shirts, print outs, keys, etc, etc, etc.....

Much Love,

Seth

Is "Awareness" really all that?

*** The Following is a caption from "Stuff White People Like***


"An interesting fact about white people is that they firmly believe that all of the world’s problems can be solved through “awareness.” Meaning the process of making other people aware of problems, and then magically someone else like the government will fix it.

This belief allows them to feel that sweet self-satisfaction without actually having to solve anything or face any difficult challenges. Because, the only challenge of raising awareness is people not being aware. In a worst case scenario, if you fail someone doesn’t know about the problem. End of story." *** END CAPTION**

Now I know this is a bit snarky and stereotypical but as the old saying goes, "Sarcasm is a subtle revelation of truth."

As someone who works my tail off, everyday, in the attempt to raise funds to make an actual impact on the lives of actual girls who have been rescued from slavery, I can tell you that awareness does not go a long way.

I can't remember where I read it, but I read a section from an activist who stated that, "Good intentions cannot be traded on in the Global Market."

We cannot rescue girls, we cannot give them the trauma counseling that they need, we cannot feed or house them, we can't even buy them toilet paper, with awareness.

I have 617 "friends" on Facebook and 1051 "followers" on Twitter... I can count maybe 20 (and that is generous) people who have donated their time or money to the cause of abolishing slavery.

There are 27 million people (and the number grows everyday) in slavery around the globe. It is the second leading crime around the Globe. Awareness has its place, but it alone is not going to make a difference.

A good example of awareness not making an impact is the Church... the number of people who tithe averages somewhere between 5-10%. It has been said that if 100% of the church tithed then we could abolish hunger. I am pretty sure that we all are plenty aware of what global hunger is... and yet we have not placed a priority on ending it. If I talk to one more Church leader about getting involved in this issue in a significant way, and they tell me that they need to, "pray about it."... I am not sure what I am going to do, but it won't be pretty. (actually it probably won't be more than me shutting my mouth and burying my feelings)

Or another example would be the recent scandal with the well known group, ACORN. They were caught giving advice to a pimp and prostitute (in the Baltimore and DC offices) on how to tax shelter their income (even after being told that the couple was planning on bringing in minors from South America to put them to "work")

The sad thing about this is that ACORN stands to obtain BILLIONS from the Government Stimulus package... And yet the Government only spent 100 Million on Slavery last year. Slavery is not something that is new to our Government... We even have a specific office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. We just haven't placed it as a priority. The Government is not going to solve this problem!

Right now we (the group I volunteer for) have multiple young ladies in Cambodia that are depending on us for their care... Soon we will have girls in Mumbai, India that will depend on us and hopefully, eventually, we will have girls in Portland, Oregon that will depend on us.

We CANNOT do this alone. There is no one in this field that is a "Bruce Wayne" independently funding the fight against slavery.

We NEED your help! I think the main reason that people do not move to action is that they see all of the staggering statistics and become frozen with the the thought of, "I don't have enough to give to make a significant impact on this situation". Your probably right... You ALONE, probably don't have enough...

BUT consider this:

If you invest: $12

You can support one girl’s school supplies and books to attend English classes, or literacy school.

If you invest: $25

You can support one girl’s meals and snacks for an entire week

If you invest: $50

You can support one girl's counseling and social work support to help in healing.

If you invest: $75

You can support one girl's education, including her school uniform

If you invest: $100

You can support one girl’s vocational training in a career of her choice.

The need is urgent and waiting to help these girls is not an option!

Please hear me when I say, that this blog entry is not meant to be a chastisement in regards to our apathy (we are all guilty), but it is meant to be a "Call to ACTION"!!

Please consider partnering with us to make a lasting impact on the Globe!

The best way to give right now is to go to:

GLOBAL GIVING and help us win a $6000 bonus!

OR go to

TRANSITIONS GLOBAL and donate directly to our organization!

Thank you all so much!

Much Love!

Seth