By The Numbers

By Becky McDonald, Founder & President
-January 2023

2022 IN REVIEW

Dear WARriors:

In hindsight, I can see God’s hand reaching forward to embrace 2022 even before the onset of COVID-19. For years, I’ve been fasting and praying for certain things to come to fruition, and it’s clear to me now how our omniscient God has been protecting WAR, Int’l from my own timeline.

LEARNING TO WAIT
• Even though I’ll always serve WAR, I had originally wanted a new CEO in place by 2020. There’s no success without a successor, and I’ve met with many prospects for my replacement since the day I incorporated. Now I see that asking a new CEO to navigate the pandemic would have been unfair. COVID-19 forced us to rethink our organizational strategies, and as a result we are in a much healthier place today.
• The day before my knee replacement surgery this past August, a plumbing malfunction resulted in major flooding at WAR’s HQ, causing $300k in damages. It is a lesson on patience as we wait for restorations to be completed in the spring of 2023.
• With the pandemic, we postponed starting any new programs other than ones to which we’d already committed because we wanted to monitor the repercussions of COVID-19 before moving forward. Still unsure of the new “normal,” the worldwide concerns of war, inflation, and food shortages have us continuing this waiting pattern.

EXPANDING CAREFULLY
• Internationally, we’ve been coming alongside widows, a farm enterprise, and a ministry center in Zambia. We’ve continued assisting the Afghan relief efforts by providing training, food aid, and weekly ESL classes for Afghan refugee girls now in hiding. Ukrainian refugees have also been fleeing to our Moldovan partners who are offering trauma camps, food aid, and emigration help. One Guatemalan partner transitioned to an all-national board, and we celebrate the great role model this provides for all our partners.
• Domestically, we expanded our boutique website and cyber security, hosted another state department delegation, provided consultation for safehouse start-ups, introduced anti-trafficking training to new industries, and increased our 911 response. As a result, lives are being forever changed!

In nature, the turkey and the eagle each respond differently when a storm arises. The turkey hides while the eagle soars to the eye of the storm. Scripture says when we wait on the Lord, HE lifts us up on eagle’s wings. By his grace, God flings us above the storm and renews our strength as he multiplies your gifts and our efforts.

The funds we’ve raised this past year allowed us to facilitate rescues and offer immediate intervention to those in crisis. You’ve made us strong for the weak, brave for the threatened, and patient in adversity. As our own circle of protection, YOU empowered us to create safe places amidst the storms of life.

Soaring on the wings of eagles:
Rebecca McDonald
Founder & President

Read Stories of Rescue Here.

Read Stories of Healing Here.

Human Trafficking Awareness Day

January 11, 2023

(Note: This article includes Stories of Healing.)

There are many reports and statistics available regarding the number of human trafficking victims.

→ In 2021, 10,359 human trafficking situations involving 16,554 individual victims were reported to the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline. (source)
→ 49.6 million people were living in modern slavery in 2021, of which 27.6 million were in forced labor and 22 million in forced marriage. (source)
→ In 2021, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received more than 17,200 reports of possible child sex trafficking. (source)

Whereas statistical information and reporting are helpful with understanding the issues as solutions are sought, focusing merely on the numbers can make the victims nameless, simply a number, as it were.

Each and every victim of human trafficking has a name, a voice that has been silenced, as well as a life worth saving, and a story worth telling. This fact makes highlighting stories of rescue and healing vital.

In honor of #HumanTraffickingAwarenessDay2023, here are three such stories.

Erin: healing moment

At a recent Human Trafficking Awareness Conference, the Q&A panel included social workers, law enforcement officers, lawyers, and Erin, a survivor of human trafficking.

When asked how the police had treated her, Erin froze, not wanting to tip the apple cart. Seeing Erin’s hesitation, Becky McDonald, founder & president of WAR, Int’l, encouraged her to speak up and share her experience.

Erin shared how the police were not helpful regarding her situation, telling her there wasn’t anything they could do for her. One officer even asked for her number.

Upon hearing the apologies from the male law enforcement officers on the panel, Erin had an unexpected response. Those apologies, she realized, healed a place in her heart she didn’t know needed healing.

Trauma-informed interviewing is key when assisting survivors. During our February 2022 Light Up Your World Zoom, we learned about this interviewing technique from Amy Allen, a federal law enforcement officer. Click here to view it.

Reena: finding solutions

How many girls had now disappeared from Reena’s village? She had watched as foreigners came, promising education or stable jobs to girls of impoverished families. Out of desperation, they had been sent or sold to provide for the rest of the family. But Reena knew these promises were empty.

Reena knew traffickers targeted poor and vulnerable families.

Yet she had a plan. Reena began a small bakery where she could employ at-risk women in her village, giving them the fair payment they needed to provide for their families.

To Reena’s delight, the bakery thrived! Now she’s running four sustainable micro-enterprises to sponsor a safehouse, counseling services, vocational training, micro-loans, and different classes!

