IJM Global Prayer Gathering

This past weekend, my Dad and I traveled to Washington, D.C. for the annual International Justice Mission (IJM) Global Prayer Gathering (GPG). IJM is a human rights agency that works towards justice for the enslaved, sexually expoited, and otherwise oppressed (those who are denied rightful citizenship, widows whose property rights are taken away, etc). IJM consists of global lawyers, investigators, social workers, and other professionals who work with local governments to rescue such victims, prosecute perpetrators, and empower community and individual areas which help promote effective, non-corrupt public justice systems.

IJM was founded in 1997 by attorney Gary Haugen, then working for the U.S. Department of Justice and as the United Nations’ Investigator in Charge in the wake of the Rwandan genocide, as a response to the great need following this country's horror. Since this time, Gary has been joined by more than 300 professionals working in twelve countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America to promote justice through their local court systems.

IJM's annual GPG is just that: a prayerful celebration of God's faithfulness to the prayers of his people across the globe in the previous year and an earnest corporate cry for the new requests of the specific ministries around the world. Never before have my dad and I seen an annual conference so committed to prayer; prayer is indeed the overarching priority of the weekend. All of Saturday was reserved for gathering participants to visit six of around twenty-five "prayer rooms," with designated countries to listen to and pray for the ongoing prayer needs of each country. For example, I visited prayer rooms for Cebu (Philippines), Thailand, Chennai (India), and Kenya, where field directors from these locations shared their joys and ongoing prayer needs for the following year.



There were also several plenary sessions, featuring President Gary Haugen, field directors from a few IJM offices, and the worship of Ten Shekel Shirt and Sara Groves. Perhaps the most significant for me were the testimonies of several clients or actual victims of injustice around the world. I was impressed the bravery that these women, men, girls, and boys showed as they retold their story and how they are partnering with God to help others who are still involved in their former area of heartache.

The theme of the weekend was joy. One testimony of a Guatemalan man whose 13-year-old daughter had become the victim of rape beautifully expressed this theme. As a result of an unspeakable act, his daughter became pregnant and gave birth to his granddaughter. He spoke on Friday night about how God can use evil for good and how profoundly this infant girl has blessed their family. It was humbling to see the long-term perspective of this man, his daughter, and family following such a dark time. Clearly, this perspective was the result of a lot of prayer and perseverance and healing continues for his daughter and the family. However, they are trusting God for this restoration and her perpetrator is being held accountable by the Guatemalan justice system. There are other stories that are more sobering as brothel owners are tipped off before raids, corrupt police officials help enable continuing justice by accepting bribes, investigators are unable to rescue all victims in a raid, and rescued victims run away from aftercare programs once rescued. Through all of these situations, IJM and its supporters continue to trust God and pray for his provision in working for justice for these individuals.

As the gathering wrapped up on Sunday, I had mixed feelings - excitement over the successes of the past year, concern over the vast continuing need across the globe and right under my nose in my home community, and angst over what to do with all of the information I had received over the weekend. Gary closed the weekend with the admonishment not to be overwhelmed with knowledge, new information, and thirty new prayer concerns to post-it and staple over your door. He encouraged that the young girl trafficked into a brothel in Cebu, the Indian boy enslaved in a sawmill within Chennai, and the Rwandan widow whose property rights have been stripped from her following her husband's death do not merely need our tears of brokenness or "spasms of passion"; rather, they need our "long obedience in the same direction." He empowered us above all, to "be joyful in hope, patient in suffering, persevering in prayer" (Romans 12:12). Amen.

To find out more about IJM, visit their website. To listen to talks and worship from the weekend, visit the IJM GPG blog. Recommended reading by Gary Haugen: The Good News About Justice, Terrify No More, Just Courage.

Here are some photos from our weekend amidst cherry blossom season in D.C. There is no better time to visit this city!