Posted in General Posts by Sarah Garrity on 8/29/2011
Hello! Here is your long awaited update!
THIS is the week! I leave on Friday for Atlanta where I’ll meet the rest of the team and have some team training for a few days. Then we head out to CAMBODIA!
HOW can you and I stay in touch?
GROUP BLOG!!! http://cambodia.adventures.org/ (Please SUBSCRIBE to the blog- that way you will receive updates whenever I, or a team member, post new updates for you! You will find an area prompting you to subscribe on the top left of the blog.) I will NO longer be updating you via this blog, so PLEAE subscribe to the new blog so we can stay in touch! :)
WHAT ministry are we working with?
Transform Asia!!! Check them out at http://www.transformasia.us/
WHO are we ministering to?
The lovely students at the Battambang Trade School! Check out more about the school and how YOU can be more involved in fighting against sex-trafficking at http://www.transformasia.us/stop_the_trade/trade-school2
**Please note that for only $39 a month "you can support one of these girls to study at the Trade School where they not only receive new opportunity but they have the chance to receive new life in Christ"!
HERE is a fantastic excerpt from Transform Asia’s website that explains a bit more about what I’ll be doing, who we’ll be ministering to, and why it’s so important!
[Transform Asia’s] vision for Cambodia is to provide rescued girls a safe place to recover and rebuild their lives. Their Battambang Trade School gives at-risk girls the opportunity to learn a skill and avoid being drawn into the sex trade. An excerpt from your ministry host:
"Years ago Transform Asia began rescuing girls from brothels. We soon realized that they would need to provide life skills, training and vocational opportunities for the girls to become self-supporting. So, they started the Women’s New development Center. This has become very successful and hundreds of young women have graduated over the years, getting jobs or opening their own shops. Many of these ladies are now happily married."
Today the Trade School is a part of Transform Asia's Battambang Christian Center where we share God's love with these girls by providing English classes, computer training, and classes to teach the girls sewing skills so that they can start their own tailor businesses or work in the garment industry. The girls live at the Trade School for up to 8 months where they are able to safely learn about a trade. This trade gives them value as they are now able to help support their families and no longer need to look at prostitution as a source of income.
Well, I’m about to set off! I’m nervous, excited, sad to leave y’all behind and already looking forward to sharing new stories soon of how God is working in peoples’ lives on the other side of the world! Please pray for courage, more faith, team unity and that the girls we will be working with to be transformed by the Gospel of our King, Jesus Christ.
Much love!
Sarah
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Posted in General Posts by Sarah Garrity on 6/4/2011
Please copy and paste the link below into your browser and watch an incredibly informative and eye-opening (and short) video by the International Justice Mission about sex-trafficking. (One of the countries highlighted is Cambodia- which is one of the countries I'll be ministering in!)
http://www.ijm.org/resources/video/cwspotlight-sextrafficking.mov
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Posted in General Posts by Sarah Garrity on 6/4/2011
Think that sex-trafficking isn't a big problem in our society and world today?
Think again.
This is the REALITY:
Today, more than twelve million people worldwide are enslaved.
Two million children are bought and sold in the global commercial sex trade.
In just the United States, between 100,000 and 300,000 children are enslaved and sold for sex.
The sex slavery industry has become an increasingly important revenue source for organized crime because each young girl can earn between $150,000 and $200,000 each year for her pimp...
thousands of children are forced into domestic sex slavery each year and
the average age of entry is 13 years old.
Did you know that...
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12.3 million people are enslaved today worldwide
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In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation eradicating slavery, yet more than one million people are enslaved in the U.S. today.
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Two million children are bought and sold in the global commercial sex trade
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The average age of entry into commercial sex slavery in the United States is 13 years old
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The global sex slavery market generates $32 billion in profits each year
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Every 10 minutes, a woman or child is trafficked into the United States for forced labor
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Most “johns” are quite ordinary: 70-90% are married, and most are employed with no criminal record
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76% of transactions for sex with underage girls are conducted via the internet
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The U.S. government spends 300 times more money per year to fight drug trafficking than it does to fight human trafficking
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Approximately 55% of girls living on the streets in the United States engage in commercial sex slavery. Girls from middle and upper class neighborhoods are also at risk
http://demiandashton.org/get-informed
http://demiandashton.org/important-organizations
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Posted in General Posts by Sarah Garrity on 6/4/2011
Hi!
I hope this letter finds you healthy and well! I just graduated from Union University and after a whole semester of searching and praying for where God wants me to go next, I believe I’ve received His answer- the World Race! The World Race is a Christian organization that will take me to India, Cambodia, Thailand and the United States where I will live among some of the poorest and darkest cities of the world for four months and minister to men, women and children who are held captive by sex-trafficking. I’ll explain more about the trip later in this letter.
