Saturday we had our fundraiser for trafficking victims for the Salvation Army. I don't think the turnout was as good as they had hoped, but I haven't heard any of the totals from the auction or donations.

I hope they were able to raise a bit; funds for victims is something that we need. Thursday night I visited with three of our victims from Latin America who are staying in a shelter. No one speaks Spanish at the shelter, and they don't speak English, so I went over there to help them figure a few things out, and call their families to set up a meeting time (phone calls have to be monitored so they don't give away the location of the shelter). These ladies each had a toddler. For each of them, it was a case of smuggling (they agreed to be smuggled into the States) that turned into trafficking when they got here (they weren't free to go, and were forced to work without appropriate pay). This is really REALLY common.

Anyway, Saturday...Ruben and I were all ready for our presentation, and I wasn't really even nervous. (Either I was in denial, or I was in denial.) However, a woman from one of the organizations that awarded the grant for our positions was present (the "trust me, I'm an expert" type), and essentially took over the presentation. In an inappropriate way. So I didn't really do much. It was frustrating and threw us both off, and we talked about it afterward with her. She apologized for about 20 minutes, and Ruben informed her that she could take us out for a steak lunch to make up for it. :) Yay for the trafficking outreach team:Charity from NightLight had a booth (she's the blonde, with her interns) set up: And here is Monica, my other Salvation Army coworker, talking to a reporter.
So the day was kind of stupid, but I really like the people I work with! :)

In fact, I am actually hanging out with Charity and Ruben right now somewhere in LA doing outreach to day laborers. I set this thing to publish without me. Sneaky!!!

along for the ride

Some things will take more getting used to than others.

My blog name? It's a good one.

Because seriously. That's how I feel right now.

I spoke at my first adult sunday school class this morning to start the support-raising thing. I gave my schpiel, me, Greece, human trafficking, pr0stitution, here's my neat prayer cards I made last week and the brochure and photo board I made at 3:00 this morning (thankful for 24 hour kinko's and CVS - the kinko's photo machine wouldn't read my flash drive).

One man listened thoughtfully. After I finished, and a few others asked questions, he raised his hand.

"I appreciate what you're doing," he said, "the ministry is important, you are obviously called there, and courageously following your calling, and the issue is a very serious one..."

But?

"But I can't help but think, have you thought about burn out? This is intense. You could be home in three months."

Have I thought about burn out. I am unable to recall his word-for-word statement, because it was a lot more foreboding than I captured here. Have I thought about burn-out!? Have I realized that I am inserting myself into one of the biggest evils in the world, into one of the darkest cities in the world, and doing it ALONE? Have I thought about the fact that single female missionaries on average last only 2 years on the field? Have I thought about the fact that I am going over there to try and create a network between all these organizations that are already working there - people who have been "doing this" for 10 years, 20 years, and why in the world would they listen to a 30 (almost) year old single girl who just got off the plane?!

Why didn't you say so??? How did this happen?????

So I'd say those thoughts have crossed my mind, but I would call them more "apprehensions" or "trepidations" or sometimes "terrors." Today after I finished in that class I went into the main service and sat outside the sanctuary listening to the end of the sermon and the closing songs and felt this all becoming very real. It definitely feels like a big strong movement in a direction, like a river, that I am just caught up in. Along for the ride. The ride of my life. The ride IS my life. I'm not sure how I got here, but it's a strong force going in a clear direction, so all I can do is hold on. I feel out of control of it, and not even in a peaceful "surrender" way. Obviously that's part of it, and I've done that, but it feels bigger than that. In an exciting way, an I-have-no-idea-what's-coming-but-I'm-going-to-keep-holding-on-tight-and-find-out way. (That was a lot of hyphens.)

The verse that I used to have in my blog header is Proverbs 19:21, "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but the Lord's purposes will prevail." It's that "along for the ride" feeling. I hope it's a good ride. It kind of freaks me out, but I hope it's a good one.


