“‪Human trafficking is a $32 billion global industry, the fastest growing and second largest criminal activity in the world, tied with arms and after drug dealing. I applaud President Obama’s effort to bring this issue to the forefront in the minds of Americans by proclaiming January as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.

“Modern slavery takes many forms, including forced labor, sex trafficking and involuntary domestic servitude. There is no one type of victim — men and women, adults and children are all vulnerable. From every corner of our nation to every part of the globe, we must stand firm with victims.

“In June, I launched a National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) presidential initiative called ‘Pillars of Hope: Attorneys General Unite Against Human Trafficking.’ Attorneys General will continue to make the case that action must be taken to hold traffickers accountable, to mobilize care for victims and to build public awareness.

“Although law enforcement has made great strides, more work needs to be done. We stand with those throughout the world working every day to end modern slavery, bring traffickers to justice, and empower survivors to reclaim their freedom. I urge all Americans to educate themselves about all forms of modern slavery and the signs and consequences of human trafficking. Together, we will combat this crime within our borders and join with our partners around the world to end it.”

via NAAG | January Proclaimed As National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.

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“An American baseball player scaling an African mountain for an Indian charity might seem an odd way to draw attention to human trafficking.Steve Mitchell/Associated PressNew York Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey.But that’s just what R.A. Dickey is doing. The Mets pitcher is climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, which peaks at more than 19,000 feet above sea level and documenting it on Bats, The New York Times’ Baseball blog in part to bring awareness and money to stop sexual slavery thousands of miles away in the gritty lanes of Kamathipura – Mumbai’s largest red light district.”

via What’s R.A. Dickey Climbing For? – NYTimes.com.

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Four simple steps to donate:

1. Wake Up September 15th
2. Log on to www.DonorBridgeTX.org between 7:00 AM. and 7:00 PM (CLICK HERE to go directly to the giving page)
3. Click: Donate Now*
4. Select Sower of Seeds International Ministries Inc. as your recipient.

*DonorBridge will match a portion of every donation in excess of $25 made to Sower of Seeds’ local outreach arm: Hope for North Texas.   

What does Sower of Seeds/Hope for North Texas do locally?

Sower of Seeds is committed to seeing local churches mobilized to reach their community with the love of Christ.  Not only do we have the opportunity to do thisaround the world, but through Hope for North Texas (our local outreach program of Sower of Seeds) we get to do this locally as well.

This year, faithful Hope for North Texas volunteers have already logged 8,400 hours in service to the poor, broken and marginalized. That’s valued at over $179,000 given in time to our community through our 9 faith-based community partners.  So many of our service projects have budgets and costs associated withserving.  We need your help funding service projects all over our community. From meals for senior citizens, children and men & women struggling, school supplies, lawn care, paint, building supplies & room remodels, there are so many service projects needing funding.

On September 15, 2011 we have the opportunity to have any donation over $25 made toward these local projects MATCHED by the Communities Foundation of North Texas.

Donate via this link between 7am-7pm on the 15th and your donation will be leveraged to make a bigger impact in so many lives across North Texas.

For more about Hope for North Texas and Sower of Seeds visit:

www.volunteerhope.org | www.sowerofseeds.org/hopefornorthtexas

Please take a moment and watch this short clip about what we do:

“Traveling to India had long been a dream of mine, I had tried, but the opportunity was never quite right. It wasn’t until I went to a screening of Goodnight Red Light, a documentary about the red-light district in Mumbai, produced by Sower of Seeds International Ministries, that I know my opportunity has finally come. This film stirred my heart in deeper ways that I can imagine. The images on the screen were horrific: poverty, hopelessness, despair…

The next morning I looked at my husband and said, “I’m going to India to make jewelry.” I had no experience, so it sounded crazy, but it was like God opened my mouth and let the words fly out. I wanted a purpose, a chance to give something valuable to the rescued girls who had suffered so much.
Asha – the Hindi word for hope- was born. The ultimate purpose of this project is the ethical, gainful employment of women who have suffered at the hands of others, but who have so much to offer all of us.

Just as the lotus rise through the mud and muck and blooms into something pure and beautiful, so do these incredible women.”

Asha jewelry is available online at www.ashaunlimited.com.

For more ideas how your business can partner with Sower of Seeds.

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This information can also be found at the permanent link for Japan Relief - www.sowerofseeds.org/japan

On March 11, 2011, a massive earthquake (8.9 on the Richter Scale) occurred in the Pacific Ocean just off the northeastern coast of Japan. The earthquake was followed by a devastating tsunami causing destruction along the northeastern coastline.

Shortly after news of the disaster S.O.S. mobilized a relief team to help assess needs and co-ordinate an initial response. With the help of individual donors and ministry partners we have helped secure 4 containers of supplies (250,000 meals plus water and blankets) to be distributed by local churches/partners.

