**This is the third guest blog in a series of posts by the 2018 JuST Faith Summit speakers. Check back for new posts highlighting the critical topics that will be featured at this year’s Faith Summit. Join us, June 20-22 at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota, for this exciting Summit. Visit this link to see the full agenda and lineup of speakers.

By Michelle Thielen, E-RYT,  Founder, YogaFaith International, Complex Trauma Specialist

Survivor Story:

During the second session with a new therapist, she told me to close my eyes and “just breathe”. I remember thinking okay, today might be the day that I could actually do either of these things in the presence of someone else. I was terrified to try. If I could only do one of these things it would be incredible, and I know she was only trying to help me, but she was asking me to the two things I dread the most.

I have been unable to close my eyes unless I’m alone, exhausted and going to sleep.

Every time I hear the word ‘breathe’ I cringe.

My abusers would always tell me to  “just close my eyes and breathe”. I heard this everyday for I don’t even know how many years. I don’t want to close my eyes. I don’t want to breathe.

Today the word breath or breathe remind me of the days I was immobile and being sexually assaulted day after day, night after night. The smell of alcohol and the breath in my ears.

I don’t want to close my eyes.

I don’t want to breathe.

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Many survivors can identify with feelings and experiences like this survivor’s story.  This is why many of our trauma students have found the unity of breath with body movement, along with the focus on Scripture meditations and Christ, very therapeutic and healing.

At YogaFaith we want to help survivors as well as equip others to aid in the healing efforts on a local and global scale. So often the attempts to help are innocent and good, but the truth is that we must handle all types of trauma with loving care so as to not cause triggers or create more trauma.

[easy-tweet tweet=”So often the attempts to help are innocent and good, but the truth is that we must handle all types of trauma with loving care so as to not cause triggers or create more trauma.” user=”sharedhope” hashtags=”FaithSummit2018″]

Every person and every trauma is unique. Connecting breath with body, as you see in this person’s story, requires that we must take a different approach to interoception (the sense that helps you understand and feel what’s going on inside your body). We used other words for breath with this student such as; inhale, airflow, exhale and air. At YogaFaith we have the freedom to talk about Holy Spirit, because Spirit means breath and inspiration, we can say things such as; “Bring in His Spirit, inhale inspiration, inhale Spirit.”

YogaFaith has had the incredible opportunity to help hundreds of trafficked and abused survivors all around the world. Because poverty breeds human trafficking, we have traveled to many third world countries to visit and assist with trafficked survivors as young as five years old. In many cases, the mothers are the ones to sell their daughters to attempt to find a way to survive. Though these facts are difficult to understand and heartbreaking, they happen every single day. One needs not have to go to a third world country; these things are happening in our own backyards in America

When we combine healing and somatic experiences with Jesus at the center of all we do, survivors of trafficking and other types of trauma can find true healing through the blood of Christ.

In Acts 17:28 scripture declares that we live, breathe, move and have our being in and through Christ. Matthew 22:37 Jesus says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind”.

This whole body worship is what we have the privilege and honor to introduce to survivors of various types of trauma of all ages, shapes, gender, color, and religions.

Survivors are introduced to a man named Jesus for the very first time, or they reconnect with Him. Our prayer is that through the postures of prayer, breath work and time together, they find true healing, peace and joy. We have observed this so many times and there is nothing quite like it. We see smiles and hear laughter. We hear the word “Hallelujah” sung with songs playing in what is usually a foreign language to who we are working with.

God is so great and He is the Master Physician.

Nothing is impossible with Him.

Healing from the Inside Out session at JuST Faith Summit will provide simple, real and practical methods to connect broken fragments of the self that happen with trauma. We will explore interoception, connection internally with self and God, and externally with others.

3 Things You Can Do in Response:

1. Pray.
   • Pray for all the abused and their abusers. [Even the abusers are made in the image of God]
   • Ask God to show how He wants to use you specifically.
2. Donate to any organization on the Front Lines.
   • YogaFaith and Shared Hope International are two organizations combating human trafficking.
   • Help a local shelter; Donate items, resources or your time
3. Attend the JuST Faith Summit June 20-22, 2018 at Bethel University, St. Paul, MN. Enjoy a night of incredible worship, amazing day sessions and experience Trauma Sensitive YogaFaith with Founder Michelle Thielen.

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By Michelle Thielen, E-RYT,  Founder, YogaFaith International, Complex Trauma Specialist

 

 

**This is the second guest blog in a series of posts by the 2018 JuST Faith Summit speakers. Check back for new posts highlighting the critical topics that will be featured at this year’s Faith Summit. Join us, June 20-22 at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota, for this exciting Summit. Visit this link to see the full agenda and lineup of speakers.