Reena’s work is helping attack trafficking at its root cause and freeing hundreds of lives from its threat. Support WAR’s micro-enterprise program to be a ‘Reena’ to others at risk.

Rhoda: story of resilience

Ever since she was a little girl, Rhoda wanted to sing. After much local success, Rhoda thought she caught her big break when a talent agent promised a vocal tour in Japan. Though her first visit proved successful, on her second trip, traffickers took her papers and forced her to serve drinks at a bar. One night a co-worker lured Rhoda to a “dance club” filled with the Japanese mafia. After drugging and abducting her, mafia members repeatedly brutalized and raped Rhoda for three days.

She eventually escaped, but the Japanese police blamed her, and a counselor even advised suicide as the only way to preserve her dignity. Even after returning home to America, help was nowhere to be found.

Finally, Rhoda discovered a community of healing and support at WAR, Int’l. Now she no longer numbs her pain with substance abuse and self-mutilation. Instead, she has transformed her suffering into a story of survival and hope. Rhoda uses her passionate voice to share this story, singing at benefit concerts, speaking out against human trafficking, and whispering words of hope and encouragement to vulnerable teens and wounded women.

Our sweet Rhoda is featured every Monday on our Facebook (WAR, Int’l and WAR Chest Boutique) and Instagram pages (WAR Int’l and WAR Chest Boutique). Make sure to catch her fabulous Monday Minute videos to be encouraged and inspired. Oh, and #ShopToRescue her weekly-updated collection here!

Resources For You:

-Join us on the 4th Monday of the month for our Light Up Your World Zooms to hear directly from survivors as well as experts in the field. Learn more here.

-Shop our Remembrance line which include the names and ages of human trafficking victims. #ShopToRemember here.

-Get inspired and read Stories Of Rescue here.

-Read Understand The Risks.

Call To Action: Time, Talent, Treasure

TIME
– Host a Party or Event!
– Volunteer at Events or WAR HQ

TALENT
– Share your Creative Skills
– Become a Circle of Protection

TREASURE
– Give Through Your Purchases
– Give your sweat, space, or fundraising solutions

A Song for the Silenced

Short Video in honor of this day.

January 2023 – Updates, News, Events, ICYMI

January 2023

Happy New Year, WARriors!

Let’s ring in the new year with purpose! Remember, you are the ones who make it possible to provide vulnerable women, children, and men as well, with places of safety, dignity, and hope. Your involvement supports the work of our programs and partners, worlds away and here in the USA. As you read through this email, be thinking about how you may want to take action to get more involved in the coming year!

Scroll down for an update on the latest and greatest with WAR, Int’l!


Presidential Travel Update

Over the next few weeks, Becky, founder and president of WAR, Int’l, and a WAR board member will be traveling to meet with partners in Asia and Africa. In addition to business meetings with our ministry partners, they will also be encouraging our partners, many of whom serve on the frontlines of the red light districts. Becky’s schedule will be long and arduous as she scouts for new product possibilities and hopefully has the chance to visit Sweetie. Please pray for strength and open doors.

Join us on March’s Light Up Your World Zoom for her trip update!


Human Trafficking Awareness

For the last few years, January has been named National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. January is also known as Human Trafficking Awareness Month. Here at WAR, Int’l, we observe National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month every month. You see, trafficking doesn’t sleep. Oppression reigns around the world… Continue Reading Here.


Have a Gift Card?

Did you receive a WAR gift card for Christmas? Simply call our WAR Chest Boutique at 616-530-1234 to redeem yours today. #ShopToEmpower

If you didn’t receive a gift card but still want to #ShopToRescue, no worries, we can help you! Simply shop our online boutique here!

Don’t forget to join us for a special survivor testimonial on this month’s Light Up Your World Zoom call! On Monday, January 23 special guest AJ will once again be joining us to share more about her personal journey of becoming a birth mother and finding healing from trauma and addiction. As she shares, your heart will be deeply touched, and you’ll find AJ is more than a survivor—she is also a THRIVER who has made it her life’s work to empower other survivors as they traverse the path to healing. Visit our upcoming events page for further details.


Set Free

Did you know we launched our Set Free Web Series in 2020? As the world was shutting down because of COVID-19, it was one answer to the dilemma of “How do we get the word out so others can learn about those in need as they #ShopToEmpower?” As we enter our 4th year of producing this series, a big thank you to those who watch our videos as well as purchase the products we highlight. Shop the current Set Free special here!

You can find the entire series, and more, here!


Fresh Finds

Every Friday we curate a collection of specialty gifts from the WAR Chest Boutique. It is a treasure chest, if you will, of unique and beautiful handcrafted items—like jewelry, scarves, accessories, and more — to provide you with moments of opportunity.

-The opportunity to add fresh style to your home and attire.
-The opportunity to equip and empower survivors.
-The opportunity to give a hand up for those at risk to live in freedom.

