"Breaking The Chains Of Human Trafficking" |
| Contact Information Email : info@freeforlifeministries.com Phone : 615-969-9052 Address : PO Box 158715 Nashville, Tennessee 37215-8715 USA |
| NEWSLETTER 5-1-07 |
Our first semi-annual newsletter! For those of you who are unaware, Free For Life Ministries was established in October, 2006 as a Tennessee non-profit organization. Since that time we have received our 501(c)3 status from the IRS as a tax deductible organization. You can read the full story of how we were established on the website. REPORT OF PRAISE SINCE SEPTEMBER REACHING OUT In September 2006 Colette Bercu first talked to Iana Matei, founder of the safe house Reaching Out (Romania), where she shared her funding was down to $19.00. At that time Free For Life Ministries, Inc. was able to give her an initial gift of almost $3,000.00. God has continued to bless us through our donors with the funds for every single need that she has had since that time. We praise the Lord for this fact, and believe that He will continue to provide the funds necessary to meet all future needs. The safe house in Romania is now operating above peak capacity as there are more victims that need housing and restoration than they have room for. Iana is committed to the care of these children and NEVER turns anyone away, they make room regardless of the number of girls that are already housed there. Our job continues to be raising funds, give support and prayer to allow this amazing woman to continue the work God has called her to. Here is a sampling of that work which includes: - Traveling last month to the Netherlands and seeing the desperation of the girls there being trafficked. Iana is looking into building a safe house to meet the need. - Putting together a universal phone line for all of Europe where victims can call andspeak to someone in their own language for help. - Speaking this month in England before the House of Lords - In September, Iana was working alone and was not able to afford a staff;she now has hired on counseling staff to help with the girls. Iana is working on building a hotel in the Carpathian Mountains. It is being built as a non-profit entity and is coming along nicely. They are hoping to have it done by late fall 2007. It will not only provide jobs, and help support the economy in this region of central Romania, but will provide funds to support the safe house! For more information on the hotel please go to the web site. Below is a picture of the foundation of the hotel: (Foundation of Hotel In Romania) Also, please go to the web sight www.freeforlifeministries for updated prayer requests for Reaching Out. PEACE REHABILITATION CENTER We have been blessed to be able to send our first gift of funds to the Peace Rehabilitation Center, a safe house for victims of human trafficking in Kathmandu, Nepal. This safe house is run by the Sapkota family, and has been in operation since 1988. These amazing individuals have been dedicating their lives to rescue and restore young girls who have been trafficked, primarily from Nepal to India. They can house up to 100 girls, and have developed many effective programs including the following: - stationing individuals at the border crossings to prevent victims from being lured into other countries - training young girls at risk as to the risks with skits, etc in various villages - taking care of HIV positive individuals, and they hope to open a separate AIDS hospital - helping restored victims to be accepted back in their home communities by educating families and others about what these girls have been through It is our prayer that we can continue to grow so we can partner in the amazing work that they are doing at Peace Rehabilitation Center. To read the latest newsletter from the PRC and to see all the amazing work they are doing in Nepal, click HERE. GRACE HAND PROJECT We have begun the preliminary investigation with regard to this safe house in Mbeya, Tanzania, East Africa run by Pastor Ernest Nguvila. As we want to be good stewards with what the Lord has given us, it is important that we know the funds we give out are being put to good use by those who receive them. We believe that this safe house may be the next one on our list! Again, we ask all of you to pray that we can raise the funds to help this safe house. Pastor Nguvila has a church, a bible school, and a safe house for orphans and victims of abuse (primarily human trafficking victims). We will keep you updated. MEDIA EVENTS, ETC. The last six months have been a whirlwind! We know that all of the events that have already happened are only possible by the hand of God, His blessing on this ministry, and His love for these young victims. Here are the highlights of all we have done in the past six months: - September ’06 - medical mission trip to Romania, where we were able to provide medical and dental care to the girls at the safe house - October’06 - official Incorporation of Free For Life Ministries - October ’06 - visit to the U.S. State Department (by invitation) for a roundtable briefing on “Trafficking In Persons” - November ’06 - Free For Life hosted Iana Matei to the United States for multiple radio/television interviews including American Family Radio – with 200 stations nationwide. You can hear some of these interviews on our website (click on news and happenings). - Put together our board of directors. This includes: Pastor Bob Killion, Mary Ann Killion, Gail Dowdy. They are all amazing godly people that we respect and love and are so blessed to have them on board. We wish you all could meet them - January ’06 - Colette Bercu was one of 3 featured speakers at the Christchurch women’s luncheon. - March ’06 – Colette Bercu speaks at MTSU panel presentation on human trafficking - Had our first "volunteers" meeting for the Board of Directors to meet with others who have a heart to help in this area. It was an amazing time to meet new friends, and God was there! - Other events that have transpired include the opportunity to speak with another church congregation, to students at a Nashville bible college, and a feature story in a church magazine We continue to look for opportunities to educate the public about the issue of human trafficking and Free For Life Ministries. We welcome the opportunity to come and share with your church or organization. If you have any question about anything in this news letter you can contact us at 615-969-9052 or email us. Here are a few of the upcoming highlights: - Television interview on the show “Bridges”, a central Tennessee Christian based cable show. This will be taped on May 9, 2007. - Feature article in the Tennessean newspaper. This should be in a Sunday edition in late April or early May. - We are partnering with “The Home Foundation”, an organization founded by renowned contemporary Christian singer and winner of the 2006 Dove award for Female Vocalist Of The Year – Natalie Grant. Free For Life Ministries and The Home Foundation are planning a couple of fund-raising events including possibly a “meet-and-greet” luncheon with Natalie Grant, a movie Premier event to kick off the release of the movie “Trade”, which deals with the area on human trafficking, and also we are hoping to have an event associated with Natalie’s concert tour this fall. Look for the much anticipated release of Natalie’s newest project in May 2007. - Colette Bercu did a preliminary interview with Focus On The Family, please pray that they choose to do a feature program with her! We are planning to have our first accountability audit with an accounting organization, something we will do on an ongoing basis. We want to THANK YOU, our supporters, for all you have done. Please continue to pray for our ministry, the safe houses we are supporting, the individuals dedicating their lives to running these safe houses, and most importantly for the rescue and restoration of the young victims of human trafficking around the world. |
