I hope that you are well and in good spirits! Life is going well for me; I have been very blessed here in Nashville to be working full time as an Athletic Trainer. However, there have been some things that have been tugging at my heart that have prompted me to look at some different paths for the coming years.

Since moving to Tennessee, I have remained active with riding and teaching horsemanship. This knowledge of horses has been the unlikely route in which I have become involved in a non-profit organization called Freedom’s Promise. They work in Nashville and Cambodia to prevent human trafficking and aid girls who have been rescued as they rebuild their lives. Freedom’s Promise recently partnered with a horse farm to provide therapy and rehabilitation to victims of trafficking in the Nashville area. This program needed some help with farm management, which is how I came on board. Before I started working with this organization, I had relatively little knowledge of trafficking and absolutely no idea that it was happening here, so close to where I live.

These are some statistics that were shocking to me. Today, there are 27 million slaves world wide, compared to roughly 4 million slaves in America at the time of the Civil War. Between 600,000 and 800,000 people are trafficked across international boarders every year, 65% of these people for the purpose of sexual exploitation. And closer to home, 14,500 - 17,000 foreign nationals are trafficked into the United States every year.

During the last year, I have become convinced that I would like to be involved on a full time basis with serving the abused and forgotten in our community. Eventually I would love to create a horse program that would not only meet the needs of Freedom’s Promise, but also serve high-risk children and teens in the area. This is a lofty and long-term goal that I am sharing with you because it requires me to take some radical short-term steps. I explored many practical routes that would aid in my education and skills necessary to achieve my goals.

This search has taken me in the direction of a Social Justice school run by Youth With a Mission (YWAM for short), which is an international organization with many different schools and programs. I applied and have been accepted into a justice focus school in Auckland, New Zealand. I will be attending a six-month program that runs from August 30th, 2009 thru February 20th, 2010. It involves three months of class work with specific preparation to work with relief organizations as well as victims of sex trafficking, slavery, and child soldiers. The last three-month portion of the school is fieldwork directly with existing organizations in impoverished countries. I will likely spend this time in Cambodia, working with Freedom’s Promise.

I am honored and blessed that God has granted me this opportunity to devote my time to helping people who are less fortunate than myself. As I embark on this journey, I am very much in need of the support of my family and friends. Most importantly, I am in need of your support through prayer, specifically for the preparation involved in a trip of this magnitude, safety in travel, and that the Lord will move powerfully through my willingness to serve. Another way that I am in need of support is through funding. The total cost of this 6-month journey will be roughly $7,500.00. I will be financing myself as much as I possibly can, but I trust the Lord that the rest will be provided. If you feel that this is something you would like to contribute to, any financial help would be gratefully accepted.

I would love to keep you updated as this vision unfolds! This is a big leap of faith for me, as it involves leaving my current career and stable income, but I am certain that this is what my specific gifts and passions are leading me into. I have created a blog so that you can stay updated as I embark on this journey: http://www.ajourneyforjustice.blogspot.com/ Please feel free to post with your thoughts and encouragement on this website. I am so pleased and thankful that you have taken the time to read my (long!) letter. Thank you for your love and support in my life – I would not be the same today without every one of you!

Love and best wishes,

Claire Tyner