New Website!

We are excited to announce that She Is Safe has a new home on the web! Our site is now up at http://SheIsSafe.org.

While this blog has been a great tool to stay connected, we had to create a new one to integrate into our new site. There was no way to transfer subscriptions over to the new blog, so if you still want to read the latest updates, see the latest pictures, and watch our new videos, be sure to subscribe to our new blog at http://SheIsSafe.org/blog. The procedure is exactly the same as it was for this one.

Thanks for reading with us, and enjoy the new site!

Thank God for Artists

Artists play an important role in God’s work. They discover, frame, and retell stories, and help us to connect with the powerful narrative we live in.

We’ve been working with creative people a great deal lately to offer a richer experience for those who interact with us online, at events, and in their advocacy groups. We are developing new videos, redesigning our website, blogging, facebooking, and re-imagining our promotional materials.

Through this thrilling process, God connects us with extraordinary artists who tell stories through visuals, music, and words.

When we asked Eric North of The Bear Klaw to work on a score for our video, he embraced the project and sent us a track that caused reactions ranging from goosebumps to long strings of exclamation marks in our e-mails. Click below to listen to the “She Is Safe Theme” on YouTube.

Whether they are web designers, photographers, videographers, musicians, animators, or writers, She Is Safe is so grateful for the artists who join us in the process of telling the story of how God is freeing and empowering women and girls in the hardest places.

National Women’s Equality Day

In 1971, the United States Congress declared August 26th to be National Women’s Equality Day. Today, as our nation celebrates great progress, we at She Is Safe are praying and working to free women and girls around the world from abuse and exploitation.

A recent article in She Knows, a popular women’s resource, points out that National Women’s Equality Day is a time for reflection on progress, but also on the work that still needs to be done:

While gaining the right to vote was a huge victory, the fact is that women aren’t always treated equally.

You can read the full article here. We at She Is Safe celebrate the progress that The United States has made in equality for women. And we look around the world for chances to equip others who long for the same freedoms.

The global inequity remains disturbing.  At least 70% of those who are illiterate, hungry, displaced and enslaved are female. But our initiatives of antitrafficking, education, economic opportunity, and spiritual nurture, are seeing more women and girls around the globe taste freedom and empowerment for the first time.

We give thanks for the freedom, education and opportunities we enjoy, and we work and pray that others around the world might experience those as well.

Celebrate Freedom!

Freedom is at the heart of what we do here at She Is Safe. When we heard that a local radio station was hosting a concert called “Celebrate Freedom,” we knew we had to get involved!

On Saturday, September 3, 104.7 The Fish will be putting on a free concert in Atlanta that features artists like Switchfoot, Newsboys, and Josh Wilson. She Is Safe will be there with some of our ministry friends to share about what we’re doing to free and empower women and girls around the world.

If you live in or near Atlanta, drop in and visit our booth! Here are a few things you can look forward to at the concert:

• Stop by to meet our staff, learn more about our work, and find out how you can help bring freedom to girls in the hardest places on Earth.
• Some of our staff and friends will be doing the Celebrate Freedom 5k and 10k as part of our Run to Rescue initiative.
• We will be selling jewelry from Refugee Beads to empower women to reach their own people groups here in Atlanta.

You can learn more about the concert and get your free tickets at the Celebrate Freedom Atlanta website. To join us at the 5k or 10k and “Run to Rescue,” you can register here and start talking to your friends and family about sponsoring you!

We’ll look forward to seeing you there as we celebrate the freedom that God has given to us and calls us to share with the World!

Walking to Rescue

When we posted our Run to Rescue post, we were excited to hear what goals people would set for themselves. The first responder was Jacque, who had a powerful story, and an inspiring goal to share with us.

She wrote a moving blog post about it, where she said the following:

Right around my 13th birthday I began to have difficulty speaking, eating, keeping my eyelids open, raising my arms to do my hair (a very important aspect of a girl’s life) and carry things, like schoolbooks, and was generally tired and worn out all the time…not your typical teenage lifestyle.

She was diagnosed with an auto-immune, neuro-muscular disorder which troubled her and almost took her life several times. However, after reading about Run to Rescue, she decided to set a goal and use her recovery to help She Is Safe free and empower women and girls around the world. She continues:

Through MG (myasthenia gravis), breast cancer and most recently, a broken femur and surgery on both femurs to insert titanium rods (ye old Wolverine woman), I am happy to tell you, I’m still kicking and ready to Walk for “Run to Rescue”, a challenge presented by She Is Safe (formerly Sisters In Service)! I want to help little girls and women in places in the world where they would not otherwise have the opportunity to learn of their loving Savior, Jesus Christ, or have a safe and healthy life, like you and I have, were it not for the intentional intervention of lovers of Jesus who often risk their lives to bring Life to them.

