This December we are taking on a mission with our friends at StripChurch. We are heading out to Las Vegas to do a Laundry Love Project, meet the spiritual and practical needs of people living underneath the Las Vegas strip and we will also be completing a remodel project in a brothel! Yes, a brothel. The entire concept may seem out of the norm and perhaps a bit controversial. Our basic mission will be to communicate that “Jesus loves you” by making simple, practical and relational investments in the lives of people who are on the outer edges of what most people know as every day life.
StripChurch is a unique form of ministry. No choirs or pews. While some people are uncomfortable with the darkest area of the wold let alone ministering to individuals in a brothel, the men and women of StripChurch are not afraid to get out of their comfort zones. Their mission is simple: They let people know that they are loved and worthy.
“I don’t feel like I can change the world. I don’t even try. I only want to change this small life that I see standing in front me , which is suffering. I want to change this real small thing that is the destiny of one little girl. And then another, and then another, because if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night.”
-Samaly Mam, The Road of Lost Innocence
Human trafficking has slowly creeped its way into the subconsciousness of America; our college students, churches, and social activist organizations. Even making it’s way into Hollywood. But even with the continued raising of awareness a lot of us only look at the surface of what human trafficking is really like.
Many human trafficking victims are told that if they run away from their captors they will be arrested and the American people will not take care of them.
Somaly Mam tells a story in her book of a conversation she had with a man in Cambodia. He comes across as a wizened intellectual who has seen more than his fair share of the world. His view of life, as interpreted to Somaly is very jaded. He suggests that it’s better to keep your head down and essentially mind your own business than try to change the world. The quote above was her response.
Sometimes the big picture view of an issue can be overwhelming, but all we need to do is look a little deeper. Find that one thing you can do. That one person’s life that you can change…
Tuesday, October 13th
7:00pm
USF Marshall Center Room 2709
We will be showing a 50 minute documentary called “Seoul Train” which follows 3 groups of refugees who have escaped North Korea and are searching for freedom through the “modern day underground railroad.”
The escape network in 19th century America, also known as the Underground Railroad, was responsible for saving over 30,000 slaves. Likewise, today, there are up to 300,000 North Korean refugees looking for a similar network in China and Southeast Asia. To date, over 17,000 refugees have traveled via this “underground railroad” and have eventually been resettled to freedom in the US, South Korea, Europe and Canada.
So, if you’re living to be known 100 years from now… you may be shooting for the wrong goal. Hate to break it to you… but chances are you won’t be the subject of homework for elementary-age children generations from now. At least that’s what the video that kicked off Current tonight kind of set up.
Here’s the main idea: what if, instead of shooting for “being” something worth getting into history books we congregated ourselves as a community in action (read what Studs Terkel said about that here)? The truth of the matter is you will have a history, a legacy, or something that you leave behind. It may be shoving ice cream in some kid’s face (just kidding) but hopefully it’s more like our Laundry Love Project or some other daily activity that changes that person’s life from an encounter, however brief, with you.
If you believe that everyone deserves dignity then maybe that answers the questions: Why am I here? What is this all for? And helps bring some focus to today instead of thinking 100 years down the road. We can be part of the rescue.
Some things we’re doing:
-LiNK documentary The Underground TourOctober 13th (keep checking www.currentatusf.com for details as the date approaches) also pray that USF works with us in getting this documentary out there.
