rebelling against low expectations

Project: Walk/Run4Freedom

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My name is Molly Warren, and I am a 15-year-old living in Greenfield, Indiana. It was last November that I got an email from a friend of mine, Taylor Zimmerman, asking me to pray about becoming part of a team she wanted to put together. We would be organizing a 4 mile long, Walk/Run4Freedom to raise money to combat Human Trafficking, and to bring a new awareness to people in our community about it.

The team began with our leader, Taylor (a freshman), Emily W. (a freshman), and myself. We began meeting to brainstorm ideas and talk through the logistics of organizing a walk to raise money. God took our ideas, and our team, and grew them. The picture below (from l-r) is Emily, Taylor, and me.

The Walk/Run4Freedom Team (l-r): Taylor, Emily, and me

Our goal is $10,000 (we had started with a goal of $1,000 — a safe, reachable goal we reasoned… Ha! — just watch God blow “safe” and “reasonable” out of the water!) but we were challenged to raise our goal by our adult mentor, Stacey.

We have added a girl named Emily F. to our team, and she has designed our T-shirts and posters. Sam, a sophomore in high school, and Austin helped us record the promotional video (watch it above or see a “making-of” picture below) that we are showing at youth groups to promote the Walk/Run.

Our parents have helped us to open a bank account, receive legal approval for the Walk, and given us guidance along the way. A member of Taylor’s church has given us insurance for the day of the Walk, and we are talking to small businesses in our town to be sponsors.

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The Lord has graciously opened doors and we have been approved by the parks department and mayor’s office to use the Pennsy Trail and the down-town Greenfield Plaza to host the Walk on September 21, 2013, at 9am.

The way we will raise money is a registration fee that goes straight to the account. All of the money in this account will be given to Rapha House after the event! (Rapha House is an organization that is working to combat human trafficking. Their goal is to help girls achieve lasting freedom from a desperate future by providing education, vocational training, care, and counseling.) We also hope to have tables at the Plaza to sell things like jewelry and T-shirts to raise additional funds for Rapha House.

Here is a picture of a young, rescued Rapha House girl:

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Along the route, we want to set up Prayer and Water booths where walkers can get a water bottle and some facts about and prayer requests concerning Human Trafficking.

Human Trafficking is something that must grieve God’s heart. It is a $32 billion a year industry. (Human Trafficking was a $7 billion a year industry in 2007; so in the last five years, it has grown $25 billion.) This is not an issue that is only in other countries — it is in our backyards as well. 100,000 people are trafficked into the United States each year. So many of those trafficked are children; their freedom stolen, their lives destroyed, and their hearts locked in fear.

Our theme verse for this endeavor is Proverbs 31:8-9, “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

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We are asking for your help in a couple different ways:

    Please Pray for Us! We know that only God can bring true success to an endeavor like this~ it is too big for us to do on our own. We want His guidance, direction, and blessing as we take each step.
    Please spread the word! Share this with your family and friends, youth group members, churches, co-workers, etc. We cannot wait to see the people God will bring together to Walk or Run for Freedom!
    Please donate to the cause! We hope to accept donations on our website very soon. In the meantime, you can email us at [email protected] for details on how to contribute.
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About the author

Molly Warren

is a 15-year-old homeschooled girl, whith five fun younger siblings and two amazing parents. She loves to read and hang out with her girl friends; her passion is to see people living wholly and completely for the Lord Jesus Christ and aligning their lives with His Word!

7 comments

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  • Wow…. A powerful thing you’re doing, with God’s help. I will be praying, I will spread the word. Unfortunately, I live in New York, and so do most the people I know, but I will give them your message, and you’ll have lots of prayers on our end. God bless you all!

    • Sadie,
      Thank you for commenting! Yes, it is only by the Lord’s grace we have gotten this far, and only by His grace we will get any further! 🙂
      It is a blessing to have a sister in Christ in New York! Lots of prayers is the most important thing about this project, so THANK YOU for them!! God is the Only One Who can rescue these girls, spiritually and physically, and heal them after they are rescued. He is the Only One who can change the hearts of the perpetrators, so that they may come to salvation and repent.
      We will be posting prayer requests on our website’s blog, and we would love it if you visited and prayed with us!

      • I’m glad I could encourage you, Molly. I will try to visit your blog, and I hope to see God do great things through you and this work He has given you.

  • This is an awesome project… I’m glad to hear that you all are getting involved like this. I’m definitely going to pray. (I would donate, but I literally have 58 cents in the bank right now.)

    I also wanted to suggest that you read http://stonescry.wordpress.com. It’s written by a lady who survived the sex trafficking industry. I know that it really helped me to understand these ladies (and some of the things they have to go through, especially afterwards.) and to respect and love them more. 🙂

    God bless you all!

    • Carissa, Thank you so much for the encouragement and prayers!
      Also, thank you for the link!! I got on there and read some~ it has been so very helpful already, and I am sure will continue to be!! That is a valuable resource as we seek to help~ thank you! 🙂

  • Awesome…great job and keep it up! My prayers are with you (and I’m not just saying that, I’ll pray each morning and night)

rebelling against low expectations

The Rebelution is a teenage rebellion against low expectations—a worldwide campaign to reject apathy, embrace responsibility, and do hard things. Learn More →