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Celebrate With Us

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Joy To The WorldNew branding, expansion of our US and Costa Rican Office and Staff, and a growing restoration program are only a few of what LFI has been able to accomplish this year and we are even more excited for what’s to come in 2014! As the holidays approach and we wrap up an amazing year of growth at LFI, we wanted to share some of the highlights with you and say a huge  “THANK YOU” for your involvement! Without your prayers and financial support we could not continue the ministries of LFI.
This year LFI has:

  • Received Julie* into our restoration program and have begun to see transformation and healing in her life (See the side bar as to get involved)
  • Facilitated interviews with trafficking victims to aid the US Embassy in Costa Rica
  • Aided in the investigation of several trafficking cases in Costa Rica
  • Trained over 30 individuals and multiple churches to further grow our street outreach in San Jose, Costa Rica
  • Our staff in Costa Rica received an internationally recognized survivor care curriculum training, Hands That Heal; and will receive certification to train other care givers in this curriculum in the early part of 2014
  • Finalized our Costa Rican legal papers to be officially recognized as a non-profit throughout all of Latin America
  • Raised over $21,000 to purchase a ministry van for our outreaches in Costa Rica
  • Completely rebranded our marketing materials and launched a new website

Again THANK YOU for your prayers and support this year. We are ecstatic about what the Lord has entrusted us with this year and wanted to celebrate and share the joy with you. Stay tuned for a look into what’s coming in 2014 where we hope to bring further restoration and hope to the lives of sexually broken and freedom to those enslaved! To give a year-end tax-deductible gift to help us move forward into 2014, Click Here.

*name has been changed for her protection

Embracing Space

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Band Of BrothersComing back to Costa Rica after so long of an absence, yet knowing I’m only going to be here for a short time has made space for some serious reflection. It’s been more than humbling to see all that’s happening in Costa Rica. It has been almost overwhelming at times to watch the LFI staff own the vision, confidently engage the broken on the streets, and open their hearts to those that are in need of belonging. For what we may lack sometimes in monetary resource, LFI more than makes up for in the richness of the lives of our staff and volunteers.

After two weeks of feeling overwhelmed and graciously humbled, I remembered Psalm 18:19,

He brought me out into a wide open place; He delivered me because He was pleased with me.

Other versions say “spacious places.” Nonetheless, spacious places sound good and picturesque in the Bible; however, when you start to think about the reality of a spacious place, it doesn’t always give us the same warm feelings. Maybe I’m weird, but I immediately pictured a scene from the miniseries, Band of Brothers. A USA military unit is out in the woods during the winter fighting back the Germans, and while everything is quiet, you see Major Winters running along the line telling everyone to get ready. Then you see the enemy tanks coming up through the other side of the woods, out into a wide open space. Maybe that isn’t a pretty picture, but here is my point: wide open spaces are sometimes hard places. They’re places where you feel the tension of victory while also being keenly aware that struggle is right along side. Rescue, however, is the promise of these spacious places.

The day after I landed in Costa Rica, a precious life needing restoration was dropped into our laps. Although I can’t say much about her personal story, this young girl at just 18 years of age had experienced more trauma in her life than many people have encountered in their entire lives. She was desperately in need of a wide open space. Over the weeks she’s been with us there’s been struggle. She’s happy to be safe and starting a new life, however, the sense of fear and vulnerability is there too.

The unknown of wide open spaces is sometimes the very thing that keeps us from being rescued.

It’s when we choose to embrace the unknown and take that risk that we truly feel the delight of rescue. God takes pleasure in walking with us through these spaces. The question is do we really believe that to be true, and are we willing to walk with Him even when we feel afraid?

Healing Is Worth The Pain

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My name is Sarah Hamon, and I am addicted to stress. I grew up in a Christian home. My family loved me but I had a hard time believing it as a child. My family fed me, housed me and gave me affection. The thing that I didn’t get that made me believe that I wasn’t loved was protection. Granted my family was ignorant of the abuse I went through and therefore didn’t know the necessity of educating me on how to respond to abuse.

It started at a pretty young age; the abuse came from cousins, in-laws, and neighbors’ kids. Through my distorted little-kid view, I began to believe I wasn’t a priority in my parents’ busy world, and at the age of seven I began my series of suicide attempts. No matter how many dangerous situations I put myself in, I didn’t die. I couldn’t kill myself. At the age of 13, I came to the conclusion that my purpose in living was to take the abuse so others didn’t have to endure it. I had a high pain tolerance and didn’t bruise or break easily. During the day, I took verbal attacks, physical abuse, and other deserved punishment. At night, I was tormented with night terrors or would feel so numb that I would self-inflict pain just to feel something. I became like the walking dead, no purpose – only to be damned in torment.

I thought it was my destiny; that God allowed me to be abused so that others could be free and escape torture and torment until they found God.

Entering into adulthood was traumatic. Although I had a great amount of wisdom for my age and was well-developed in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, I had very little understanding of my true value and the love God had for me. My value was in my strength and ability to take pain for others. In a very selfish way, I was playing god. I survived on the adrenaline rush from stress, but even that betrayed me. In my early twenties, my adrenal glands started giving out. I was completely numb to pain, lost my strength, became very ill, and sulked in my delusion of suffering for the sake of others. I was so dependent on stress to feel valuable, even when I realized that abuse and torment was bad, I would thrive from high intense situations. Things that weren’t meant to be stressful became stressful, otherwise I wasn’t valuable in the situation and was just a burden. Eventually, I had to start facing the ugly reality. I fought the memories and emotions that surfaced which made the process of healing more painful. Like an addict, I made every excuse not to face the painful memories. My favorite excuse was, “I can’t be selfish because others need me or God more.” Don’t you love the moment when you realize your arrogance in a situation? It is like a slap in the face – a long time coming.

