The Sweetness of Freedom

Hi Friends,

I’m writing today with a full heart. Watching Survivors’ restoration unfold is more incredible than I could have imagined!

We’ve been tracking with the six survivors we most recently rescued. They inspire us everyday with their bravery and resilience. As they heal, they’ve been finding their voices and telling us their stories. We wanted to share some of their words with you today.

"When [the couple hosting me] told me that I am free to move into a home with people that love me, I questioned that. Who can love you without even seeing you? Last Sunday I heard an old man who read from a Bible saying: ‘God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.’ Yes, there one who loves without seeing you first." - Survivor, 23

Isn’t it a gift to demonstrate radical and divine love to these women?

Their words remind us why we’re doing this work; we’re freeing children that God loves more dearly than we ever could. As we talk with each of these precious Survivors, they show us we’re partnering in a much greater love already at work. We underestimate it too easily!

For many of our Survivors, freedom is truly a miracle. Most of them have been praying and yearning for years for freedom, for a new life, for family. A 26-year old Survivor told us this story:

"I went to church last week and had the best surprise in years. When I stepped into the church, my children were there with my mother. The angels took my prayer to God and He answered after 4 years. They are beautiful. I have a reason to fight and to live for. Thank you for helping me be free and alive."

You hold the keys to freedom; together we get to unlock the cage and answer Survivors’ prayers.

Each rescue starts a ripple effect. Thank you for being part of this ordained work.

Trafficking Breaking Open in Romania

Hello Friends,

I write today with mixed emotions — joyful and amazed at the incredible things God is doing with Uncaged, but also desperately concerned for the millions of precious souls caught in human trafficking. 

In recent weeks, it seems things are "breaking open" in Romania. We are hearing reports and reading articles like this one, which underscores a disheartening problem: Dozens of people are being freed, — but with no place to go, they will likely be re-victimized.

The fact that 65 percent of survivors found in Europe are Romanian serves to remind us that God has strategically guided our focus to Romania. Friends are coming to our partner Beni in Romania, and saying things like “Beni, we thought you were crazy when you would tell these stories. We are sorry that we didn’t believe you. We see now this is a huge problem."

Artwork Courtesy of Hyatt Moore

That makes me want to get the first Sanctuary open as soon as humanly possible so that we can give these young women and girls a place to heal in safety.

We are making great progress in raising funds for the land. Now we need need money to create the trauma-informed program that will expedite their healing 

We have found the land.We know how to unlock transformation in the lives of the survivors.Now we just need your help in funding the program.

If you have given, we are so grateful. If you haven't,will you join us in bringing freedom to the captives?

You hold the key to their freedom!

PS, One of the young women we recently rescued shared something that warmed my heart: "This morning I woke up and I heard music in the other room. I went to see who was playing. The entire family who ‘adopted’ me were there, singing Happy Birthday to me.

This is the first time in my life someone showed love to me. Unconditionally."

Origins: The Massage that Unleashed Uncaged

Hello Friends,

Can you believe we’ve been on this path together for over six months? It’s been an amazing story so far, from our partner on the ground in Romania rescuing 39 survivors so far this year, to the progress we’ve made on The Sanctuary, to the coalition we’re building. Thousands of people ready to see Human Trafficking end (that’s you!).

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, given the miraculous story of our start. I may have already shared the story with you, but I wanted to tell it again, both to remind us of why we’re doing this and to share with those of you who are newer to this coalition.

I was raised believing that we’re put on this planet to do something meaningful with our lives. Two years ago, I really began to search for my purpose at this stage in life. After three grueling back surgeries and a retirement from Westfall Gold, I was praying daily, “God, give me something great to do for you.”

The first time I prayed this prayer, back in my 20s, God dropped a beautiful organization into my lap called Watoto Child Care Ministries. Over in Uganda, East Africa, we took the most desperate children, sometimes found in garbage dumps with their hands tied behind their backs, left as human refuse.

We would scoop them up, dust them off and place them in a family. Each family consisted of one housemother and eight children. We would place them in a home. We would build 8 homes in a circle – and anywhere from 30 to 150 homes in one village.

Then, in each village, we would drop in a school, a medical center, community center, and a church — all surrounded with sustainable farming. It was an incredibly effective model that cared for 3000 kids when I left. In a matter of time we would see kids turn into bright, happy, hopeful little people! Reflecting on this model, I often thought it would work anywhere in the world.

“God, give me something great to do for you,” I had prayed. In Watoto, He’d given more than I could have imagined. With this history, you can imagine that two years ago, praying this prayer again, I was hoping that God would meet me again with a mission much larger than myself.

Instead, one day I heard God say, “you should go get a massage today.”

I dismissed it. But it hit me again and I said “Well, okay Lord, it’s not the worst idea,” and I called my friend, who owns a spa. She answered immediately, “Kim! I was just thinking of you and wishing you would call.”

“Ok,” I said tentatively, “well, do you have a last minute appointment?”

“Of course, come right over!” she exclaimed.

When I arrived, she introduced me to Karen Rose, a woman with a gift for speaking into people’s lives. As I sat with Karen, I sensed something very strange happening. I had asked God to answer me, but the massage and impromptu time with a stranger caught me off guard! Karen began to talk about my life, including parts of my life that no one knew. My eyes widened as I listened closely. Then, Karen paused.

“Kim, you have always had a heart for the children,” she said, looking at me warmly. My heart leapt, remembering that “Watoto” means “the children” in Swahili. Karen continued, “Right now, I see you standing in front of cages and there are children in those cages. You are reaching out and opening the cages, the children are coming out, and as they pass by you, they’re being healed.”

I sat back, head swimming. This was not the massage I was expecting, let alone the answer from God I imagined. Karen believed that the image was about child slavery and human trafficking. I left the spa stunned.

Over the coming weeks and months, I did a deep dive on human trafficking. I started reading books, watching documentaries, talking to experts and authors. The stories of Survivors appeared all around me. Immediately, I began to reach out, forging connections to figure out how we could serve Survivors and end this atrocity. It became clear that there was an intense need for holistic, restorative care all over the world.

Less than two years later, we’re standing on the brink of having our first Sanctuary’s location in-hand. We have agreements with local government, law enforcement, schools, churches and surrounding community. We’ve rescued 39 Survivors this year; and they have their basic needs met… but they need more. They need trauma informed therapy, spiritual care, specialized medical care, education and vocational training. We are working towards the day when we can offer hundreds of Survivors the care they need, in The Sanctuary.

You are doing this restorative work with us. God has given me a mission that’s bigger than me, one that would require the gifts and talents of many hands. You have the gifts and talents we need. You have the keys to unlock the transformation of trafficking survivors.

Thank you for being part of this incredible story that God is writing.