Browse this week’s collection here!


Free Shipping on $75+

News flash! Did you know we offer free shipping on all orders of $75 or more? You can #ShopToRescue anytime at warchestboutique.com and save on shipping while shopping from the comfort of your own home. It’s never too cold to shop from your own cozy nook, laptop in hand, as you browse through the beautiful items featured in our online boutique!

January 2023: Human Trafficking Awareness Month

For the last few years, January has been named National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. January is also known as Human Trafficking Awareness Month.

Here at WAR, Int’l, we observe National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month every month. You see, trafficking doesn’t sleep. Oppression reigns around the world, where the innocence of another is stolen every 30 seconds. For many years, we’ve been asking ourselves this question: How many is too many? We believe that answer is one.

More than ever, we deeply desire our communities to rise up against injustice. We’re asking you to come out of your comfort zone to bring hope to the hopeless; to be a voice to the voiceless.

We want to give you a few suggestions on how to join the movement this January:

  1. Give up your weekly Starbucks. #IKR?! Many of us absolutely love our coffee. But, have you ever considered giving what you would have spent on coffee to an organization fighting human trafficking? The reality is that children as young as five years old are harvesting coffee beans on plantations all around the world for little to no pay. This is what we call labor trafficking. We invite you to give up coffee for the rest of January and donate your savings to Women At Risk, Int’l. If you’re interested in this opportunity, please click here.
  2. Pledge to tell five of your friends about the dangers of human trafficking. In any of its forms, trafficking easily engrains itself into our communities. Share this issue with those closest to you to raise awareness!
  3. Pray. We know that sounds so simple, but prayer is the only way we will end human trafficking. Think about it: We can fundraise and we can build safehouses, but if there’s no heart-change, we’ve done very little to break the cycle.

If you are interested in sounding a battle cry with us this month to rescue those trapped in the bondage of slavery, we invite you to visit our Get Involved page here. We have practical tools to help you take your first (or next) steps in ending human trafficking.

Please join us in this fight, and know that while one month may bring light to this tragedy, at-risk women and men all over the world suffer, sometimes for years, before rescue. What can you give up this month to bless a person in need? Through your time, talent and treasure, we can fight exploitation together.

While it breaks our hearts that we even need a month here in the United States to recognize that trafficking exists, we understand the importance of raising awareness, and we applaud our government for declaring this month one for reflection and justice.

Join us today and spread the word this month!

Dec ’22. News. Events.

December 2022

Season’s Greetings, WARriors!

We wanted to take this opportunity to thank each member of the WAR family for your support and encouragement throughout this past year. Whether it was through your prayers, hours of volunteer service, donations, purchases, or hosting an event, you are what makes the mission of WAR, Int’l possible.

Our hope is that this month is filled with joy and peace for you and yours as we remember the reason we celebrate the season.

Giving Tuesday

Our word for Giving Tuesday 2022 is IMPACT as it is our goal to make an immediate impact on the lives we are called to help in their darkest hour of need. Our 911 Rescue fund allows us to say “yes” when a plane ticket is needed for a woman to escape her trafficker, when money is needed for emergency care, or legal aid is required. Thank you WAR Family for helping us be able to say “yes!”

GIVE TODAY!

LEARN MORE HERE!

Don’t Forget!

Our holiday lookbook is here to help simplify your WAR Chest Boutique shopping experience! Find gift ideas and inspiration as you peruse its pages filled with beautiful products for you to purchase, share, and enjoy.

Not only will you gain a quality handcrafted gift, but you’ll also be empowering rescued and at-risk lives with the power of your purchase. Shop our holiday lookbook here!

Shipping Notification

For any orders placed after December 16, 2022, the WAR Chest Boutique cannot guarantee delivery by Christmas. Please place your order accordingly – the earlier the better!

Visit warchestboutique.com to catch up on your Christmas shopping any time of the day or night! We’ve got something for everyone on your list so you can shop with a purpose this holiday season!

Did You Know?

We offer free shipping on all orders of $75 or more! You can #ShopToRescue anytime at warchestboutique.com and save on shipping while checking items off your Christmas list. It’s a win-win for everyone. Finish up your holiday shopping from the comfort of your own home this holiday season!

New Blog Post

Our 911 Rescue fund grew out of a partner’s request in the dead of night to rescue a baby who had been sold. Most of these stories are never told due to their danger and confidentiality… but because of you, they’re real rescues. Currently, WAR, Int’l is immersed in seven rescue situations. If we’re ever able to share any details, we will. In the meantime, read Real Stories of Rescue here.

As the anticipation builds for our next Light Up Your World, can we get a drumroll, please? #OOOOHHHH, who’s going to be our next special guest? We’re still finalizing the details but can’t wait to share them with you soon! Stay tuned by checking our upcoming events page for additional details as the time gets closer.

For the 26th, here is the Zoom link!