When you mistake disconnecting from your emotions or feelings as strength, your past will eventually catch up to your present.

Thankfully, God was there with me every moment. He waited over twenty years for me to humble myself and untie His hands, and daily I still have to do it. The difference is, it doesn’t take me twenty years anymore. I don’t want to deceive you, choosing to be vulnerable and starting the process of healing is probably the scariest, most painful thing I have ever done. Seriously, who wants to admit to being wrong?
If you have ever done Cross-Fit, you know that it is one of the most intense workouts you can face. It can be intimidating and scary. When you fight against the workout, the process of your body recovering can be a long one. You almost have to take the first week off from work. Even in the quick little workouts you do, you experience some intense soreness. If you don’t fight the process and find a trainer that actually cares enough to push you, your body will adapt and soon you won’t feel the pain any longer. Humility is similar; it hurts a lot in the beginning, but once you realize you gain sanity and health in exchange for your vulnerability you start looking for the “soreness” in your life. You do this by giving up control and choosing to trust those God placed in your life. Trust me, the pain that comes from the healing is completely worth it. My name is Sarah Hamon, and I am no longer addicted to stress.

Pornography and Roadtrips

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Adult-world-neon

The highway has always been a symbol of fun, adventure, and new places. However, lately I’ve noticed the other side to the highway symbolizing one thing. Sex.

My husband and I just returned from our honeymoon, and we took a roadtrip to Tybee Island, Jekyll Island and he surprised me with a trip to Universal Studios for Harry Potter World. Yes, I know, I am a nerd. So, as you can imagine, we spent a lot of time driving on the highway and passing by billboards for, “ADULT WORLD EXIT 12”. After the first trip driving by these billboards, I didn’t think much of it. But, we drove by one billboard in particular with a woman’s silhouette on a pole which read;

“NAKED WOMEN! TRUCKER DISCOUNT! TRUCKERS WELCOME! TRUCKER PARKING!”

When I saw this my heart broke. Maybe it’s because I now work for LFI and therefore I am more sensitive to the sex industry. One thing I knew for certain was even if I personally destroyed that billboard, there would still be another one just like it a mile down the highway. I wanted to cry, my mind was racing with questions and solutions to making the highway less sexualized. The worst part was I couldn’t stop thinking about all the families driving down the highway, who are also going to Universal Studios and young boys seeing the billboards. As a young boy would this spark something unhealthy? I didn’t know. Or a truck driver who has a family, did this billboard just alter his marriage? I don’t want to know.

As I was sitting in the hotel room in Orlando, I was crying out to God because I felt so troubled over what was pressing on my heart and didn’t know how to fix it. I said, “Lord, what can I do?” and He said to me, “You can pray for them.”Pray for them? I was hoping the Lord would say, ‘Spray paint over the billboards and burn down what’s remaining whenever you run out of spray paint!’ or ‘Start an organization and riot!’, but instead He wanted me to pray. Perplexed, I opened my bible to, 1 Chronicles 5:20:

“They were helped in fighting them, and God delivered the Hagrites and all their allies into their hands, because they cried out to him during the battle. He answered their prayers, because they trusted in him.”

The battle is against the sex industry and I am praying for the individuals involved, whether they are working within the industry or visiting. Praying for the sex industry littering our highways all over the world seemed hopeless. How do we pray for something so huge and expect the Lord to get the victory? Can’t we just chop down each billboard? Nope. Then, the Lord reminded me of a Children’s Church lesson I put together last year. The lesson was on ‘The Armor Of God’ and so I turned my bible to, Ephesians 6:10 ‘The Armor of God’

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand….And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

The sex industry is not just a battle against flesh, but it is an entire ruler/authority/power itself and because of this we are supposed to put on the full armor of God. Then, after we do put on the armor we must pray for “all of the Lord’s people”, not just the families on the highway or the truckers, but for everyone involved. The more I have been praying for the industry as a whole, the better I feel and the more encouraged I am about the situation. Perhaps, God wanted me to be burdened by this in order to have one more person praying for everyone.

So, pray. Because, our God always gets the victory and no good will come from chopping down a billboard.  The Lord will answer our prayers just like he answered the Reubenites prayer in 1 Chronicles, we must trust in Him and continue praying.

Psalm 65:2 “You who answer prayer,
    to you all people will come.”

POSTED BY STEPHANIE CARLSON

Defined

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How Am I Defined? | LFI Blog

How am I defined?

I have been thinking about this a lot lately since there are so many things out there that try to tell us who we are. The circumstances we live and work in, our family and friends, and the expectations of our employers and employees. It is seen whether we spend our nights on the streets or days in corporate America. There are even expectations that we place on ourselves and who we think we should be or what we should achieve. No one is exempt from these definitions it is just how we respond to them that determines our lifestyle and outcome.

Christ is the one who defines me. He continually speaks truth about who I am and what I am capable of doing and being. He knows who I am from the inside out and from top to bottom. He has seen my good days and bad days. He loves me unconditionally and calls out the best in me. He desires my love and not my expectations. He knows where I have been but more importantly sees where I am going.

I know I don’t deserve anything and yet Jesus gives me life. I know I am not strong enough and yet Jesus gives me strength. I know I am not smart enough and yet Jesusgives me wisdom. He is my ultimate definer, refiner, and love. He has called out my beauty and strength while laying down His life on my behalf. He defines me and that is all I need to know.

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