* This post of part of the 40 Day Fast. My team blogger for the today is Brent (inWorship). Please take a moment to stop by his site and read his post today.
Over the years, we as Christians have learned to bring many things that the poor need – food, water, medicine, education. But what about when the poor are unable to access these things because of the abuse of a violent oppressor?
Today, I’d like to share a little more info about International Justice Mission. Ambre “the reluctant caterpillar” talked about IJM on day 9 of the 40 Day Fast… this time, I’d like to color it with some personal experience. I wish I could say that I were sharing my own experience, so instead, I’m gonna share Jesse Rudy’s.
We attend the same church with the Rudy’s and they’re a really cool, fun family. Jesse and Amy have a daughter, Rachel, an adopted son, Isaac, and another one on the way! I wanted to share their story of how they got involved and how one family — a family just like yours and mine — is making a difference by being faithful and obedient to God and using their skillset to further the Kingdom.
I asked Jesse a few questions to help us understand what IJM is about and how to get behind what it is they do. As he and I chatted about IJM, he informed me that there are details that IJM preferred we not share so as to not jeopardize any developing work that is going on in places that IJM does not have presence, one of which Jesse has been a part of and another he may potentially be a part of. So, please forgive a bit of the boiler-plate and vagueness of some of the details…
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What is International Justice Mission (IJM)?
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 governments to bring rescue to victims, to prosecute perpetrators and to strengthen the community and civic factors that promote functioning public justice systems.
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What does this mean? It means that IJM’s staff work to ensure that the poor have access to their own public justice systems. Through taking on individual casework, IJM confronts aggressive human violence: violence that strips widows and orphans of their property and livelihoods, violence that steals dignity and health from children trafficked into forced prostitution, violence that denies freedom and security to families trapped in slavery.
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IJM has offices in 14 countries in Africa, Latin America and South and Southeast Asia, staffed primarily by local professionals. Their work is founded on the call to justice in Isaiah 1:17 [+/-]: Seek justice, protect the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.
Why is IJM’s mission so important?
Ensuring that rule of law works for the poor will bring real, sustainable change that protects the vulnerable. Over the years, we as Christians have learned to bring many things that the poor need – food, water, medicine, education. But what about when the poor are unable to access these things because of the abuse of a violent oppressor? IJM works to bring justice to those who need it, so they can live in the freedom and dignity they need to access these other good, vital things.
How did you learn about IJM and become involved?
I first learned about IJM in the Spring of 1997, when Gary Haugen came to speak to a class that I was taking at the Coalition of Christian Colleges and Universities’ American Studies Program. IJM was a much smaller operation then, and I was very excited about hearing about Gary’s previous work with the Department of Justice, his founding of IJM and his vision for the future of justice work on behalf of the worlds’ poor. I actually asked Gary to lunch to talk about the possibility of working with IJM in the future. Of course, at that point, I was an undergraduate sophomore, and Gary wisely told me to keep studying and come back to talk to him in a few years. The one thing that stuck with me from that conversation was Gary’s commitment to excellence in doing God’s work. He advised me to study hard, to get into the best law school I could, get the best job that I could, and try to strive for and surround myself with excellence in every professional endeavor, so that I would be prepared to someday provide excellent service for the Kingdom.
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I kept up with the developments of IJM through a close friend of mine, who was one of IJM’s first employees. I kept watching the organization grow and develop from a small organization to an established international NGO, with a U.S. headquarters and field offices in over a dozen countries throughout the world.
What has your involvement with IJM been?
After I graduated from law school, I started working in a large law firm in Washington DC. I continued to talk with my friend about the work that she was doing for IJM while I was writing contracts, reviewing handbooks and litigation discrimination suits. Whenever an overseas opening with IJM would come up, I would send in a resume. I, of course, was not remotely qualified for the positions that I applied for (being management level positions in overseas field offices), but I thought the work sounded great, and I figured it was worth a shot.
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In the fall of 2005, three positions came open with IJM. Two of them were field office director positions, and one was a temporary position as legal liaison. I, again, submitted a resume, applying for the two field office director positions.
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On December 28, 2005, at 9:30 pm, while I was celebrating Christmas with my family in Nebraska, I received a call from one of IJM’s Regional Directors. He was very direct and to the point on the phone, and told me something along the lines of, “you’re just not qualified for the field office director positions. We’re looking for someone with significantly more management experience than you have. However, we think you may be a good fit for the legal liaison position. Basically, the position would require you to quit your job, sell your house and move overseas for roughly 9 months. You would spend your time building relationships and evaluating how IJM could work to expand its operations in that area (i.e., figure out what justice issues exist and how IJM could address them in the existing legal system). At the end of nine months, I can’t make any promises that you would have a job. What do you think? If you are interested, we’d like to interview you next week.”
