Shane Willard Partners

Shane's Desk

I have been in China a week already. How time has flown. The last few days have been incredibly overwhelming.

As you walk the main streets of this city you are completely unaware of what lies behind the bright lights, shopping malls, tourist attractions and traffic until you begin to venture down the back streets and dark alley ways.

Monday night a small team of us deviated from the main streets of the city where we found ourselves roaming the dirty streets of a brothel district. A minimum of 40 brothels are said to be operating illegally in this one area.

We walked by beat down old dingy shop windows where girls as young as 14 years old sat dressed in next to nothing on display for sale. These shops are beauty spas and hair salons by day however sadly by night they become dirty brothels profiting on the sale of women's innocence.

Most of the girls I saw sitting in these shop windows were void of emotion. It was as though they were completely desensitized to what they were being forced to engage in. It seemed to me that their only option was to disconnect their soul from their body. This disconnection would be the only way for them to get through another day.

We witnessed three older Asian men walk down the stairs of a run-down old six story building smiling from ear to ear, whilst others waiting inside. It is said that this particular building houses up to a hundred or more girls all whom are forced to work in this rape for profit industry.

My heart broke as I watched a 14 year old girl dressed in a tight short pink mini dress apply her lip gloss and wait expressionlessly for her next client in a shop window. I was overwhelmed with disbelief as we walked by hair salons were young girls were having their hair and makeup done in preparation for the evenings work. We witnessed mafia bosses standing on street corners zoning the area whilst police on motor bikes drove on by not even concerned by the illegal activity that was happening right before their very eyes.

I have been well aware of the harsh realities of this sick industry for sometime but when you actually look into the faces of the women and girls trapped in this unjust world your heart crumbles. These women now are more than a number consisting within an overwhelming statistic but rather a life. Their faces have each been imprinted on my memory. All I saw when I looked at each of these women was beauty, worth, hope and a future.

They are each somebody's daughter, somebody's granddaughter and somebody's friend. They each matter.

I have spent the last two days working within an organization that is restoring dignity to women who have been objectified in this horrible trade. It was an honor to sit opposite each of these ladies and help them make jewelry. I participated in one of their English classes and also took the opportunity to worship and pray with them during their devotional time. It was encouraging to see these women dance and sing before their Creator. Each of them has a broken story to tell yet have all been restored to the light. They have each now been given hope, opportunity and a future.

I now realize that because I have seen and heard, I am responsible. We are each called to do something. I encourage you to prayerfully consider how you could be a part of changing the world of the one. Her dignity, opportunity and hope all is in your hands. Don't underestimate what you can do with the resources the Lord has entrusted you.

Let's choose to make a difference in this life because with our one voice, one heart and two hands we each can do something. In fact, I believe that we can do the impossible.

~Emma Jolly

Where did we come up with the idea that God is good and we are bad and have to impress Him? We don’t impress Him on the days we do good things; nor does He love us less on the days we do bad things. He just loves us. The Bible says that our righteousness is like filthy rags. In the ledger of Heaven there are only two sides; sin and filthy rags. That’s it. There is something in us, and in almost every major religion, where it’s assumed that if we’re good God then hears our prayers better. And if we’re good, then God likes us more. That thought has done more to alienate us from God than to bring us closer to Him. If we’re not careful, that belief system will cause us to become judgmental toward others.

It does us good to remember that before they did anything to deserve it, God moved the Hebrews out of slavery and into freedom. When they received the Ten Commandments, the relationship between the Hebrews and God was already established. The myth is that the commandments were about God imposing conditions for His love, or establishing rules that we had to follow in order for Him to love us. Rather, they are proof that He already loved us.

The laws that God laid down were teaching us to be human again, rather than being driven by slave drivers. It was not only the Hebrews who struggled with coming out from under the rule of slave drivers. Look carefully, and you will find yourself in the story of the Ten Commandments. If there is something driving our lives other than God, it’s a slave driver and every slave driver takes your dignity away. If you are a man who struggles with pornography addiction, deep down inside your heart every time you turn the computer on you feel worse about yourself. It takes your dignity away. If your problem is rage, if you cannot control your anger with your child; every time you act in anger towards your child you feel worse about yourself. The job of a slave driver is to take your dignity away; to make you feel less than human; for you to forget who it is that God made you to be. If your slave driver is compulsive spending; you are buying stuff that you don’t need with money you don’t have to impress people you don’t like. That behavior is taking your dignity away. It becomes Egypt for you.

God is already in relationship with us, He gave us the righteousness of Christ. It has everything to do with living free of slave drivers today. He is creating a community of people who show the world who God looks like. God is all about teaching people to live with dignity and respect and how to do life together.

Ways To Partner

There are several ways that you can partner with Shane Willard Ministries that will enable us to carry out our mission.

Prayer Partnership
We know that the prayers of God's people can move God's heart. Our ministry is in constant need of God's direction, wisdom and understanding. We depend on our prayer partners to help pave the way for great works of service. Without these people, there truly would be no way that we could accomplish the mission given to us from the Lord.
Financial Partnership
Without the proper finances, we would be unable to accomplish our mission and many throughout the world would not be touched by God's Word and His love. All partnership donations that we receive go directly to feeding and clothing the poor, helping meet the medical needs of the world's most needy, taking care of orphans and widows, and equiping believers for works of service through the instruction of God's Word.
There are several ways to give to the ministry:
1. Credit Card or Bank Debit Card - this form of donation is accepted through our website and allows for both one time donations and recurring monthly partnerships.
2. Personal Checks - all personal checks can be sent to our ministry mailing addresses.
  United States Mailing Address
  Shane Willard Ministries
  P.O. Box 1211
  Ladson, SC 29456
  
  Australian Mailing Address
  WorshipCentre Christian Church
  FBO Shane Willard Ministries
  ATTN: R. Anderson
  P.O. Box 1526
  Carindale, QLD 4152
3. Direct Banking Transfer - if you desire to donate via banking transfer (Wire or ACH), please contact us at info@shanewillardministries.org. Please include your phone number along with country code if needed and we will be glad to contact you concerning direct transfer donations.