(P.S. I'll tell you about yesterday later.)

my office in Hollywood

I just really like saying that.

So there she is, in all her glory, with leftover snowflakes and beverage price sign and everything. I went in yesterday because they FINALLY set up my email and phone and stuff. I guess I'm official. Although it sure is nice working in my pajamas at home.

This week has been crazy. I'll be in a different county from where I live every day. Tomorrow I am going to visit some of our victims in a confidential/hidden DV shelter. Today I spent 6 hours going over Saturday's Spanish presentation with Ruben. (Saturday is D-Day, as far as I'm concerned. I can't recall dreading something as much as I'm dreading this in quite a long time. Usually I just ignore the fact that something dreaded is on the horizon and live in blissful ignorance, but having to practice and prepare for this one makes it quite hard to overlook.) It's also just one of those weeks where there are a thousand other things going on, meeting long-lost friends, teaching 3 times (NOT work related!), helping with an outreach training. I guess spending a couple hours in the car each day contributes to the hectic feeling.

Our power has gone out a couple times tonight. It wasn't even that hot today. The first time it went out I was in the shower...that was a first.

I was forwarded an email on Monday from one of the women in Greece who I will be working with. She connected with a Nigerian pastor who is interested in starting some sort of ministry with Lydia Today, in Nigeria, for the women and children who are at risk for pr0stitution and trafficking. A large percentage of the girls in Athens are Nigerian. We've talked in the past about going to the source and doing training and education for the at-risk populations. So the next question posed to me was, "How would you feel about the possibility of making trips to Nigeria?" Now that is quite an interesting proposal.

So...I am starting to do these presentations and stuff to raise support for Greece. I've been working on prayer cards, letters, pictures, and I don't know what else (I have a long way to go). I know some of you have done this before...any advice???

the weird dichotomy that will soon be my life

I'm moving to Greece soon, y'all. I sometimes get people starting to say something like "Wow, must be rough," until I tell them what I'm doing there. Then it's different. And I start to wonder with them what I'm getting myself into...

Someone left the cake out in the rain

Looks pretty at night, doesn't it?

With NightLight on Thursday night I went to MacArthur Park for outreach. Charity, the director of NightLight (who I met in March at the Hands That Heal training for working with trafficking victims), Ruben, the other Salvation Army outreach worker (like myself; I am supposed to be concentrating on sex trafficking and he focuses on labor trafficking), and I (got that? That was Charity, Ruben, and I) have set aside Mondays as our outreach day, and we'll come here to MacArthur park (admittedly NOT my favorite park to spend time at), Hollywood, and other areas. We are also planning some big outreach events that will involve volunteers and a big push to get information and materials out to people in the area, coming up this summer.

Anyhoo, on Thursday night we went to MacArthur Park. Kind of just threw me in there with the Spanish thing, since pretty much no one in the neighborhood speaks English. Charity and I talked to a lot of people, some taxi drivers, some apartment building security guards, and lots of people on the streets. We hung a lot of posters. Recently 9 Guatemalan women were brought to this neighborhood, promised jobs, and were forced into commercial sex slavery. There is a lot of stuff happening in this area. We pray before we go out, that we will be led to those who know where it is. Because it is hidden so well.

Sometimes I stand back and look at the streets, all the people, the kids, the Botanicas, taco stands, clubs...you know what is hidden behind all this, but how do you get "in"? How do you find it? How do you get enough info that you actually have something to report, to actually locate and find a victim? They are here by the thousands, hidden in plain sight. You've crossed paths with them without even knowing it. This is why it's such a lucrative business. Human trafficking made $32 billion last year. It's hard to identify, hard to find victims, harder to identify traffickers.

People gladly listened (tolerating my Spanish), took information, and even discussed the issue at MacArthur Park. They'll read the flyers, and maybe remember it if they see something later. I guess that is what we hope, for now...

Call & Response

A concert to end slavery (trailer - click here)

Photo by Kay Chanush

hmmm...

