Support Update

As of today, I'm happy to report that $2,570 has been donated or pledged so far toward my trip to India. THANK YOU for such an outpouring of generousity! My heart is so very touched by all the friends, family, colleages committed to supporting this endeavor.

I still need another $500 to cover the travel needs and expenses before I can book a flight. We are thinking of going in February or March. If extra funds come in, we will be able to travel a little further and visit trafficking organizations in other parts of India. Erin and I would love to make it up to the Nepal border and network with Tiny Hands International, a faith-based group doing border intervention work I learned about at the human trafficking conference in Nebraska. I have gotten to know three people by now who work for Tiny Hands from the U.S., but their main work is in India, which I've heard would be incredible to see. There are a few other organizations I have been researching that I would love to connect with as well. Yesterday, for instance, I discovered Transitions Global and read about their new project in Mumbai, scheduled to open in February or March, right when we'll be there. If you get a chance, you should read the story about how that organization started -- talk about inspiring!

Erin and I have been thinking about adopting a theme for this trip that we can each blog about. In the anti-trafficking movement, thanks to Secretay Hillary Clinton's declaration of the "4th P" (the first three, which her husband declared back in 2000, are Prevention, Prosecution, and Protection, aka the "3-P Perogative"), "Partnerships" is the new buzz word -- and for my part, I would love to have a hand in helping to connect different organizations doing similar work in India so they can join hands, share best practices, and put forth a more united front in the fight against slavery!

From what I have read and heard, India is particularly plagued by this phenomenon of human trafficking. Please join me in praying for what the Lord might specifically have for me to do there -- whether that's fostering partnerships or some other type of project.

I have been reading Isaiah a lot lately and this verse (6:8) comes to mind ...

"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?'

And I said, 'Here am I. Send me!'"

* * *

A Heart of Thanks

I'm writing my first round of "Thank yous" to the donors who have supported my India trip thus far, who quickly brought me above the half-way mark of my goal to cover travel expenses, and I am overwhelmed to tears by the generousity of my friends and family ... Thank You!!

For some reason, my email about the trip has not yet made it to my good friends and colleages at Regent (I think I figured out today it's because of their particularly attentive spam filter, which is likely blocking my message due to its references to sex trafficking), but I trust that God has a purpose for me to go on this trip, and therefore will be faithful to raise the second half the finances needed to get there -- hopefully before the year's end.

In the meantime, I am contemplating this verse:

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" Matt. 25:40

How humbling to have an opportunity to fly halfway around the world to serve the "least of these"! Thank you again to all who will help me to get there.

~Val

Project: Send Val to India!

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December 1, 2009
Via E-mail

Dear Friends, Family, and Colleagues,

Hope that you celebrated a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! I can't believe December is already upon us, but I love the season leading up to Christmas because it's the perfect time to reflect back on the year and all its triumphs, challenges, and blessings.

My own journey feels like it's stretched an entire continent this year: In early January, I walked into my office in the Regent Law Review, where I took a deep breath and sat down to frantically re-write my article on human trafficking, because President Bush's signing of the reauthorization legislation on Christmas Eve effectively pre-empted my previous version, which was slated to be published that spring. (Many sleepless nights contributed to the final product, which was published and is attached if you've yet to see it. Thanks be to God for His sustaining grace!) Come May, I walked across the stage to receive my J.D. diploma from Regent University School of Law -- the end of an era spanning the three most significant years of my life and education. In June, I was again walking, but this time down the aisle for my little sister's wedding, a beautiful and inspiring event. One month later, in July, I walked the long walk up my row amid 3,000 peers to my seat to take, and ultimately pass!, the two-day Florida Bar Exam. Two weeks later, on August 10, I walked up the flight of stairs to my new office at Just Law International, where I am practicing immigration law for a well-revered Regent alumna, Ann Buwalda. Two months later, I took another deep breath as I walked to the podium at the front of the conference room where I had been invited to present my paper at the First Annual Interdisciplinary Human Trafficking Conference at the University of Nebraska.

Like I said, I feel as if I've walked the span of a continent by now! And speaking of continents, my journey this year is not yet finished. As many of you know, I have been passionate about the issue of human trafficking from my days as a journalism major at the University of Florida. Law school opened my eyes to a whole new way of looking at the issue, from a legal and academic perspective. It was quite the thrill, at age 25, to be published on this topic and have presented my proposal to an interdisciplinary audience of researchers, lawyers, and human rights activists. But my objective now is to stretch myself beyond the realm of academia and into the field of social activism. To be an effective and well-rounded advocate for the victims of human trafficking, I need to experience human contact with the victims themselves. I'm eager to engage in on-the-ground assistance -- and suddenly I have an opportunity to do just that, but I need some help.

My boss, Ann Buwalda, not only runs an immigration law firm but also runs the human rights advocacy nonprofit Jubilee Campaign USA out of our offices. Jubilee Campaign, www.jubileecampaign.org, seeks to help the persecuted church and children at risk around the world. To me, one of the most exciting projects Jubilee engages in is the operation of a number of "Jubilee Homes" for the children of sex trafficking victims in Mumbai, India. These homes are unique and effective, in that they provide safe houses to the young daughters of prostituted women before they are forced into the cycle of sexual slavery themselves. The homes offer literacy and education programs for the kids to flourish and grow. In India, 2.3 million women and girls are trapped in sexual slavery and an estimated 40% of them are minors. The Jubilee Homes are a remarkable -- and effective -- example of an on-the-ground effort to break the cycle of human trafficking.

Ann is gracious to allow me to commit significant time to Jubilee's advocacy efforts, specifically in the area of human trafficking, as I balance this interest with my legal caseload. Already I have been able to network with the State Department's Trafficking In Persons office in an effort to secure grant funding for the Jubilee Homes in India this year. Through the process, I have developed a great relationship with Jubilee Campaign's full-time staff worker, Erin Weston. She is planning a trip in early 2010 to visit the Jubilee Homes in India and strategically network with the US Embassy there, which will be reviewing our grant proposals in the spring. Incidentally, through Jubilee's cooperative relationship with India Coalition, there is also opportunity on this trip to attend meetings with the Prime Minister, the President, the Minister for Minority Affairs, select Parliament leaders, the National Human Rights Commission, the US Ambassador to India, interfaith organizations, and key spiritual leaders in Orissa, as well as the Chief Minister and Governor.

I have an opportunity to accompany Erin on this trip to India, but as my work for Jubilee Campaign is donated on a pro bono basis, I need to raise the funds to do so. I apologize for the impersonal nature of this e-mail, but the opportunity developed quickly and this is the best and fastest way to reach all my family and friends considering the time constraints. I need to raise about $3,000 for travel expenses before the end of the year to plan for this trip. If you are willing and able to make a tax-deductible donation, in any amount, to Jubilee Campaign, these funds can be designated for my trip. Jubilee accepts PayPal donations online at its website (www.jubileecampaign.org) or checks can be mailed to Jubilee Campaign USA at 9689-C Main Street, Fairfax VA 22031. If you choose to donate, please designate "India trip" and/or Valerie Payne in the memo line (or if online, in the "Purpose" box), or by an accompanying note.

Despite my journalism background, I can't quite express how meaningful it would be for me to travel to India and have my first "on-the-ground" experience assisting trafficking victims and doing advocay work on this issue. Please forward this request to anyone you might know who has the heart and means to support this work. And if you are able to help make this happen, by donation or by prayer, thank you from the bottom of my heart. If I am able to go, I promise to keep a blog of updates detailing the trip with pictures and reports.

In the meantime, if you have questions about the trip, my work, or my passion for human trafficking, do not hesitate to contact me at the info below. May the steps of your own journey be blessed beyond measure as 2008 quickly comes to a close!

With Deep Gratitude,
Valerie

--
Valerie S. Payne, Esq.
Human Trafficking Specialist
Jubilee Campaign USA
valeriepayne@jubileecampaign.org
321-544-0360 (cell)

The Goodness of God to Accomplish His Purposes

It's past 10 p.m. on a Wednesday night, and I'm still in my office. I just put my head down for a moment to pray, and after a minute a tear rolled slowly and unexpectedly down my nose till it dropped to the floor. This isn't what you think.

The tear falling off my nose marked the moment where the final puzzle piece snaps into place, the moment where you can step back and see the beautiful picture -- someone else's design -- pieced together in all its glory. I wouldn't call it a tear of joy. It feels different. It feels deep. It pangs of humility. It rolls in love.

I don't know if I can explain, but allow me to try. There's a deep, deep feeling, to the pit of your soul, really, when you realize that Someone is looking down at you. When you realize that the Creator is peering down upon the very thing he created as it serves the purpose for which it was created. The feeling overwhelms all other senses, so it's hard to just call it joy. It almost feels more like panic. ("God, really? You would choose ME to do this work for you? Are you sure you didn't mean to assign this to someone else? Someone more capable? Someone less sinful? Someone older? Someone wiser?") But it's not panic because the deepness is coated in calm -- the still, abiding, calming assurance of a Loving Savior, a Wonderful Father who does not hesitate to shower his sons and daughters with good and perfect gifts from above.

It amazes me, absolutely amazes me, that God chooses to use every one of us in a particular way to accomplish his purposes. I had already been meditating on Proverbs this week: "Many are the plans in a man's heart but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." (19:21) Then, today, it hit me: the Lord's purpose is happening in my life right now. I am living it. It's all coming together: the journalism in college, the international interest, the affinity for Asian culture, the law school "detour," the immigration interest, the verse that God gave me two years ago when I sought out what he wanted me to do with this legal career he led me into (James 1:27 "True religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress..."). As I bowed my head to thank God for a great day of meeting with my first asylum client, a high-profile AIDS activist from China and feisty grandmother figure you can't help but love, it struck me -- the sudden collide of all these things. An Asian, a 82-year-old widower, who has dedicated her entire life to serving orphans wrongly afflicted with a deadly disease, is now depending on me to write the story that will save her life. The rushing weight of responsibility collides with the excitement of getting to do God's work, yet tempered by the gravity of what it all means. Oh, the humility that sinks me down. And oh, the grace that lifts me up.

Thanks be to God for how he uses us, his people, to accomplishes his purposes. (Eph. 2:10; Isa. 46:8-11) I don't know of any greater high than to be perfectly placed in the dead center of his will for your life. It's a rush that surpasses any other feat you might attempt on your own. Trust His Word when it says that his ways are higher, his purposes greater, his plans beyond our meager imagination.

And then hold on for the ride of your life. You won't see the twists & turns coming round the bend, and half the time you'll be holding your breath and wondering "what's next?", but when you reach the top and can see it all layed out before you, then you'll be amazed.

That's the moment when you can expect the tear to fall, slowly, unexpectedly ... beautifully.

Jubilee Campaign's Night of Worship for the Persecuted Church

So I am new to this blogging phenomenon, but I want to use this to update about the work I'll be doing this year on human rights issues from the District. For starters, here's a great event to attend if you can make it tonight, hosted by Jubilee Campaign USA:

On Friday, October 9 @ 7PM, Jubilee Campaign will host a night of music and worship at Sovereign Grace Church in Fairfax, VA. Chasing Vermont, a local band with a heart for the persecuted, will lead the night in engaging worship in loud, intimate, energizing, and hopefully entrancing ways that will aim to open a wide connection between us and God. This event will be a great place to release yourself from inhibition and your everyday drudgery, and to lean into an environment of passion, music, and prayer. Expression stations will be open for you to journal, pray, or draw. We will hear testimonies of the persecuted from Pakistan, Iran, and North Korea and enter into a time of corporate prayer to intercede for the persecuted church.

If you want to familiarize yourself with the music or build a playlist on your ipod, here is the set list:
You Won’t Relent/Misty Edwards
All Consuming Fire/Misty Edwards
Sweetly Broken/Jeremy Riddle
One of These Days/Small Town Poets
Blessed Be the Name/Tree63
Psalm 131/Waterdeep
Video/Testimonies of the persecuted, Prayer
Deliver Me (It is Well Remix)/David Crowder Band
Hymn/Jars of Clay
Beloved/Erin Weston
How He Loves Us/John Mark McMillan
Oh Praise Him/David Crowder Band
Scripture Readings, Time of Silence, Prayer

Hope to see you there!