By Christopher Stollar
Demand Reduction Coordinator, She Has A Name & Author of The Black Lens

Why do men solicit? That’s a complex question, but one we must strive to answer if we’re ever going to reduce the demand for sex trafficking. While some women pay for sex, the fact is, most of that demand is coming from men who struggle with multiple, complex issues.

[easy-tweet tweet=”Why do men solicit? That’s a complex question, but one we must strive to answer if we’re ever going to reduce the demand for sex trafficking. ” user=”sharedhope” hashtags=”FaithSummit2018″]

As the Demand Reduction Coordinator for She Has A Name, I have personally taught dozens of these men through a “John School” program in Ohio. This all-day class is run by licensed counselors, survivors of sex trafficking and other people from the community. It targets men who are mostly first-time offenders with no record of violence.

Why a John School?

The goal of this class and similar programs is to “decrease the demand for prostitution, and hence, reduce the amount of human trafficking and sexual exploitation that occurs,” according to the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s John Schools Report. As of 2013, 50 cities in the United States were operating some form of a John School — including four in Ohio.

She Has A Name is trying to help these men understand the impact of their actions and address the root causes that drove them to solicit. This program aligns directly with our vision — “to see all those impacted by human trafficking restored into society and thriving in their community.” That includes men, even those who solicit.

One of the young men I taught told me he decided to solicit because for years he had been battling loneliness and depression, and “these struggles led me to make the worst decision of my life … Thankfully, I was arrested and stopped short of making a horrible mistake.”

[easy-tweet tweet=”One of the young men I taught told me he decided to solicit because for years he had been battling loneliness and depression, and “these struggles led me to make the worst decision of my life.” user=”sharedhope” hashtags=”FaithSummit2018″]

Why did these men solicit?

That young man is not alone. She Has A Name started collecting data in 2016 on why these specific men decided to solicit, and below is a list of reasons they have given so far in order of the most common response — including “loneliness and depression:”

1. Lack of intimacy: 24 percent
2. Loneliness: 24 percent
3. Depression: 14 percent
4. Pornography: 10 percent
5. Lust: 10 percent
6. Lack of discipline: 5 percent
7. Sexually abused: 5 percent
8. Stress: 5 percent
9. Low sex drive: 5 percent

As you can tell, the reasons men solicit are complex and varied. It’s not just about porn or sex addiction. For at least these men, there are deeper issues of intimacy, depression and loneliness. Of course we should never treat those reasons as excuses or justifications for their crime, but they can help us understand what’s going on behind the scenes with some men so we can point them to helpful solutions.

Has the John School helped?

Almost 200 men have completed the John School program, and we already have once success story. That young man I mentioned graduated from the program, attended She Has A Name’s anti-trafficking training and has since joined a local church. Last year he sent me this letter of encouragement:

“Since this was my first offense and what will be my last, I was allowed to participate in the John School.  I knew going into the program that I wanted to get involved in the fight against human trafficking, but after participating in the program I knew I had to. The program opened my eyes to the world of human trafficking and in my heart I knew I wanted to help in anyway possible.

Through my experience I found a relationship with God and gained a better understanding of the awful world of human trafficking that prior to this experience, I knew nothing about. I wish more than anything I could take back my mistake but in a strange way it’s made me a better person. I now know I can move forward and raise awareness with dreams of ending this horrible issue.”

There are at least nine reasons why men solicit, but this young man’s story is all the reason we need to keep fighting the battle against modern slavery. He is living proof that God can turn even a solicitor into an abolitionist. And at the end of the day, that’s what this fight is all about.

What can I do to help?

Here are three practical ways you can help right now:

1. If you are struggling with any of the issues listed above or know someone who is, find help through a local counselor and/or church support group
2. Support the work of demand reduction groups like Demand Abolition, Fight the New Drug, XXXChurch and Covenant Eyes
3. Attend the 2018 JuST Faith Summit and learn more about this issue in my 9 Reasons Why Men Solicit session

For more information about demand reduction, visit She Has A Name’s website. You can also learn more about Christopher Stollar and his work at http://christopherstollar.com/.

[clear-line]

By Christopher Stollar
Demand Reduction Coordinator, She Has A Name & Author of The Black Lens

**This is the first guest blog in a series of posts by the 2018 JuST Faith Summit speakers. Check back for new posts highlighting the critical topics that will be featured at this year’s Faith Summit. Join us, June 20-22 at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota, for this exciting Summit. Visit this link to see the full agenda and lineup of speakers.