I don't pose or anything...

this year:

last year:

ha ha

(I don't have any from the first one because I did it alone. Sniff.)

and in my spare time...

why not throw in a triathlon??? :)

I was up at 4am for this swim/bike/run around Disneyland and California Adventure. Wide awake, with fervor and excitement. Here I am trying to find Sharone at 5am (really I put this one in because it is the only non-hideous photo of me from the whole day)...

My latest victim/convert! (You can read her uproarious account of the day here.)

(The body marking girl had some trouble writing "960" on me this morning. I know they are hard numbers. It was early.)

My loyal fan base (equally filled with fervor and excitement)

Settin' her up for 1600 competitors:

Disney at daybreak:

Can I tell you something? This was the grossest, nastiest, foulest swim EVER. I think Sharone had to dodge garbage. When I got out, I had dark dirty drops of mud (I mean water) dripping off me.

Sharone didn't like it either.

The rest was fine, quick. And happily, I blew my ("I didn't train a lick for this thing") goal out of the water!!

We finished.

And she looks good even after finishing a triathlon. I hate her a little bit.

So THEN, I got to go up to Santa Monica, where you can see weird things like this:

And I got to see my friend Casey from SPU and her husband Carlos. I haven't seen her in something like 6 years. We read each other's blogs so it was fun to catch up in person. They are fun. :)

I'm tired.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of California of the United States of America

Street Outreach

One of our outreach posters!

Part of my job is to do a lot of street outreach in Hollywood, focused on communities, businesses, and populations where human trafficking is or could be prevalent. There are two of us outreach workers, and the other one, Ruben, is based in downtown LA and focuses on labor trafficking. I focus on sex trafficking.

I collaborate with a group called NightLight (and actually, do check out their website, because their organization was founded in Thailand, and they employ women rescued from trafficking and prostitution to make jewelry, which is sold here through NightLight USA). They have been doing outreach in Hollywood for maybe a year. Spending several hours with Charity, the director, over the past couple days has been so helpful for me in figuring out strategies for outreach and education in Hollywood.

In Thai town there are massage parlors everywhere. Several to a block. Some are legit; most sell sex. As we walked tonight we talked about strategies and tactics; visiting nearby businesses to distribute literature and hang posters, contacting apartment managers and city employees in the area to hold trainings on what to look for. In one hotel on Hollywood Blvd, the woman at the desk said helplessly that she sees trafficking all the time. She sees floods of children, mostly boys in this particular place, brought in for the business, and has no idea what to do about it.

It's all new territory. People are paving their own way in this fight against human trafficking, so it's no wonder I've felt a little clueless at times about how to approach my job. The more time I spend it in, out there, researching, talking, listening, the more ideas I have and different angles I see. I am hoping I can maximize my few months here, talk to as many people as possible. When people know what to look for, they start to spot it where they wouldn't have noticed before. If they know what to do next time, we've made progress.

Morale is up. That's a good thing. :)

How I miss thee :(

My salad at Chipotle just isn't the same. Stupid Salmonella.

change is overrated

I spent most of this weekend lying listlessly on the couch or on my bed. Eating pinkberry. And watching TV (I never watch TV).

I think I am in shock.

When you finish grad school and then are expected to get on with life, and when you actually start getting on with life, all at once, seems like it could be a little overwhelming. Especially after 4.5 years of going to school and working at a church. Suddenly there is so much to learn and do. How do I respond? By getting overwhelmed and doing nothing. :)

So, let's review:

• I have a new job. It's a cause of not a little anxiety as I am trying to figure out what the heck I'm doing, and refresh my poor brain of its Spanish skills and learning new trafficking vocabulary in preparation for all these presentations I'm supposed to do.
• This new job is in the commercial sex industry (specifically, the "anti-" side), and I have no shortage of gross p0rn topics and pr0stitution issues and exploitation and hearing men talk about women in ways I never wanted to hear bombarding me from all sides. Usually I can keep it "academic" or disconnect myself from it. Every once in awhile it hits me deeply and causes a lot of emotion and stress. And disgust. And that feeling of being "slimed."
• I am teaching a girls' bible study that starts tomorrow night. I haven't thought about what I'm doing yet. That's a good teacher for you.
• I have insomnia again. :)
• I am still working at the church until next week.
• Oh yes, and I am supposed to be raising $3000 a month for my impending move (in 4 months) to Greece. I forgot about that part. And mentally preparing myself to be doing all this same stuff in a totally new and foreign context.

