Priceless Release Day and Press Release

It's finally here - the official release day for my new novel, Priceless! To celebrate, I wanted to make you a special offer: If you will walk into your local bookstore and purchase a copy of the book, I will send you a signed copy of any of my other books for free. All you have to do is send an email to hannah@hopechest.org that contains your address. You don't need to show any proof, we'll take your word for it. My hope is that after reading this book, you will be so moved by the plight of girls who are caught in human trafficking, you will rise up and do something that helps set them free. Thanks for supporting my books and for being such incredible advocates for those who have no voice. 

Here's a copy of the press release describing the content of Priceless.

Visionary Global Minister Tom Davis

Exposes Human Trafficking, Sex Trade in Priceless

8.4 million children are sex trafficking victims

2 children are trafficked every minute

Up to 300,000 prostituted children live on the streets in the U.S.

COLORADO SPRINGS—Child sex trafficking is not a topic that likely receives much discussion time at the water cooler or around the Sunday School table, but it’s happening all over the world—and in our backyard. Online news items are full of examples of sex trade, from the most recentCraig’s List controversy to sex tourism to other countries. Halfway around the world or right next door, the sex trade is big business and it affects more persons than you can imagine. In Priceless, the latest book in the EDGE OF THE WORLD series, visionary, author, consultant, speaker, and child adoption advocate Tom Davis tells the hard truth about child sex trafficking, one of the most harrowing and growing problems of our time, in a fictionalized account that will inform, shock, and motivate readers.

In the follow-up to Davis’ widely acclaimed book, Scared, American photojournalist Stuart Daniels goes from Africa to the heart of Russia. Stuart’s work has great meaning, as he educates people about social injustice around the word. His Russian trek gives him the opportunity to save the lives of two girls. But the mission becomes more than he bargained for when he soon becomes the key player in a plot to rescue countless girls helplessly trapped in Russia’s seedy and lucrative sex-slave industry. Davis is hands-on with this type of vital ministry in real life, and through the pages of Priceless, readers will walk along with main character Stuart and see just how real and deadly it is. Will Stuart have the courage, the strength, and the faith to do what he must for the sake of these girls? 

Priceless is a novel that is thoroughly compelling because it incorporates many of the first-hand experiences Davis has had via his ministry, Children’s HopeChest, a global effort that impacts people daily by caring for orphans. This story is dark, but Priceless also shows that the seeds of hope, faith, bravery, and love exist in the most deprived and sordid situations. Readers will garner compelling information from the excellent AfterWords section of the book, which includes questions, answers, and ways readers can get involved. Priceless is a book that will not allow you to remain unaffected or silent. Proceed cautiously; Priceless could change your life.

For more information visit www.sheispriceless.com.

Priceless by Tom Davis

David C. Cook

ISBN13: 978-1-5891-9103-7

June 2010

278 pages, $14.99

www.sheispriceless.com

Media Contact:

Jeane Wynn

Wynn-Wynn Media, LLC

P: 918-283-1834

F: 918-512-4409

jeane@wynnwynnmedia.com

A Little Girl Named Magdala

My close friend and partner in crime against poverty is in Haiti right now. Seth Barnes asked me to post this so all of you could pray and help the children his team is ministering to. Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!

Down muddy, potholed streets, behind a high wall is the Son of God orphanage.

 We walked through the building and into the back courtyard, 126 orphans sat in rows doing school under a tall Zaman tree. In 2002 Dr. Maccine Hyppolite saw a group of orphan children near his house. He took them into his home. Word got out and the orphans kept coming.

 

An engineer declared that his three story building should be condemned, but Dr. Hyppolite feels it's solid. "Just a little rebar and concrete to reinforce the beams and it will be OK." As we walked through the building, an orphan girl smiled at me. Something in me said, "Go talk to her." I grabbed John to translate and asked her name and age.

 

"I'm Magdala and I'm ten. I've been here three days." I asked her if she had parents and I thought John translated, yes. At that I felt a little relieved - my mind doing some strange triage, parceling out the compassion, "OK, I'm off the hook here. If God had a special assignment for me, she'd be a pure orphan." And I moved on.

 

The orphans, eager for adult attention, crowd around you and play all kinds of hand-slapping games. One little boy clutched my pants. I told one of the orphanage workers that I was impressed at how he reached out for affection. She said, "That's my boy. His father died in the earthquake." I wasn't quite sure how to respond - be sad for her, or affectionate toward her boy as he sought to fill his father gap.

 

Later, unable to shake the feeling that God wanted more out of me with Magdala, I went back and asked her a few more questions. She said, "After both my parents died, my aunt took care of me. And then she brought me here." It hit my spirit for some reason. Four years ago God told me to make room for his orphans in my life. And we have a lot of them in Africa. So, what did this interaction with Magdala mean?

