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Miles for a Mission
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CopyPeople you know - fighting injustice today
When you think of slavery, what do you think of? Some may think of the Civil War or Abraham Lincoln. Others may think about cotton plantations, coffee, or tobacco? There might be a few who even think about the movie Amistad. But most, if not all, would think about people; people being bought and sold like property. It's hard to imagine a world that accepted such an injustice. It seems so unmistakably - wrong.
Just recently, when we were minding our own business, someone informed us that, in 2007, a report stated that cases of human trafficking, that is the selling and buying of another human being, have been reported in all 50 states. What? Do you mean that today people are being bought and sold like property? Yes. Do you mean here, I mean right here, close to where I live? Yes. As we learned more, we were horrified to hear that the average age of entry into forced prostitution is 12 to 14 years of age. We, along with many others, thought slavery was a moral issue of our past. However, the truth is, we have more slaves in our world today than the total number of human beings taken from Africa during the 400 years of the transatlantic slave trade. We don't want to be part of a world that accepts injustice, because it is so unmistakably - wrong.
Miles for a Mission is a group of 24 men and women from Kimball and the surrounding area. We have partnered with a ministry called International Justice Mission, or IJM. They are a group of attorneys, investigators, social workers, and aftercare professionals. They have a four-fold purpose of victim relief, perpetrator accountability, victim aftercare, and structural transformation. Our group's goal is to raise awareness about national and international slavery and to raise funds to support this ministry already fighting against injustice. We choose to do a 50-mile bike ride Sept. 12, of this year. If you would like to contribute financially, contact IJM directly at (703) 465-5495, <www.ijm.org>, or call Kathleen Albert at (320) 493-4040. Please let them know you are contributing in response to the group in Minnesota doing a 50-mile bike ride.
A world that accepts injustice? Unacceptable.
Seekjustice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.
Isaiah 1:17 NRSV
Copyright 2009 Tri-County News, Kimball, Minnesota. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from SmallTownPapers, Inc.
© 2009 Tri-County News Kimball, Minnesota. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.
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