Jacque’s decision is a beautiful start to this initiative. You can read her full story, and help sponsor her, at her blog: Jacque’s Journey.

We’ll keep posting stories, goals, and results as they come in. Thanks for joining us in this adventure!

On the Front Lines

Dallas Theological Seminary’s magazine, Kindred Spirit, recently highlighted the work of SIS area director Pam Pitt in Nepal.  Pam lovingly works with our field partners who prevent, rescue and restore girls from trafficking. Pam and her husband, John, connect Western churches with God’s work on the front lines in Nepal.

The article was written by SIS knowledge management coordinator, Katy Anderson. In “Equipping Captives for Freedom and Faith,” she describes the empowerment of former slaves who are now changing their own villages:

When in Nepal, John and Pam spend time in a rehabilitation home, a space where girls can heal. The girls participate in Bible studies, hear the gospel, and experience love and hope for the first time. They also learn vocational, literacy, and other life skills. And they receive medical treatment and trauma counseling. After a year of rehabilitation the girls are reintegrated into local communities. Some even go to college. Many teach skills to others at risk, educating them to the ploys of traffickers.

You can download the issue of Kindred Spirit here.

Pam, John, and all of our area directors work to free and empower women and girls around the world. We believe that their efforts, innovations, and relationships make a difference for this generation, the next, and for all of eternity.

Run to Rescue

What if a few extra miles could buy back a life?  What if you could use your love for running and walking to free and empower at-risk women and girls around the world?

Many of our She Is Safe employees, friends, and advocates are avid hikers, walkers, and runners. Whether you cover your miles on a trail, on the road, or on a treadmill, by joining Run to Rescue, each step can bring one girl closer to a life of freedom and empowerment.

To join Run to Rescue, you can just take three easy steps:

1. Set a goal: Do you want to run your first marathon? Finish a 5k? Staff members Brian Weldon and Ian North have set a goal of running the Georgia section of the Appalachian Trail. Whatever distance you dream of running, write it down.
2. Recruit sponsors: Your friends, family, and employers want to see you thrive. While you’re training, seek supporters who will donate a certain amount to She Is Safe per mile or when you reach your goal.
3. Do the distance: Put in those miles. Meet or exceed your target. Then let your supporters know how well you did. They can donate by phone, mail, or online. All the information on how to give is available on our website, SheIsSafe.org.

We are working with a designer to develop “Run to Rescue” performance t-shirts. That way, while you’re working toward your goal, you can show yourself and those around you what it’s all about. We’ll post a link to the t-shirts as soon as the design is complete.

Until then, keep putting in the miles, and post your goals in the “comments” field of this post!

Made for Hope and Love

Photograph by Elias Wallace

Hip-hop poet, singer, and songwriter Elias Wallace traveled to India with SIS. He returned inspired, hopeful, and moved to write new material.

While the music that accompanies them is still in production, he agreed to let us post an excerpt of a new song, “Beautiful Girl.” It captures our heart for the undervalued women we work with, in India and around the world:

You were never made to be 2nd class in poverty
You werenʼt ever made to be broken down in misery
You were made for hope and love
You arenʼt what they say you are
More intricate than stars more delicate than flowers
Stronger than the pain you face
I see your beauty through your scars
If I could give you seeds of hope
I’d have you plant them in your heart
And water them with faith and start
To shine the love that makes it grow
Till you know till you know till you know

How To Subscribe

SIS Director of Operations Brian Weldon gives a thumbs-up after successfully subscribing to this blog

We have been delighted to receive feedback on how this blog connects with its readers. A few friends have said that they loved the posts, but had trouble subscribing to e-mail updates.

So, for just one post, we return from the ends of the earth to take care of a little housekeeping. Here are the basic steps to signing up for e-mail notifications:

• On the right hand side of your screen, you should see an “e-mail subscription” widget.
• If you are signed in to WordPress under an existing account, just click the “sign me up!” button.  If not, go ahead and plug your e-mail address into the space provided, then click the button.
• Check your e-mail. Within a few minutes, you should receive an e-mail from WordPress. Open the confirmation message when it arrives.
• The first question on the e-mail says, “How do I confirm this subscription?” Underneath that question is a long link in a small blue font. Click the link.
• You will go to a screen that shows you the blogs to which you have subscribed. sheissafe.wordpress.org should be among them. Once you reach this screen, you have subscribed. You can proceed to the blog and start reading!

Once you have followed these steps, just check your e-mail for notifications, and enjoy our posts!

With Your Own Eyes

Thanks to our friend and traveling companion, the extraordinary hip-hop poet Elias Wallace, we now have video of our recent India trip, including a dance performed by some children we work with in Orissa.

We want you to see with your own eyes the girls who have been changed by the work in India. To those who have prayed, spoken, and given to SIS initiatives in India, know that you have taken part in redeeming these beautiful lives: