Hi!

I'm heading to Myanmar on a mission trip from April 23rd to May 3rd.  The trip costs $2,900 so I need your help!

The main goal of my trip will be to help at several rescue homes near the city of Yangon.  These homes house both girls and boys who have been preventatively rescued from the child sex trade.  The homes are run by Remember Nhu, a U.S.-based non-profit dedicated to ending child sex slavery through prevention. 

Evenings will be spent with the children in the homes, sharing a meal, playing games, helping with homework, and having fun!

A little bit about Myanmar: It is the second largest country in Southeast Asia, with more than 50 million people.  After 50 years of military dictatorship, the country recently emerged into a quasi-democracy, but corruption, human rights violations, and wide-spread poverty remain.  Only recently has travel there become possible.

The military and government officials remain involved in trafficking child sex slaves, including forcing girls over the border with China to be child brides for Chinese men. Child conscription into the army is also common.

Another part of the trip will include the opportunity to work with students from hill tribe villages who wouldn’t have money to go to college.  We will help these students at a Bible college in Yangon.

I will be going with a group from Hear the Cry, which is a global mission outreach through my church here in Portland.  I am so excited for this trip.  As the father of four daughters, helping rescue these girls and boys hits close to home. 

This also seems like a natural extension of my job.  People ask me all the time why I wanted to be a police officer.  The real answer is that I want to do everything I can to fight for justice for those who can't do it for themselves and this trip fits right into that.

If you are able to help make a tax-deductible donation toward the cost of the trip, I would really appreciate it!

Thank you!
Mark


Remember Nhu: https://remembernhu.org/#slide-1
Hear the Cry: http://ajesuschurch.org/category/hearthecry/
Myanmar Trafficking Info: http://www.humantrafficking.org/countries/burma