Rising To The Challenge

As a child, I found the rhythms of life disinteresting. I didn’t appreciate the repetition, and in a way, I think I disliked anything that ever felt the same. Family birthdays felt the same. School felt the same. Holidays pretty much felt the same. You get the picture.

The seasonal nature of life is a challenge, but over time my mindset toward it has changed. What I once saw as monotonous, I now see as an opportunity for reflection and even enjoyment.

I’ve come to anticipate the repetition, particularly the Thanksgiving to Christmas to New Year’s Season, as it returns year after year. I didn’t pay much attention to Christmas traditions as a kid, but now my wife and I look forward to the ones we’ve started with our three boys.

We attempt to squeeze in two meals for Thanksgiving on both sides of the family, and the day after, we go to the same tree farm as the year before and buy a big Charlie Brown tree. We make a new star for that tree every year. We listen to our favorite Christmas songs on repeat, and I enjoy them—to a point, anyways. We anticipate the coming of Jesus by counting down the 24 days to Christmas with a Lego Advent Calendar.

These have become some of the most important rhythms of my life.

The anticipation and joy of these patterns anchor us during the ups and downs of the broader holiday season. In the words of John Lennon, “So this is Christmas.” It is a time to do what has been done before. It is a time to remember and repeat the Christmas Story. It is a time to celebrate the goodness of God’s blessings. It is a time to find ways to bless others—and you have certainly done this. Thank you for supporting the rescued children again, year after year. Sharing Christmas with them never gets old.

Together, we rescue children from trafficking and equip them with everything they need to become successful and independent adults with the power to transform their communities for the better.

With more children trapped in slavery now than ever before, child trafficking is one of the greatest tragedies of our time.

Since 2012, we've supported the rescue of 40,000+ child trafficking survivors in South Asia and have reunited a majority of them with their own safe and loving families.

Rescued children with nowhere to go come to live at The Children's Home. Here, they receive medical care, go to school, make friends, begin counseling, and learn that they have incredible value.

Our team in South Asia currently cares for 1,200 kids at this single location.

Our most recent Fall Journal on abundance was already tucked into your mailbox when we got the unexpected news from Daya. We’d just highlighted her amazing story in the Journal without knowing she was about to change everything. Since starting her job at a global tech powerhouse, Daya has personally given back over $100,000, but she is driven to do more. So much so that she is laying the groundwork for her own company where she can train and hire other rescued girls in high-income work so they can follow in her footsteps in giving back.

While getting that started, she paved the way with a company in South Asia to become a brand new partner for our team in the field. This company is prepared to fill 452 job positions with Child Freedom Graduates.

These jobs span a variety of specialties, allowing our students to choose a field that suits them best. To qualify, students must undergo an intensive training course that is longer and more expensive than our typical 6-month $1,600 Vocational Training. That news didn’t phase Daya. She raised funding for half of the training by sharing the story with her network.

We’ve seen Daya’s generosity flourish year after year, but we are amazed by her passion and skill in creating opportunities for the rescued kids. Since she shared this news with us, we’ve sent $176,500 for these scholarships, meaning we have $426,900 left to go before all 452 students can begin training for their futures.

It’s no small number, especially considering the current global economic climate, but Daya has already tackled the first half of this challenge. The jobs this initiative funds will give graduates a chance to thrive and, if they choose, the opportunity to give back at an incredible rate of return.

Raising $944.56 per student for 452 students is a great challenge, but also brings an opportunity to create bright futures for child trafficking survivors.

sponsor a student

When the first 75 students graduated from our Vocational Training Program in 2013, they sparked a movement towards self-sustainability by giving back.

Over the last decade, 1,100+ graduates have followed in their footsteps, generously giving back over $1.8 million to Child Freedom Coalition.

Soon they’ll fully fund The Children’s Home, and we’ll reallocate our resources to build more homes for rescued kids to live and grow in freedom.

In time, graduates will support these homes as well, until slavery no longer exists in South Asia.

“Obedience and joy are the first words that come to mind when considering our support for Child Freedom Coalition (CFC). Jesus links these together in John 15:9-11, “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in His love. I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.”

We were fortunate to live in Mumbai, India, for almost three years. It was a wonderful experience. The people of India are kind, friendly to foreigners, and very welcoming. However, children born into poverty face many challenges in this society. There are no safety nets, no school lunches, few schools for the poorest children, no child services, few orphanages or adoption options, and little law enforcement of child protection laws regarding slavery and prostitution.

Jesus told his disciples that to be great, they must serve children who are weak and can never repay them (Mark 9:34-37). The children in India cared for by CFC meet these criteria. We now live in the United States, and CFC provides the opportunity for us to continue to help children in India, who are some of the poorest children in the world. With 100% of donations directly supporting the children, this organization is an easy choice. Although it is said that money can’t buy happiness, giving money to CFC in obedience to Jesus’ instructions has certainly brought our family great joy.”

There is a point in each of our lives when we exchange the excitement of receiving presents for the pure delight of giving them. We say goodbye to guessing at the gifts wrapped and waiting under the tree. Instead, we research, craft, and shop. We wrap with thoughtful care and festive papers. Then we count down the days, eagerly anticipating the Christmas morning chorus of tearing paper and joyful squeals.