So how do I respond? By doing nothing. By secretly wishing that things would return to the way they were a few months ago. As much as I want to be tough and adventurous and strong and independent, there is a part of me (lots of me, at the moment) that wishes I didn't have to be. These are all good things, that I have wanted, and still want. I suppose the difficulty is that they are happening all at once. Without the new job, I could carry on doing familiar and easy things and prepare for Greece with a little less stress. But it's also teaching me a ton and preparing me in ways I wouldn't be prepared otherwise. Without moving to Greece, I could focus on the new job 100% and dedicate all my time to it. But I remember being excited about moving to Greece, so that's not the right answer either! :)

I don't know what else to do besides pick myself up and charge ahead. Feign excitement until it is genuine again. Focus and take it a day at a time. Let myself have my meltdowns and move on.

I did meet with Sandie on Saturday and got a lot of things squared away for Greece. Things are coming together. Aparments are being scouted out for me in Athens, people are preparing for me to be there. It IS exciting! I wish I could think about it more. Thankfully I have other people who can help me with this ball (speaking in juggling terms) at this time.

Why is it so hot in California? And in my apartment??

Humanity is Not For Sale

I'm helping a girl at work put on this event on Saturday, June 28. I spent a lot of yesterday on the phone with small businesses, artists, and other potential vendors to try to fill booths at this fair. I will be teaching a couple workshops on trafficking (in Spanish! - there will also be some in English) and there will be food, music, a silent auction, and lots of local artists and vendors all raising money for victims of human trafficking.

If you know of anyone with a business who might be interested in showcasing their goods or services to help with the fundraiser, let me know! :) There's only a small fee for the booth space and they keep money from what they sell.

We are inviting anyone and everyone in the community to participate and come to the event!

yay for friends who sing

on the job

The new job

I worked from home yesterday. In less clothes than my pajamas! Hurray for new jobs where I pick my own schedule, how many hours I want to work, where, how, why, and who. What a fabulous idea. My living room is a mess of papers and manuals and empty chocolate pudding cups, but nevermind.

So, my office. Have you ever been on a mission trip to Mexico, to work in a church down there? Wait, let me back up. My office is in the Salvation Army Hollywood Corps, which is a fancy word for church, slash all the other programs they do there. I think in Hollywood there is a youth center, church, old peoples home, and some other youth programs with lots of buildings. But, the church. It reminds me of my childhood times in Mexico with brightly colored walls and odd furniture.

So, my office! It's in the Weingart Youth Center (please don't stalk me), which is a great facility equipped for all kinds of fancy programs for kids. Only the Officer in charge is a lot more excited about repainting the stairwell and getting new tables for the multi-purpose room and getting carpet that matches the division office downtown than he is about putting internet in the building (which might come in handy for the COMPUTER LAB they are supposed to be running in there) or, say, setting up my office.

Anyway, about my office. When I walked in with my boss last Friday it was still the little catch-all room with the soda machine, 472 printers and copiers, some kid's basketball shoes, random files, paper snowflakes, a mini desk, 29 file cabinets, and a unicorn. At some point one of those soda cans spilled (you know what happens when soda machines aren't locked up and there are rambunctious youth around who'd rather break something than pay for a can) and left a neat design on the carpet. My boss was a little annoyed that it wasn't ready for me, so they started scrambling as we went with the Officer (Demetrio - interesting guy!) to Louise's Trattoria for lunch (my second free lunch of the week). Apparently there was a computer and a desk somewhere on campus designated for me, they were just wanting to know when I was starting in order to set it up. Hey - there I was, ready to start!

