Twenty. Seven. Million.

Are you aware that now...at this moment in time...we have more people in slavery than we ever had before? Most people think slavery ended more than a century ago. Let me just give you some facts: (taken from enditmovment.com) *there are 27 million people in modern day slavery right now *It costs $90 dollars or less to BUY A HUMAN BEING. 90 dollars. *This is a 32 BILLION dollar industry every year. Just to clue you in on how much that is...that's an underground network who's annual revenue is bigger than google. *As many at 17,500 people are trafficked into the UNITED STATES every year...and the average age of these people is 14 years old. *80% of people trafficked are women. It's estimated that 5,000 women and girls are trafficked and raped for profit every year in Atlanta, Georgia alone, and this city is among the 14 most trafficked cities in the US. There are 13 more cities where slavery is present too. *There are roughly 200,000 slaves working in America right now, with more being trafficked every day. *50% of these are children. Being taken off the streets. Losing their childhood. And this next fact brought tears streaming down my face. My heart is broken. Ruined. Hurting. This next sentence, made everything a lot more relate-able. "In certain sex trafficking networks, women and girls commonly "serve" as many as four men per hour (every 15 minutes), totaling 48 men in a given 12 hour day." (polarisproject.org) Every. Fifteen. Minutes. Okay...I work at Great Clips. Great Clips is known for fast haircuts, to save the customer time in their busy schedule. My average haircut time is between 13 and 15 minutes. In the time it takes me to do one haircut at work, a girl forced into sex trafficking is raped. And up to 48 times a day. FOURTY EIGHT. I do between 20 and 25 haircuts a day. This is unacceptable. How is this happening? How are we not hearing about this on the news? Talking about it? Let's make people aware of this. Let's come behind groups that are already working to save people from modern day slavery. I'm disgusted by these facts. And this isn't the first time this has been on my heart. I remember doing a blog a few years ago, just broken for what I heard. I had no idea it was to this extent. This is out of control. Go to enditmovement.com and take a pledge to shine a light on slavery.

Looking Back and Hopeful for What's Ahead.

Here's a post from September 20th of last year. Crazy to see whats happend in this last year.

A year from now...
I've been thinking what I'll be doing a year from now. I have absolutely no idea. A year ago I was making 150 bracelets for the kids at the AGC church in Kenya and getting so pumped up about going over there for 2 weeks. So much has happened in this past year. Kenya completely changed my life. God's given me such a passion for his children overseas. I feel called to work in orphan ministry. I don't know how long or where I'm going yet but I think a year from now, life could possibly be completely different. A year from now, I'll be the big two O, hopefully doing missions in a country where the need is great. Im hopeful for what God has in store over this next year. Im almost halfway done with cosmetology school and excited to be done:) I think I can use this profession for God's glory. I've got some ideas jumpin around in my head :) haha. God is faithful and Im so excited to see what he has in store for me this next year as I hopefully head off into a new chapter of my life working with orphans.

.....This is just crazy to me. I talked about how I wanted to do missions overseas and I didn't know where or how long. I ended up going to Moldova for 2 months. "hopefully doing missions in a country where the need is great"... As I started working with Operation Mobilization I prayed specifically that God would send me where the need is great and He put me right in the middle of a ton of need in Moldova. My favorite part of this entire blog "I think I can use this profession for God's glory." I'm just smiling, amazed at how God has worked. How He has used this profession to bring himself glory. A few days ago an article was published on the work God did through me in Moldova. It started off the the OM Moldova website then went to the OM News website. Then some missions national news rewrote an article on the article and posted that. And since then another website posted that same article on their website. I'm amazed how God used what little I had to bring such glory to Himself! People are emailing me because they have read the article. They are hearing about what God did and how He used hair to bring people to him.

As I read this blog back, I am just amazed by how faithful God is and how now I see that He placed those desires in my heart last year around this time and to see how He accomplished those ideas. He opened the door with Operation Mobilization, sent me where the need is great, and used hairdressing as a way to bring glory to Him. It's awesome to see how God's worked through every event in the past few years. Going way back to sophomore year in high schoool...God placed this country of Kenya on my heart. Then our church started working with the baby center and I was able to go there. I had a desire to go into long term missions then, but God said wait. I went to beauty school and graduated. Then somehow, I ended up in a little country I had never heard of until a few months before I went to live there for the summer. God has just used every little detail and I can see a little now of why He did what He did. I was so hurt and confused when Icouldn't go to Kenya, but I see it now. He was saving me from something and somewhere I needed to be. At times when I can't see the big picture, I have learned that I can and have to trust God completely. He always sees the big picture and knows what's best for me.

