Children Are Not For Sex

As the days wind down and it gets closer and closer to my departure to Peru, my heart is still unsettled at the thought of the reason I am going. I am going to of course spread the gospel to street kids on the streets of Lima who fight daily to just stay alive. These children are treated worse than animals. It's funny that the city officials will randomly vaccinate stray dogs but will try to burn street kids alive. These kids are literally fighting to survive. Those that do also have to fight to not be trafficked for sex. It's a lose lose situation. You either get killed or are picked up and forced into prostitution...girls and boys. Children. Heart breaking.

I found this clip on Facebook from a local pastor who is stepping up to speak out for the children of Atlanta who are bought and sold like property on the streets daily. I am thrilled that celebrities are getting wind of these atrocities going on and are using their voice to speak out. Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher have a non profit that is geared to educate and bring awareness to human trafficking. But it was this clip by Ashley Judd that touched my heart and brought me to tears. Her words aren't the words of someone who heard about the problem and felt compelled to help. Her words are the words of someone that has seen first hand the devastation that comes along with knowing a child has been a victim of sexual exploitation right here in Atlanta.

Please keep my Peru missions team in your prayers as we prepare to bring some light and hope to a generation of children who need it the most.

Watch "Ashley Judd: Children Are Not for Sex" on YouTube

For The Love of Money...

I've been taking this finance class at church that give us Biblical understanding of how God sees money and the resources He entrusts us with. It has been an eye opening process to say the least. There are over 2,300 references in the Bible that speaks on money, possessions, debt and giving. God obviously has a lot to say about how me handle money and kinda knew that man would struggle in this area in the long run.

Last night in class, one of the verses we went over was Luke 16:10 which says “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much." For some reason, that one verse out of all the verses we discussed stuck out to me the most. If I can be trusted with a little, then I surely can be trusted with a lot. But in reality, I haven't been that responsible when it comes to money so that's probably why God is kinda hesitant about pouring out His intended blessings on me, and rightly so.

Since last night, I have been thinking about my desired career which is counseling. I intend to using my counseling expertise to help in the after care of sex trafficking victims because that is an area that is seriously lacking. Georgia has about 60 beds available in the whole state to handle the critical after care process and we are #1 when it comes to space. That's not saying too much considering there are any where from 300-400 young girls on the streets every night. I am taking a break from school because I was getting burned out and I have so many other things on my plate with ministry work, I seriously don't have time to finish up the few classes I have left. I am stalling because I know that counselors in Atlanta don't make very much because the market is flooded with psych majors from all the universities in the area. For a while, I was a bit discouraged about investing so much money into my education for undergrad and grad school, knowing it doesn't pay off salary wise in the long run. In GA, a masters level counselor/psychologist only makes about $35K.

I realize my hesitation for finishing my grad program, the excuses, stalling, doubts about why I even persued this field was all rooted in money. Definitely a revelation for me. The Bible says in Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." I cannot be so bound to money that I follow it, instead of God.

My attitude about money is definitely changing. I am feeling the desire to actually put God first in that area and honor Him and continue on the path that pleases Him. The amount of money I make should not be my determining factor because even if I make a little, if I am faithful in handling the little I have, God will bless me with more to handle. He has a supernatural way of providing for His faithful children. He can truly make a way out of what we think is no way. I love when the pieces fall into place like this and God removes the veil from my eyes. He does have a plan for me and I am standing in the way of something great. I need to surrender my fears, thoughts, doubts, finances, career goals and desires over to Him so that He can do His thing and work everything together for my good and His glory. There is so much that I have been put here to do but I haven't been obedient in doing those things. A new day is here and a new attitude has been awakened and I am ready to see God's supernatural work happen before my eyes. I am determined to only serve Him and not money. I am determined to faithful and honest in the little that He has entrusted me with so that He can trust me with more in the future.

Help Send Me to Peru in June

Dear Supporter,

I hope this letter finds you well. I would like to share with you a trip that I am going to take this summer that will hopefully be a life changing experience for the people I come in contact with, as well as myself.