Will you help the church be part of the long-term relief effort in Japan? We are still accepting donations to help purchase/distribute food, water, fuel, clothing, blankets and other supplies.

Click here to view slideshow in a new window.

S.O.S. has the opportunity to purchase a container of tools from China for $10,000 and ship it to Japan for an additional $2,500.  These tools will be used by local churches and believers in the next phase of recovery from the disaster:Cleanup. If you would like to participate in this opportunity, please click here.

Give to the relief effort

This relief effort is a partnership of S.O.S., LIFE Outreach International, Cross Timbers Community Church and other partners on the ground in Japan.

Please pray with us for the Japanese churches who are distributing these much needed supplies to people in the disaster area and for the people of Japan.

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Mumbai is India’s largest city with population estimates ranging between 14 and 20 million people.  As many as 60 % of these people live in poverty in slums.

According  to the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UNHABITAT), a slum can be defined if lacking in some or all of the following factors:

1. Access to sufficient amount of water for family use, at an affordable price, available to household members without being subject to extreme effort
2. Access to improved sanitation, either in the form of a private toilet or a public toilet shared with a reasonable number of people
3. Secure tenure (protection from evictions)
4. Durability of Housing
5. Sufficient living area ( no more than two people sharing a room)

The 2008 movie, Slumdog Millionaire drew attention to the lives many children lead in the slums. It was touted as the “Feel-good film of the decade”, but behind the romantic plot, it helped reveal the challenges that kids face when growing up in abject poverty.  There are literally millions of children growing up in Mumbai’s slums – the odds of them breaking the cycle of poverty, slim, at best.

At Sower of Seeds, we believe it is the role of the church to respond to cries for help, sowing the seeds of God’s love compassion and salvation into the helpless, poor and needy children of the nations. There are plenty opportunities in slums to really impact the children of the nations.

In a recent article in the times of India, Mumbai was listed as the city with the highest rate of malnutrition among children in the state of Maharashtra.

On a more global scale, a study by the World Food Bank has shown that 1 in 3 of the world’s malnourished children live in one country, India – making malnutrition more prevalent here than in Sub-Saharan Africa.

According to a study by the International Food Policy Research Institute, “India is home to 42 percent of the world’s underweight children and 31 percent of its stunted children.”

The Solution

SOS has made feeding a critical part of our Destiny India Program, educating and feeding over 1,000 children between the ages of 3 and 6 in slum schools in Mumbai.  Here children are fed 5 hot meals per week, often the only meal they receive.

Proper nutrition greatly increases each child’s capacity to learn and it makes a tremendous difference in the development of each child at this critical time their lives.

Each school can accommodate 50 children. Teachers have document great improvements in the children who attend Destiny India Schools.

These children will go on to public school and excel in their classes and stand an equal chance of succeeding as their peers. Children love it and parents love it.  And all of this for as little as $20 per month per child.  Learn more and participate at www.sowerofseeds.org/destiny.

To learn more about India’s nutrition problem:

MSF/VII Photo campaign: Starved for Attention

The World Bank

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A cage is the most emotive symbol of the sex trade.

SOS and our partners in India are now making our coffee table book CAGE: The Horror and the Hope available to our donors as part of our campaign to raise support for the rescued girls.

For a limited time, we are offering it as a premium for special gifts of $60 or more (regularly $75) made to the project.

If you wish to receive CAGE as for your gift of $60 or more to the project,  click here.

CAGE: The horror and the hope, takes is on a terrifying journey through Kamathipura, one of the world’s most notorious red-light districts.   These photographic biographies are disturbing portrayals of India’s sex trade, but the effect is mitigated by the discovery of humanity and hope.  Indeed, the genius of this book is the revelation that a cage can never define or restrain the human spirit; beauty and redemption can be found in the darkest places.

The book goes on to tell the story of three girls abducted into sex slavery in the cages of Kamathipura. The primary means of storytelling is through a series of dramatic photographs that chart their journeys from abduction to sex slavery and beyond.  These are not only tales of tragedy and horror, but tales of hope.

Multiple initiatives are being organized to expose and stamp out sex trafficking and to rescue and rehabilitate its victims. A village of hope has been built to accommodate and rehabilitate former sex slaves and their children.  Project Red Light Rescue is part of this effort. This book offers a look into the lives of real modern-day slaves, before and after the rescue.  Your decision to enter the fight for these girls’ freedom is the next step towards ending this form of slavery.

“Through the barred window, you are looking at one of the most atrocious crimes of the century. Don’t look away. Indifference is not an option. The girl with the painted face could be your daughter. She is related to you by a common humanity. Your outrage and action could change her life. You have the power to open her cage.”

With contributions by Hazel Thompson, Andrew Brandon and Ettiene Coutinho.

SOS is offering a limited number of  books as part of our campaign to raise monthly support for rescued girls.

*Excerpts taken from CAGE: The horror and the hope.