I was called to missions at the age of 7 or 8 when I had a miraculous encounter with our God. I didn’t have my hearing aids in and all of the sudden I heard God’s voice AUDIBLY. Clear as day! It was deep and rich and powerful, just as described in Psalm 29:4 and He said to little me, “Sarah, go to Jerusalem and teach other people about Me.” Ever since that moment, it has been my life’s calling to obey that command. I’ve been on countless mission trips nationally and internationally (including one to Israel!), have had the privilege of discipleing and teaching dozens of students and children the Gospel, and have spent hundreds of hours volunteering at crisis pregnancy centers, orphanages and other ministries to the poor.
I know I need to grow in the Spirit more and gain more experience with ministry before I live in Israel. I believe that this trip will uniquely and dynamically equip me for future ministry. God has given me a lot of passion for the oppressed, especially for women and children. I love working within crisis pregnancy centers and orphanages but NOTHING makes my blood boil more than knowing that at least 12 million women, boys and girls are raped and molested daily by adults who pay to have sex with them, who pay to strip them of innocence and dignity. Sex-trafficking is an ugly reality in this world and it is a booming business, even in the United States. My desire is to fight for these precious captives, to fight for their innocence, their dignity, their freedom and their souls.
By going on this World Race mission trip from September 2011 to the end of December 2011 I will have the opportunity to directly minister to the people who are held captive by sex-trafficking, which includes the people used as sex-slaves, the “Johns” (men who buy the sex) and hopefully even the pimps. The specific ministry will vary by country but one of the things I’ll be doing will be bar ministry- going to the bars at night in the Red Light’s districts and building relationships with the girls and the Johns, sharing the Gospel with them and letting them know that there’s a way out by trusting and following Jesus Christ first and foremost, and by going to the Christian run shelters for former sex-slaves and prostitutes to receive job training, schooling, childcare and discipleship. Another ministry will be working at these shelters by training the women, caring for the children, discipleing and encouraging the staff. I will also likely do some construction work, lots of prayer walking, straight up street evangelism, and general teaching and discipleing people in the Word.
To a lot of people, this “trip” sounds so exciting, but that’s a romantic view of missions. I’m fully aware that this ministry is going to be exhausting and stretching in every way- mentally, spiritually, emotionally and physically. I’m overwhelmed by the enormity of the sex-trafficking problem and by the pure-evilness of it. But I’m SUPER excited to get to see firsthand how BIG and POWERFUL and LOVING and REDEEMING our great God is! I’m excited to see how He can work through my teammates and I to usher in more of the Kingdom by being the tools He uses to spread Redemption to the captives! God is fully capable of transforming even the darkest situations into something beautiful and good.
But guess what? This ministry cannot happen without you! I’m just acting as the “feet” of Christ right now but I need you to send me and I need you to act as the rest of the Body of Christ in order for this trip to be fruitful. How can you help? Two ways: First of all, please pray! Pray for my team and I that we would be prepared for this trip, that we would be broken and rebuilt by God into a more Christ-like and Spirit-filled believer, and that we would be strong in and bold with the Word. Pray also for the people we will encounter; pray that they will be saved, transformed and more fully redeemed by the Gospel.
The second way you can help is by giving financially. I’m putting every penny I have into this trip. The total cost is $7,400 and I estimate that I can personally fund $5,000 of that. This means that I still need at least $2,400. If 20 people donate $100 and 10 people donated $40, I will be fully funded! I am not asking for a handout but humbling asking for an investment. This investment will reap fruit on this earth, in India, Cambodia, Thailand, the United States and one day in Israel as well, and this investment will reap eternal fruit- souls will be saved and the everlasting Kingdom will be a little more built up. If you feel convicted to invest in me and in this ministry, by prayer and/or by finances, please see the bottom of this letter for more details on how to do so.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your prayers, support and for being the Body of Christ with me. This ministry cannot happen without you! To see what God is doing through this ministry and how He is using your investment to bear fruit, subscribe to this blog or let me know if you would like to receive my newsletters by mail or email! I am so excited to go toe-to-toe with evil and see God powerfully redeem. May we all grow in the grace and knowledge and image of our Lord and King, Jesus Christ. Peace in Christ!
Much love,
Sarah Garrity
Ways to invest financially:
1) Mail a check or money order to Adventures in Mission (this is the ministry that the World Race is under). Please make payable to AIM and return the attached support card (I can provide this if you can’t find it online) with your donation to Adventures in Missions, PO Box 534470, Atlanta, GA, 30353-4470. Make sure to put my name in the memo line.
2) Click on “Support Me” and follow the guidelines. (Remember that mailing a check is the only way that 100% of the money will go to me, otherwise a percentage will go towards a processing fee.)
"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners."
Isaiah 61:1
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Posted in General Posts by Sarah Garrity on 6/2/2011
Hey there!