God has done some amazing things in my life over the past year and one of those areas has been igniting a passion in my heart for victims of the sex trafficking industry. Like many other people that I know, I was blind to the fact that each night on the streets of Atlanta and many cities across our nation, young girls are forced into the prostitution. In Atlanta, GA alone, over 300 children, many as young as 9 or 10, are forced to have sex with strangers for money. They are trapped in a form of modern day slavery right here in the United States of America, the land of freedom and opportunity. Many of these girls have run away from broken and abusive homes, only to be promised safety and love by a man who instead preys on their vulnerable emotional state. These girls are physically, verbally and emotionally abused, drugged, brainwashed and stripped of any hope of returning to a normal life.

It was hard for me to fathom that this type of injustice happened right in my own backyard, until I saw it for myself. Last June, a group of dedicated followers of Christ traveled to Fulton Industrial Blvd to minister to the women who engaged in prostitution nightly. On that night, I had the pleasure of meeting 19 year old young Sabrina, a young girl that had been forced to sell herself every night on the streets for the past 3 years. She was a run away from Ohio whose pimp picked her up from a bus stop just 2 hours after arriving in Georgia. He promised to love and care for her and before nights end, she was sleeping with strangers for money. She was not allowed to use a phone, go out alone, talk to anyone, pick out her own clothes or even think for herself ever again. The night I met her, she desperately wanted to escape the life that she was trapped in but feared for her life.

By the grace of God, Sabrina mustered up the nerve to make the desperate phone call to a group member that was out with us that night. We were able to rescue Sabrina from a life of sexual slavery and that experience forever changed my life. But that joy was short lived. Unfortunately, Sabrina went back to her pimp, the abuse and her life of sex for money. She desperately wanted a normal life but felt that her life was so worthless and beyond repair, that life on the street was the only place she belonged. Those were the words that had been engrained in her mind by her pimp everyday for 3 years and she eventually bought into the lie and settled for the life that she was trapped in.

My eyes were opened to a lifestyle that many could never imagine. My heart has been broken for Sabrina and for every Sabrina that is still stuck on the streets of Atlanta and even abroad. This is not the life that God intends for any of His children to live and He has called His believers to go out into the world and help rescue those who have lost their way. It was God's plan for me to meet Sabrina, hear her story, see her struggle and to have my heart broken when she left. This experience has forever changed my life and ignited a desire to do my part to help other victims like Sabrina. Since meeting Sabrina, I have been active in advocating for the victims who have no voice. I have written about the plight of the sex trafficking issue in Atlanta with the non profit organization Sunday to Sunday, Inc . In December, I organized a donation supply drive with Wellspring Living, Inc., a non profit organization that provides vital short and long term aftercare for victims of sex trafficking. On February 2, 2011, I participated in Lobby Day sponsored by StreetGRACE and Wellspring Living to bring the issues of sex trafficking to the steps of Georgia's capital and push for more legislature to ensure the safety of our children and harsher punishment for pimps and men who seek out these children for sex.

Recently, God placed on my heart the desire to reach further out to help those stuck in sexual slavery, even beyond our borders. There are so many places on this Earth who have never even heard the name of Jesus before and surely do not have any hope of a life better than the abuse and turmoil they currently live in. On June 2-12, 2011, I will be traveling to Lima, Peru with Victory World Church's Fusion Young Adult Ministry. For several years now, Fusion Young Adult Ministry has sent a mission team to Peru to see first hand the plight of the children of Peru who call the streets home. Fusion has partnered with Lucy Borja's Generacion organization who work tirelessly to help rescue children from the streets of Peru. Fusion also works with Veronica's House, a home that serves as an emergency shelter for young girls rescued from forced prostitution in Lima, Peru. I sincerely believe that God's plan for me on this trip is to truly see the world through His eyes and not just through my limited knowledge of what I see happening in my own city. The issue of sex trafficking is world wide and in order to make a difference in the world, I need to be able to see the world.

I would ask that you keep me and my team in your prayers so that we many have a safe and successful trip. Also, since we are responsible to raise our entire trip cost of $1,700, I would like to ask you to prayerfully consider if He would have you be a part of this wonderful opportunity to share the gospel with the children of Peru. Please consider making a financial contribution to help with the $1,700 cost of traveling to Peru. Contact me at fcrusoe@hotmail.com for more information about how to make a tax deductible donation.

Thank you for taking the time to read my letter and please consider supporting my efforts to travel to Peru this June.

Thank you,

Frances