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What I really thought was, “This guy is insane. I’m not quitting my job, selling my house and moving my family only to be unemployed a year from now.” What I said was, “I’ll think about it.” I walked upstairs and told Amy what just happened, fully expecting her to say, no chance. Of course, Amy, having significantly more faith than me, said, “maybe we should pray about it.”
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So we did pray about it, and after praying, I went in and interviewed. It was a fairly extended and in-depth interview, and I had no idea how it went when it was over. But a few days later, I got a call and an offer. Then the praying really began. Amy and I decided to fast and pray for a week, starting on a Saturday morning. That morning, I skipped breakfast (real big of me, I know…) and drove into work to get something from the office. As I got in the car, I was completely conflicted about what to do, but when I got out of the car, I was not conflicted at all. I went home, walked in the door, and apparently it was all over my face. Amy started crying, and said something along the lines of, “It looks like you’ve decided what you want to do.” After we talked for a while, we were headed overseas.
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A couple months later, Amy, Rachel and I were looking for flats on the other side of the planet, and I was scared to death about what I had done to my family.
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We spent eight of the most amazing months of our lives that year. In addition to the great time I was able to spend with my family, exploring beautiful beaches and exotic cultures, the work was phenomenal. I met with politicians, bureaucrats, civic leaders and non-profit organizers and others, learning about a completely foreign legal system, political landscape and range of justice concerns. I was able to tell all of these people of the work of IJM around the world, and work on developing ways that IJM could potentially assist them in ensuring justice for those who are too poor to achieve it for themselves.
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At the end of my time, I came back to the U.S., and I am now working for my old law firm. Since returning, I have tried to stay as involved as possible with IJM and the people who work there. The men and women that work in the field for IJM are some of the best examples of Christ in the flesh that I have ever been around, and they are some of my best friends. Their hearts break for the hurting people and for the injustices that they see, but at the same time, they are full of joy from the work that their Father is doing in the midst of all of it and in love with the idea that God lets them be involved in His work.
Could you would you share a personal story or two that exemplifies a typical experience on the field?
My experience was not typical to those in the field, as I was a Legal Liaison, hired to assist IJM in identifying areas of expansion, as opposed what most of their staff do – work directly on the cases of the individual victims of human rights abuses. Here, however, is a brief example of how small the world is when you go overseas, and how great God is in bringing about the work of his Kingdom.
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In the days before I left, one of the employees of IJM’s DC headquarters told me that he had met a man at the National Prayer Breakfast in DC a few months earlier who lived near where I would be stationed. He gave me his number and said that I should talk to him. After I arrived, I called this man, who was a fairly influential political and philanthropic figure, and he gladly invited me to lunch. While we were talking, I mentioned that I was from Nebraska. At this, the man became very curious, and he told me that his daughter had married a man from Nebraska, and that the two of them had started a non-profit that provided assistance, shelter and education to many of the poor in the area. It turns out that this couple lived right across the road from my flat, and they became some of my best contacts as I continued to develop relationships, as well as a great connection to home.
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To learn more about what IJM’s casework looks like in the field, you should visit their Web site. Essentially, their teams of lawyers, investigators and social workers – almost all of whom are nationals of the countries in which they work – partner with local authorities to bring people suffering violent injustice out of their situation of abuse, provide for their needs as they establish a new life, and work to ensure that their perpetrators are prosecuted. This story shows what the lives of two former slaves – freed through an IJM intervention in collaboration with local authorities – look like today.
How can others pray for and serve IJM or get involved with IJM’s mission?
Check out their web site – there are lots really great opportunities for involvement in this work. If you’re interested, you can sign up to be an IJM prayer partner and receive weekly e-mails. You can also support IJM financially to pay for the rescue the poor cannot afford. And, of course, you can do what I did — watch the job listings for a position that fits your experience and giftedness.
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Also, IJM’s president, Gary Haugen, has just written a new book, called Just Courage: God’s Great Expedition for the Restless Christian. If anything about the work of justice interests you, read this book. You can learn more or order it at www.justcourage.com
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IJM’s site does have a lot of info and some media pieces that are worth reading and watching. Please pray for the work that IJM is doing and consider how you might get involved in supporting the mission of IJM.
Also, be sure to check out Brent’s 40 Day Fast post too!
[ confession ] i will not be fasting today — i will reschedule my fast for sunday or monday. i am helping my sister move all day and i think it would be foolishness to exert much energy on a day where i don’t take much in. thanks for understanding and praying along with brent and myself today!
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