Welcome to my blog! I hope you find it as hilariously ironic as I do that I, the girl who could barely pass her college computer class, now has a blog and is expected to know how to use it. Hah! ;) I consider this blogosphere the first of MANY learning curves that I will ride on over the next few months!
Well first of all, a BIG THANK YOU to you for stopping by, for reading, and for supporting me through your prayers and finances! I am so blessed to have your support and I really could not venture to go on such a trip without your support! Please understand that when "I" go to minister to the precious people trapped in sex-trafficking it's really YOU going. YOU are ministering to them, through me. Right now, I am just the "feet" of the body of Christ and you make up the rest of the body! Without you, I wouldn't be able to minister. Therefore, YOU are just as crucial to this mission trip as I am. "We're all in this together" (*cue corny song now).
Why go on this trip?
Well, it’s kind of a long story, but it’s cool so keep reading! I was born severely hearing impaired, as in I can really only hear thunder well without my hearing aids. So, picture a 7 or 8 year old little me sitting on the toilet, without my hearing aids in, and all the sudden I HEAR GOD’S VOICE…AUDIBLY. It is so rich and deep and powerful (just as described in Psalm 29:4). My Creator said to me, “Sarah, go to Jerusalem and teach other people about Me.” :D It was a miracle, it was a miraculous day and it has been my goal to complete this divine mandate ever since then. And, who knew bathrooms could be such spiritual places?
Fast-forward a few years. I came home one weekend from college and watched “Amazing Grace”, which is the inspirational true story of William Wilberforce, the man who is largely responsible for abolishing the slave-trade in the United Kingdom. Something stirred in me during the movie and I broke down sobbing and pleading for God to give me something to fight for. I have a lot of passion, a lot of will, and a lot of love that I want to give to others, to help them.
All throughout college I had the amazing privilege of volunteering with Birth Choice, the local, Christian run crisis-pregnancy center in my college town of Jackson, TN. I also had the chance to volunteer at an orphanage once a week for 4 months with I studied abroad in Lithuania. These two experiences burned a love for children in my heart. EVERY child is precious. EVERY child deserves to have an unmarred childhood. And EVERY child is worth fighting for. I think God has shown me who to fight for. :)
What is this trip all about?
To be really basic, this trip is about actively addressing the cares on the heart of our God. Over and over throughout all of Scripture God tells us how much He cares for the oppressed- for the orphans, the widows, the downtrodden, the poor, the sick and the prisoners. Christ says this of Himself, and if you arein Christ you can say the same, "The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness the prisoners." Isaiah 61:1
This is the heart of God, to both spiritually and physically heal and free the brokenhearted, the captives and the prisoners. All of us are born slaves; slaves to sin. But by God’s grace and Christ’ death and resurrection some of us, hopefully even you, are freed from our captivity to sin, become slaves of God and are healed of our broken hearts. I pray that you have felt and are experiencing the God of the universe intimately caring for and loving and redeeming you. But guess what? The experience doesn’t stop there! We are continually being redeemed and it is now our duty to spread this redemption to others! We can’t save souls, but we are called to be Christ’ hands and feet to extending the Good News of redemption to others. In a nutshell, that’s what this trip is all about.
Reality Check:
Did you know that billions of people, millions of Americans, millions of Christians and maybe even you, are living in a dream world? Did you know that over 12 million human beings, people just like you and I, are sex-slaves TODAY? Did you know that little girls, as young as 5, are being bought and sold to have sex with? That’s millions of children who should be playing ballerina and fighting off imaginary dragons but are instead living in a type of hell you and I can’t even imagine. They are trapped, without a voice and without a way out, in a small dirty room performing sexual acts with grown men, forsaken by their parents and forgotten by society. This is REALITY. But this is NOT right.
Is it an overwhelming problem? Yes. Is it a problem I’d rather just pretend didn’t happen? Yes. But guess what? Our God is BIG! He knows what’s going on and has tasked US with the blessing of being His hands and feet of redemption to these children and women and men who are held captive by sex-trafficking. By God using feeble people, like you and I, to destroy evil and bring about justice and issue in a fuller redemption, God shows off just how BIG and GLORIOUS and MIGHTY and LOVING He is. What a Redeemer! And what a gracious Redeemer, that He would allow me, you, and us to be agents of ushering in His redemption to those who need it.
I am overwhelmed and so excited to get to go toe to toe with evil and get to love on tons of children, men and women who need the Gospel…the Good News…Redemption! And, I’m really excited for you to join me in this journey and to witness how BIG our God is! May we be more fully redeemed on this journey and may God be glorified!
Peace in Christ!
Much love,
Sarah Garrity
P.S.: Comment or contact me anytime about anything! I’d love to hear from you or help you if I can! :)
*If you would like to support me financially, please click on the "Support Me" tab under my picture on the top left!
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