So a year from now. Life will be different. I see myself overseas for long term missions. I see this ministry of using hairdressing, growing and expanding. I see me learning a new language and culture. I still want to be where the need is great. This will always be my prayer. I can't wait to see what God has in store for this next year. There is one thing I know..."If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give it up for me, you will find it...matthew 10:39" I can't think of anything better for right now than giving up my life here and radically and obediently following Christ. This may mean missing my brother and sister "grow up" as Kylee graduates this year and goes to college and zach graduates next year. This may mean I leave my paying job as a hair stylist here to go do hair for free. This may mean losing friendships here because I will be gone for a year or two. But living life comfortably is no way to live when I know that if I give my life up now, I will have treasure in heaven. I'm so excited to continue on this journey with Christ. I know He has big things in store.

Click here to read the article published by OM.
Click here to read the article rewritten at Mission Network News.

New Chapter: Shear Madness

Crazy I've only been home about a week and a half. It feels like so much longer! Jet lag has worn off and I'm still adjusting to "normal life" here at home. So strange that I have to readjust back to my own culture.
I'm so excited to be starting at Shear Madness in Nappanee tomorrow! So thankful to have a job as soon as I got home. Stop in and see me at the salon. Here's the postcard I've sent out..feel free to print it out and save $5 the first time you come in!

Has it really only been a week?

I can't believe it's only been a week since I've been doing haircuts here. I did 10 more today at the church bringing the weeks total to......38 haircuts!! haha. I'm exhausted. I'm glad to have the night to rest...I have a cold right now so my kleenexes are on low and my energy is gone. yuck. Pray that I would feel better soon and that the cold would go away very fast. I feel a bit more comfortable here in Rezina now that I've been here for a couple days. It was good to get to know the team here a little bit, playing cards all night. Tomorrow will be the kids camp in the village. I've been told village life is very different even from the small town of Rezina, so that will be neat to see. There is no shower here in the apartment I am living in so bucket baths have been a little bit of an adjustment. haha. But i am surviving. :)

Follow me in Moldova

I've started a new blog for while I'm in Moldova. I'll try to update it as much as I can while I'm over there so everyone back home can know what's going on.

Follow it at www.ashleyinmoldova.blogspot.com

"We can't do everything, but we HAVE to do something."

I'm inspired and amazed by this girl speaking. I'm shocked at the statistics. We have to do SOMETHING.

Broken for Moldova...sex trafficking

Moldova is coming up soon..only about a month away. So I've started just researching the country and trying to find out as much as I can about Moldova and the Moldovan People.
I randomly came across a page about child trafficking in Moldova. I don't know how I've missed this until now but this thing is huge. As the poorest country in Europe it is also one of the biggest sex trafficking areas. These girls think they are getting a better life. They answer ads in the paper for waitressing jobs or for an apartment and they end up in the middle of a sex trafficking ring. Trafficking deals happen in broad daylight. I was reading a blog where these girls were being taken and sold from a cafe in the middle of town. I can't even describe what is going through my head. I'm angry and incredibly broken and sad for these girls that are pulled into this. Moldova isn't very big...slightly larger than Maryland. The same city I'll be staying for a while is where this is all going on. It will be right in front of me. It kind of scares me...going to this place where I know sex trafficking is happening on a daily basis... but it's definitely started to get me thinking.

I read this article from UNICEF. I think like the girl in the article, most kids are left with their grandparents while their parents go find work in a nearby country. This scenario has probably happened a million times. At the end of this page it says that the girl is ready to start her new life and go to school to be a hairdresser. hmmmm....this starts some things going in my head.

God definitely has me going here for a purpose. I'm so excited to see how He will use me while I'm there. He's got it all under control.

So on a different note, I'm taking my practical at Vogue tomorrow and will be officially graduated! yay. It's so crazy how God has brought me through this and completely provided financially. When I first started school there was no way I thought God could use hair to glorify him and further his kingdom. I was so wrong. I think because of knowing how to do hair, God can use me in different ways that wouldn't be there if I hadn't gone to school. It's such a ministry just to talk to clients and I'll be able to encourage the missionaries that are presently at the base in Moldova. I'm so excited to go on the bus4life for a couple weeks and cut hair...guess I better get movin again on my Romanian lessons haha. As I was reading the articles today on the girls in Moldova that have been in this whole thing of sex trafficking, a picture came back in my mind.
At the winter retreat with the senior high this year,God just gave me a picture of me where it started with just me, grew to a small group of girls, then "the groups multiplied" and there were tons of girls. My first thought was.."Oh goodness, God, please do not make me speak in front of all these girls." My recent thought is...maybe it's teaching. Teaching hair to girls who's past is broken and need a good job to get out of prostitution or sex trafficking or whatever they've gone through. I don't know. I really have no idea where God is going with that mental picture, but it just keeps coming up. So I'll keep praying as I get ready to leave for Moldova. It's coming up faster than I know! :-s haha