February – the month we link with love.
I’m late sending this out (not just because I was sick last week), but also because I have really been thinking what Love means to me.
I struggle with how most people frame Valentine’s Day – flowers, candy and sex. We work with those who have been traumatized in the name of “physical love”. We see the results of selfish “love” – a driving force to meet one’s own physical “needs” through actions that violate others.
My picture of “love” comes from my grandparents, Fred and Ella. They’re in the middle of the front row in this picture with my dad, aunts and uncles (my dad is to the back left). Behind them all you can see the top of the cake as we celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. This picture shows hard working farmers who survived the trauma of losing their farm during the Great Depression. They watched sons go off to war. They knew that life was hard, but it was made sweet through their relationships.
What I remember the most about my grandparents was the look of love they gave each other. They had endured much; they knew each other through and through… and they were committed to making life work together. Their faith in Jesus and love were the glue that kept them together.
My favorite memory was at the end of their lives. Grandma had an accident, and Grandpa was her caregiver. When he was diagnosed with cancer, they moved into a nursing home – he knew he needed help to care for her. I walked in to visit them one day to see them sitting side by side in their wheelchairs, holding hands. That is my forever picture of love.
As 1 Corinthians 13:7 says: Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
I was the wife in a hard marriage. Now I’m the wife in a solid marriage. I’m so very grateful for a second chance at love. I am seen, supported, loved and cared for. Having already gone through cancer together, I know that even sickness will not tear us apart. Love will keep us holding hands, keep us sharing life. It keeps us choosing to encourage each other daily. Our love builds each other up.
When someone thinks that they have to look out for their own good, insisting that their needs be met, contentment is elusive. That makes it easy look elsewhere, like to paid sex – which is so hollow, so shallow compared to a committed relationship.
Will you join me in making a pledge? Choose to love your family and friends in a way that always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves. If you are married, work at being role models like my grandparents were.
Make a pledge/commitment to not view porn – as soon as you begin viewing it, you become part of the problem. You become a perpetrator, a “john”. You become the reason why people are trafficked for sex.
I challenge you instead to choose committed love. It’s worth it!
On Valentine’s Day we are launching a Silent Auction, which we’re calling “Shatter the Silence on Trafficking”. Please take a look at the items, and if you’re so inclined, we’d love to have you bid on some of the items (there’s more info below)! We have a broad variety of offerings:
2 tickets to an Avalanche hockey game
Baskets: “Out to Lunch”, Beginners Quilting, CoffeeTime, Great Wolf Lodge, Hiking, Story Time
9 pieces of original art – from small to large!
4 beautiful, handcrafted quilts
2 massages
1 photography session
A unique collection of Colorado 14ers stickers
Plus MORE!
The online auction will end at 6 pm on February 21, in the middle of our Open House and Survivor Art Sale! Some of our survivors will have original art (not just for the wall) available that evening – please be prepared to either pay cash or use an online payment method for those special items.
The Open House will be at our office: 615 Wooten Road, Suite 140.
We’d love to have you join us. Don’t hesitate to invite your friends to join us, too!
Blessings,
Sues Hess, Exec. Dir., and the RHope Team
What Can I Do?
Vote for us for the Liberator Award!
Support Our Silent Auction Fundraiser
Attend our Open House + Survivor Art Sale
Donate Items for our Hope Bags
Prayer
Thank You
Thank you to our volunteers, including the groups from Holy Apostles and the Woman’s Club of Colorado Springs. Thank you to those who had donation drives in January including Fox 21, Cross Fellowship Church, and St. Peter Church.
Human Trafficking in the News
Click the headlines to learn more.
Denver man sentenced to 20 years for human-trafficking charges related to 6 victims… victimized at least two 15 year old girls, as well as two 16 and 17 year old girls for his own gain, totaling six young girls that were identified.
First Federal Criminal Record Relief Bill will Help Survivors Break Free From the Past and Pursue a Viable Future… calling on Congress to pass the Trafficking Survivors Relief Act, which would create the first federal pathway for survivors of labor and sex trafficking to clear criminal records resulting from their trafficking experience. Click Here to Take Action
Catherine Chen & Sara Woldehanna: Ending Human Trafficking with Survivor-Centered AI… a unique vision for AI: one in which the technology protects, uplifts, and empowers survivors of all forms of injustice, exploitation, and abuse.
If you would like to host a donation drive to support the Hope Bag program or the Stocking program, please reach out to
info@reclaiming-hope.org or call 719-425- 9405 Tues – Fri : 10am – 4pm.
Colorado’s Human Trafficking Hotline
Report tips. Request referrals. Get help.
Call 866-455-5075 or text 720-999-9724
National Human Trafficking Hotline
Call:1-888-373-7888
Text: “BeFree” to 233733
Live Chat: humantraffickinghotline.org