So we came back and there it was. The junk was cleared out and I had a computer, a gigantic copy machine and printer, only 139 little printers left over, and a new desk. Now here comes my Mexican church flashback. Blue stained carpet, bright mint green walls, a desk with a drawer missing, random stickers on the windows. Thankfully I won't be spending much time there. Not that I have anything against Mexican churches...las amo, gracias a Dios. But I have an office and a key and a desk and a computer that is not hooked up to anything. I love social work!

I've learned more about my job in the last week by being introduced to others at the TSA offices than I knew before taking the job. A big part of it is education and training seminars for local churches and other organizations, as well as a lot of volunteer recruitment. But I will be doing outreach on the streets of Hollywood to low income communities to raise awareness about human trafficking. The idea is that many of them will have ideas of where the victims are, which massage parlors or strip clubs are harboring or using victims.

I also keep a record of the surveillance I do. Yes - surveillance. I'm Sidney Bristow over here with my platinum wig and big sunglasses. Today I was reading over the notes from the girl who did this job last year from her stake-outs of massage parlors and strip clubs. Often they advertise sex online, but usually late at night you can see the girls being brought out and put in vans and taken away. Sometimes they are kept in the same place they are made to work. The high walls and barbed wire are not there to keep people out - they're there to keep people in. My job is funded by a grant from the Department of Health and Human Services, so I will need to keep detailed records of my surveillance, trainings, any victim rescues, conversations with potential victims, internet research, etc.

Later this week I'll spend some time at the youth center during drop in hours; Hollywood has a significant number of homeless people, a lot of whom are youth. Often troubled youth who come out here to pursue their "dreams" of stardom hit the harsh realities of sexual exploitation on these streets. The majority of homeless girls, and an increasing number of boys are sexually exploited via prostitution and/or pornography. It's also highly likely for them to know of places where trafficking and exploitation are taking place, so this will be a good starting place for me.

Onward, into the underbelly of society.

I need a new sport.

I totally crashed on my bike today. Again. I haven't been since March, and only once since I did the flip over the handlebars and land on my head thing. I guess I've been a bit spooked. And I also didn't realize how out of practice you can get. How hard is riding a bike? I guess when it involves big hills and ruts and jumps...you can. We had a nice, easy ride today though; the weather was perfect and it was good to be out there again. However, the ride was about 5 minutes too long. I made it almost all the way back to the parking lot; we were out on the street, cruising back to the car. I turned around to yell something at Nick and my tire caught a curb and down I went. Onto my chin. And skidded. I look like a little kid right now. I'm finding other places on my body that I landed on too, one by one.

I'm on a roll.

Really, I was jealous of Sharone. Now we have matching owies!

party time, excellent

(for lack of something better to post - a birthday party last night) :)

She wanted you to know...

My roommate is now a blogger!

Kristin and I have been lamenting that our times in the Nut House are coming to an end. Just a few more months and we'll be packing this place up...hard to believe! It has been the best of times...I will miss her dearly when it's time to go.

The Notch Club will live forever. ;)

first day

Left the house bright and early this morning to accompany my new boss to a meeting in downtown LA at the US Dept. of Labor, Wage Hour division. He was doing a long presentation/training session on labor trafficking to the investigators there, so that they are better equipped to identify and help trafficking victims they may come into contact with. I didn't have to do anything; just observe and learn since these are the kinds of presentations I'll be doing. The DoL director took us out to lunch, and then it was back to the freeway, back to Whittier and back to the church for a few hours at Job #2.

I have to be back up there at 8:30 tomorrow for the Salvation Army new employee orientation, and then Friday I'll get to go over to my Hollywood office to meet people and get set up there.

It's a bit overwhelming with both jobs in my lap at the moment, especially since one is over an hour away. Anyone need a nice quiet church job????