Saturday, October 30, 2010

Paths Crossed!

The move at the beginning of October was great!  We moved into a quaint little house with 2 awesome roommates.  Learning our way around Atlanta has been quite the adventure with 6 lane interstates and no idea where anything is!  The job search has been nothing short of interesting to say the least.  We are both substitute teaching at a school not far from the house and will also be interning with Street Grace, a sex trafficking organization in Atlanta.

The way we came upon these internships is pretty cool.  We heard the night before that there was a huge conference in Atlanta called Catalyst.  There was a dynamic list of speakers and worship leaders that would be at the conference and we really wanted to go, but tickets were very expensive.  Brooke prayed the morning of the conference that our paths would cross with the right people.  Later that morning our friend Paige called and had gotten us ridiculously cheap tickets, so we went. 

Sex trafficking was the topic of 2 sessions during the afternoon and the trailer for The Candy Shop (“A fairy tale about the sexual exploitation of children”) was shown.  Cheryl, the Executive Director of Street Grace, came on the stage to be introduced because Street Grace is known in Atlanta for their fight against the exploitation of children.  We had the opportunity to talk with Cheryl about volunteering with Street Grace.  We met with Amy, the Strategy and Volunteer Coordinator, and she asked us to consider an internship with Street Grace.  After praying and talking with Amy again, we knew that the Lord had “crossed our paths” and was opening this door for ministry.  Our first day as interns is November 1!

Please pray for continued paths to cross and doors opened.  We look forward to sharing what the Lord is doing and will be keeping you updated.

Much love,

Brooke and Leigh Ann

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

The Voice That Matters


We are calling our blog “Reverse the Voice” for several reasons. The only voice that women and children who are trafficked, abused, raped and sold for sex hear is the voice of lies, negativity and worthlessness. They have been told that they are unwanted, forgotten about, worthless and that they are only good for the use of sex. They have no voice of their own because all they are and they know has been taken away from them.

We are here to speak out and let them hear a voice that says they are loved. The voice of the Lord says they are His beloved, they are called, wanted, known, beautiful, special, and that He has a plan for their lives. We have to be the ones who use our voices for them. We have to stop sitting around doing nothing, choosing silence and ignoring the rising statistics.   We have to stand up for what is right, what is just and what is truth.  These are people, not just a number; they have a face and a name.

The verse we used on our fundraiser t-shirt is “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” 2 Corinthians 3:17
Freedom for the captives (Isaiah 61) is one of the reasons we even exist. There are millions of women and children who are held captive to this demonic stronghold. Atlanta is among many of the cities in the world where this nightmare hovers and is very real.

Our prayer is that HIS voice overpowers and overcomes the evil voice that has deceived so many. The reverse of evil is good and truth. The voice of pure love is the key to freedom.

Prayer needs:
-The voice of the Lord to be heard and recognized here in Atlanta
-Rescue and Restoration of exploited women and children
-The spirit of heaviness and oppression to leave
-Truth to be spoken and accepted among the church

Check out these sites for more info: