INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE MISSION: A testimony by Suzanne Daniel
"How do they do this day after day? How do they handle seeing this evil all the time and keep going?" These were my questions as I headed to the International Justice Mission Global Prayer Gathering last weekend. Just home from Haiti, I knew I was exhausted and really didn't have much emotional endurance left. As I settled into my seat for the opening session, I knew these people were going to carry me through. Gary Haugen, IJM founder, took the stage and opened with a declaration. "In order to stay to prepare the soul to go to war, we must ground ourselves in the truth of God and Scripture. We need solid hand-holds in Scripture to make this climb", Gary says in his reassuring tone. And for the next 24 hours that's exactly what they did. They taught me to prepare my soul, find the hand-holds and exactly what that involves.
I will confess I didn't make it through all the sessions last weekend. I fled when the details of the abuse of children started being discussed. I even retreated for a 2 hour nap at one point knowing I had reached my healthy limit. I continue to be astounded by the ways humans can destroy other humans. But that's nothing new, right? Maybe it's my mother's heart. Just as I felt like I was plummeting into despair and feeling yet another punch to the gut as they described the crimes they are fighting all over the world, I would feel myself buoy up with the hope and inspiration that overflows from the caseworkers and employees. There is a tenacity and a passion in this organization that can only be explained by the power of the Holy Spirit. It sends chills up our spines when they say to sex traffickers, "We are coming for you and we will not give up until we find you." Praise God. It is my fervent prayer that they won't quit, that human slavery WILL end. But their work and that victory is totally reliant on a faithful God and the power of the prayers of the saints. Thank you IJM for defending and freeing children and victims all over the world. Our prayers go with you.