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For Lauryn’s 2nd birthday, the Calfee’s are doing something different this year.  They celebrated the life of their healthy 2 year-old daughter by asking for donations in stead of gifts this year.The Calfee’s contacted S.O.S. with their idea and raised a total of $95 – emough to give 12 people water for 30 years.This is the kind of impact your gift of water can have.  Giving the gift of water is truly a celebration of life.Happy birthday Lauryn! Thank you for clebrating your birthday with children in India without safe, clean water.

Kodi and Amanda Calfee live in Rhome TX with their son Noah (3) and daughter Lauryn (2). Noah and Lauryn love to read books and most of all run free outside with Daddy while Mommy would rather be indoors.  They also enjoy spending time together as a family.  They are members of Gateway Church in Southlake TX.

It is simple, for as little as $7.77 you can save a life.

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by Mark Mueller

For a few years now my family and I have been raising money to drill a water well in India. I’ve been to India seven times and seen the full impact of what a water well can do for a village.

When a well is given through Sower of Seeds, a couple who is trained to share the life-changing message of Jesus Christ will oversee the well. All people regardless of caste will have access to the water, and untold hours of labor will be relieved as women and girls no longer have to travel to the nearest river for the nasty groundwater that they find there.

We take for granted so many things living here in America. Access to clean water seems more like a right than a privilege. But if you were to go to the villages that I have seen, you find a different reality: parents feeling helpless as their children suffer from water-borne illness, many who will die without proper medical attention. Little girls who cannot go to school because they are needed as water carriers seem to dot the landscape. Dry and dusty fields reflect their heat, and relief seems so far away.

Now fast forward to a new well site. Smiling faces, happy hearts everywhere you look. I love to see the pictures of kids playing in the water coming out of the pump. It reminds me of the water fights I used to have as a kid. Cool, sweet water spraying them in the face, running down their necks and splashing off their hands.

Please consider helping me as I raise money to drill another well: www.championsforindia.org/muellerswell01

Water-how cool is that?

Mark Mueller is a licensed Certified Public Accountant with over 25 years of financial and accounting experience.

He is a graduate of Oral Roberts University. Mark serves as the CFO for S.O.S. In addition, he provides leadership for the office and staff in the areas of operations and strategic planning. Mark has served as administrative pastor on the staff of a church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He has owned and operated several businesses including construction companies and accounting practices.

Mark and his wife, Pam, have been married for 24 years and have four children. They are long term supporters of S.O.S. and Mark presently serves on the board of directors.

We have recently celebrated 2 great fundraising events here in North Texas that really exhibited the power and value of partnership.

On September 18-19, 2010, Fieldhouse Fitness and Jailbreak Racing and Entertainment hosted the 3.8 mile Jaibreak Dash at DFW Adventure Park to help give water wells to communities without water in India.  They race absolutely stood up to their motto of Get Dirty, Have Fun & Do Good!  Over the 2 days, more than 8,000 people participated in this cause, providing multiple water wells for communities in India.

North Texas company Charley’s Concrete has sponsored the Annual Sower of Seeds Charity Golf Tournament and Auction Dinner for the past 3 years, enabling 100% of the proceeds of the event to go toward the rescue of girls and children from Asia’s largest red-light district.  Over the years, company owners, Charley and Brent Pennington have given a number of water wells to communities all over India.

Events are not the only way companies can be part of something greater. Our friends at Chalk, Cullum & Associates has helped lend a hand with event logistics for the annual golf tournament for the past 3 years and provide ongoing support multiple significant projects in India.

Other local organizations and businesses help raise support for S.O.S. causes. Grapevine  and Fort Worth Coffee House and Roaster, Buon Giorno Coffee, hosts coffee house fundraisers and has donated coffee for a number of fundraising events.  Buon Giorno also keeps a collection jar for guest to help provide water wells in India. They have become true partners in raising funds for water projects as well as helping to spread the word about water problems in India.

Roots Coffee House partners with SOS by donating wall space in their gallery for regular exhibitions of our photographs. They also do benefit events.

Gameguard Camo has featured S.O.S. in their catalogue and have offered tremendous support, helping to raise awareness and support for Project Red Light Rescue.

Employees at Pfizer, Pepsico, Sabre Holdings, Microsoft and Google have all contributed gifts to S.O.S.’s work in India and had it matched by their employers’ Matching Gift Funds.

We do not take the contributions and hard work from our local, national and international church partners for granted. Visit http://www.thenextgenerationproject.org to see what one of our church partners is doing.

Nothing provides us greater satisfaction than to see local churches and their members rise up to meet needs in their communities. Youth groups from large and small churches nationwide have ongoing fundraising projects with CHAMPIONS.  Visit and support their projects.

Thank you for being partners! Thank you for choosing a life of impact.

For more information about joining our existing partners, contact us.

With Thanks,

The SOS Team.