When you’ve been purchased like some toy on a store shelf, hearing or reading that “you are not your own, for you were bought with a price”, is not such good news. Scriptures such as that one were a stumbling block for me in my healing journey. You might be thinking that there aren’t that many verses like that, but you would be wrong.

[easy-tweet tweet=”When you’ve been purchased like some toy on a store shelf, hearing or reading that “you are not your own, for you were bought with a price”, is not such good news.” user=”sharedhope” hashtags=”FaithSummit2018″]

Everyone likes Psalm 23, right? “He makes me lie down in green pastures”? No thank you. My pastor taught on that verse in October of 2011, comparing it to being a child going to bed at night with no worries – secure in the knowledge that mom and dad were in charge and would keep them safe. He couldn’t understand why that verse made me angry and hurt – until I told him that as a child, going to bed at night was the most dangerous part of my day. 

That was Pastor Josh’s “aha” moment. He had never realized how certain scriptures looked, seen through a survivor’s eyes. Thus began a long process of my identifying problem verses to my pastors Josh Causey and Megan Kelly, and them contextualizing, discussing, explaining, rewording, and forever changing how I saw the Word. Exchanging truth for lies, that’s what it’s all about, right? I believe that juvenile sex trafficking is the enemy’s number one weapon in this world. It’s widely known that the best lie is one which contains a little truth. What better way could there be to undermine God than taking love, family, gender, and sex, twisting them into a gross caricature of the Kingdom, and using them as weapons against vulnerable children? And the crown jewel in the enemy’s arsenal? Twisting the meaning of scriptures into fiery darts.

“Be transformed by the renewal of your mind” is no joke. I believe that a deep relationship with Christ is the only path to true healing for survivors. When I first arrived at Living Hope Fellowship, I had been out of the industry and “functional” for ten years. I wasn’t healed, though, and I certainly didn’t have abundant life. The only reason I even went to church was so my daughter would grow up alongside church people and so belong and be accepted as I never could be (I thought). Like many survivors, I had a warped view of the Gospel. I thought the Father was angry at me and wanted to crush me, but as long as I believed in Jesus, then Jesus would protect me from Him and I would get to go to Heaven when I died. Working through Josh and Megan, Jesus brought the scriptures alive for me and I truly began to heal and live as a branch connected to the true vine.

Together, we wrote a guide for you to take back to your church. This guide will equip ministers and advocates to look at scripture through the lens of trafficking and apply sound, spirit-led interpretation in a way that brings life and healing to survivors.

[easy-tweet tweet=”This guide will equip ministers and advocates to look at scripture through the lens of trafficking and apply sound, spirit-led interpretation in a way that brings life and healing to survivors.” user=”sharedhope” hashtags=”FaithSummit2018″]

I didn’t ask what these verses meant because I was afraid of the answers. People at church would tell me that God loved me, but those people didn’t know the things I had done. Even as they got to know about my story, they still didn’t know all the stuff. Trust doesn’t come easy to survivors, and it certainly doesn’t come quickly. I was at Living Hope for roughly four years before I trusted Josh with my doubts and my questions. We want to put the truth into survivors’ hands in a non-threatening format. We will be giving the guide out free of charge, along with permission to copy and distribute it as long as you do so in its entirety and do not make any changes to it.

We cannot possibly identify all of the scriptures that hit survivors in a hurtful way, but we want to equip ministers and advocates to go after the hard questions. No two survivors’ stories are the same and we want church members and leaders to be able to see scripture through the lens of trafficking and apply sound, Spirit-led interpretation in a way that brings life and healing to survivors. We also want to equip survivors with the skills and resources to do their own sound, biblical research whenever a verse hits them weird. We want everyone to know that there is no scripture that is contrary to the character of God.

[easy-tweet tweet=”We want to equip ministers and advocates to go after the hard questions.” user=”sharedhope” hashtags=”FaithSummit2018″]

The Word has such power to heal and deepen relationship with Christ. Psalm 23 has become my favorite Psalm, but it took going deeper. On the surface, God allowed me to be placed in a family where I was surrounded by abuse and pain. Where was my green pasture – my “good”? I think the green pasture is not analogous to circumstance, that God is working hard to ensure that I have what is best for me, which is God working in my life to mold my character to be Christ-like. It is God using all that was meant for evil in my life to shape my passion against injustice and my love for the oppressed – to make my heart like his. And a heart like His is the ultimate good and the greenest of pastures.

It is beyond wretched that the enemy would use God’s own words to harm His children. We can take this weapon out of his hand for good.

3 Things You Can Do Right Now

1. PRAY! Always the first action.
2. Get involved with local efforts to fight trafficking .
3. Come to the JuST Faith Summit and get equipped!

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By Deb Haltom, Survivor Advocate, Living Hope Fellowship