Wow... I'm moving to Cebu, Philippines in three months (June 2010) to work for a year as a Human Rights Intern with International Justice Mission ("IJM"). For those of you who don't know, IJM is a human rights agency that secures justice for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression. IJM lawyers, investigators and aftercare professionals work with local officials to ensure immediate victim rescue and aftercare, to prosecute perpetrators and to promote functioning public justice systems. (http://www.ijm.org/) As a Human Rights Intern, some of my responsibilities will include researching and preparing memoranda regarding country-specific issues, current events, administrative procedures and culture, preparing support materials for presentations and reports, and compiling country or topic-related briefing binders, including background research and internal reports.
But let me back up and start at the beginning... A little over a year ago, God began to place a restlessness in my heart as I began to ask "What next?" From a earthly perspective, the answer to that was simple... I was on a track and had followed every step in my life so far - go to a good school, work hard, get good grades, get a good job, work hard, make money, go to a good business or law school, work hard, get good grades so you could get a better job and make even more money. Don't get me wrong, there isn't anything inherently wrong with any of those things. I think for me, I was just on that track without ever stopping to consider whether that was what God wanted for me. Was I simply pursuing success and money? I started to really ask myself "What's the point?" and "Does God want more than this from me?" I wanted to pray that God would reveal His will for my life, but then a big part of me was scared of what would happen if He actually answered that prayer and I didn't like the answer. My life was good; it was comfortable... but it wasn't totally fulfilling.
It was in December 2008, through a short term missions trip opportunity, that I learned about a thing called Human Trafficking. I couldn't believe that such a thing actually existed today. I also couldn't believe that I was completely oblivious to it. Some estimates indicate that there are as many as 27 million people is some form of slavery around the world today. This is more than the number of slaves during the 400 years of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. These aren't hypothetical slaves or people living in "slave-like" conditions, but actual "people who are owned by other people" slaves. At this point, God really put a desire in me to learn more. I started reading books, conducting research, and attending conferences. As I learned more and more, everything inside me screamed "No, this is not the way it should be!" I felt that God was calling me to get involved.
I went to a conference in May 2009 called the Freedom Summit where I first learned about IJM. I was very impressed by the work they were doing around the world as well as their level of professionalism. It was because of IJM that I first seriously started considering law school. Previously, I didn't have any interest in becoming a lawyer and I certainly didn't want to go to law school just for law school's sake. However, once I started opening myself up to the possibility, I realized that it was perfect for me. God revealed to me that going to law school and pursuing human rights law was an effective use of the gifts, talents, and passions that God had blessed me with. But, before committing to three years of law school, I felt that this was the perfect time to gain some actual experience serving and loving the poor and the afflicted. As I read Gary Haugen's books and learned about the biblical mandate for believers to be actively involved in the work of justice, I knew that this was not a phase, but rather my life's calling. The more I learned about IJM and their biblical approach to the pursuit of justice, I knew that I would be surrounded by like-minded individuals who were filled with the Spirit of God. The thing that I appreciated most about IJM staff was that they were people of excellence who were totally and completely dependent on God for everything. They were people who were willing to take their gifts, talents, and passions to places that weren't safe or comfortable but where people desperately needed someone to fight for justice on their behalf. I knew that it would be such a privilege to work with and learn from people like that.
I started looking into internship opportunities and decided to apply for the Investigations internship. Even as I went through the application process, I saw God bless me more than I could have ever imagined. When I first started researching IJM internship opportunities, I read about the Human Rights internship and thought that it sounded perfect for me. Unfortunately, there were only short term positions open at IJM's headquarters in Washington DC. I really felt like God was calling me to live internationally for an extended period of time, so I applied for the Investigations internship thinking that it was the most related to my future pursuit of a legal career. The Investigations internship only had openings in South Asia and so I was preparing myself for that. However, God had other plans. When I heard that IJM wanted to place me in Cebu as a Human Rights Intern, I was so excited! That was my dream internship that (as far as I knew) wasn't even available. God is so good! As I was speaking with the director of the Cebu field office and he was describing the types of things I would be doing, I kept thinking... this is exactly what I have been doing at Cornerstone. God has been preparing me for this all along and I wasn't even aware of it.
So that's the whole story! Thanks for reading it and sorry it was so long! :) I am moving to the Philippines in three months! Three months!!! I keep saying it to remind myself that this is really happening. I am very excited and a little overwhelmed. But, I know that God is good and that everything that needs to happen will happen.
I plan on updating this blog throughout my journey with my crazy adventures, things I see, things I experience, and things that God is teaching me. I invite you along with me on this journey (via my blog of course, unless you want to come visit me, in which case - awesome and I will see you in Cebu!).
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