Written by Jenny Williamson, CEO Courage Worldwide, Inc.
Re: Double Your Giving!
This is so exciting! As we launch our year end giving campaign, we have had some very generous donors agree to match YOUR giving up to $25,000! That means whatever you give – whether online or by mailing a check – your donation is doubled! This multiplication of giving is a huge jumpstart to our January 15th goal/campaign of $150,000.00 to continue the work we do rescuing and restoring victims of sex trafficking! This week I had a very poignant reminder of why we do what we do; of why we ask people to financially invest in the lives of these vulnerable young ones.
This week a prodigal returned home. Most of you are familiar with the parable Jesus told in the Bible of the wealthy son who leaves home demanding his inheritance early, then squanders it all away, ends up slopping hogs, envying their dinner. This was his low point which caused him to remember home. To remember all he left. To remember he has a family that loves him and that his father’s staff have a better life than the one he has chosen. Home. That is what he longs for. But what if you don’t have one?
As I re-read this familiar story, I wondered – what if he didn’t have a home to return to? What if he didn’t have people that loved him? I contemplated what he would have done to survive, to eat, to find a place to sleep if he had no place to return to. Sadly, I didn’t have to imagine it because I know firsthand what that this type of desperation leads to. Sadly, this isn’t a parable to me but a very real situation that we at Courage Worldwide have repeatedly witnessed due to the fact that 95% of the girls and young women we serve do not have safe homes and families to return to. This fact is what caused many of them to be lured or forced into the world of trafficking. It was this crime that led them to Courage House.
Courage House is a beautiful, safe, loving home. It is something that most of our girls were not born into. When they first walk through the doors they are overcome with gratitude for their daily food, a compassionate staff, beautiful surroundings, a safe bedroom at night. They embrace the culture of respect and honor. They apply themselves in school. They begin to laugh and they begin to dream. However, eventually they want a cell phone. A boyfriend. An apartment. A lack of rules and curfew. They crave independence and freedom. So, like the father in this story and like all of us who are parents, we let them. We let them with tears running down our faces, with fear in our hearts for their safety and a knowledge that they are ill-equipped to face this world, that preys on the vulnerable, alone. We let them go. Then we wait. We wait for them to figure out what they traded for their independence. We pray they come home.
That is what happened this week. A prodigal figured it out and came home. While on her own, she made choices that had severe consequences; painful ones. During her time away, she realized what she lost and what she gave away. She realized she traded her safety and security for a freedom that had costs. She came to realize the boundaries, rules and curfews were for her protection. She realized she had been loved and was so grateful she had a home to return to.
It is because of you she had that option and opportunity. Your giving ensures she has resources when she is first rescued and for those times when she wants to return “home”. Together, we are changing the world – her world - one individual at a time! Please continue helping us rescue and restore more of these young ones – here in the US, Tanzania and around the world. Our dream is to build a home in every city around the world where there is none while continuing to equip, encourage and empower those who call or have called Courage House home. Your financial gifts do just that. If you would like to give online, there is a link below, or you can mail your check to 3031 Stanford Ranch Rd., Suite 2, #339, Rocklin, CA 95765.
Thank you for your prayerful consideration and thank you to our donors who have agreed to match funds! Blessings.
Jenny Williamson, CEO Courage Worldwide, Inc.