 

I asked her if I could pray for her. She said yes. I prayed a blessing. I prayed protection. I imagined what her parents would say if they were still living. I felt God's care for her and my eyes began to water. And I said amen. And then goodbye. And I walked out of the orphanage still wondering.

 

I do know this for sure: God loves his children and he wants us in their lives. We may see 126 orphans under a Zaman tree. He sees Magdala.

 

If you'd like to help me support Magdala, please go here & if you give, mention her name in the "note" field. I'd like to pray for her and provide for her education.

Too Many Children in our World Suffer Appalling Abuse

Today, the UN outlawed abuses inflicted on children including prostitution, pornography, and the sale of children. I don't know why this took so long, but good for them. It's good to see world leadership stepping up and doing their part to protect kids from abusers. 

What if the church stepped up to do something radical? What if the church said, "If there are any children in the world in danger of being exploited sexually or trafficked, we will take them in. We'll find families. No questions asked."

That's the kind of Acts 2 love and sacrifice that would change the world. 

New York — The United Nations on Tuesday launched a major campaign for universal adoption of treaty protocols that outlaw the sale of children, child prostitution and pornography, and protect youngsters in armed conflict, with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calling for full ratification by 2012.

"The sad truth is that too many children in today's world suffer appalling abuse," he told a ceremony at the headquarters of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in New York, marking the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the two optional protocols strengthening the Convention on the Rights of the Child by providing a moral and legal shield for youngsters vulnerable to prostitution and pornography or caught up in armed conflict.

"Two-thirds of all member states have endorsed these instruments. On this tenth anniversary of their adoption, I urge all countries to ratify them within the next two years."

Mr. Ban cited recent advances: the release three months ago by the Maoist army in Nepal, under UN supervision, of more than 2,000 soldiers who had been recruited as children; the UN-assisted freeing of children from the ranks of armed groups In Côte d'Ivoire; the prosecution by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of former Congolese militia leader, Thomas Lubanga for war crimes against children.

He noted, too, that fewer and fewer states now permit children to join the armed forces and reiterated his previous calls to the Security Council to consider tough measures on those states and insurgent groups that still recruit children. From AllAfrica.com.

Absolutely Shocking - You Must Read This Article

As we go about our normal lives, the global problem of child prostitution has come to roost right in our cities. This is clearly the most disturbing piece I have read about what is happening in the United States. Dan Rather has just released a report that girls as young as 10 years old are trafficked in US cities. What's interesting is that he mentions that we all think this is only happening in places like Moldova and Thailand. Not true.

He also brings to light how pedofiles find these children. You guessed it, Craigslist. I wrote in This Post how important it was for us to speak out and act about what this company is doing to allow this. Here a direct quote for the article: 

"How many children are being peddled on the streets of Portland and in other cities and towns, to say nothing of the Internet (Justus and other law enforcement people say Craigslist, along with other Internet sites, are major factors in the spread of child prostitution)."

This should disturb you. I pray it disturbs you to action. Go to SheIsPriceless.com and join our fight to help prevent and rescue girls and children from these traffickers. 

The full article can be found here. The video of the report here.

Dan Rather - Child prostitution has become a national problem in this country. Yes, I know that you have trouble believing that. You don't want to believe it, so you tend not to.

"Widespread sex trafficking in children?", you may be saying to yourself. "Sure, it happens overseas in places like Thailand and Moldova, and while there may be some of it here there's not that much of it in our country."

Based on a months long investigation and some reportorial digging, I'm here to tell you that you are wrong. We all are. We're in denial.

In covering news for more than 60 years, I'd like to think that few stories shock me anymore. But this is one of them. We ran across it late last year and the more we dug, the more disturbing it became.

Eighty-year-old men paying a premium to violate teenage girls, sometimes supplied by former drug gangs now into child sex trafficking big time? You've got to be kidding. Nope. That's happening and a lot more along the same lines.

The business is booming. One of the worst areas for it runs along lines running roughly from Seattle to Portland, to San Francisco and Los Angeles, to Las Vegas. But no place in the country is immune.

To pick just one example among many, Portland, Oregon is without doubt one of the nation's treasures. It has been voted one of the best places to live and work. But according to police, the city and its outlying communities has become a hub for the sexual exploitation of children. In a recent nationwide sting by Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, Portland ranked second in the country for the number of rescued child prostitutes. And according to Doug Justus, the workhorse sergeant in charge of Portland's tiny Vice Detail, many of the children caught up in this are middle class kids from the area.

A Sex Crazed Culture at the World Cup

There are a lot of things heading to South Africa for the World Cup this summer. For starters, I'll be going with my two boys and 21 other people. We'll be doing ministry in Johannesburg and Capetown and catching a few games while we're at it. I'll also be live blogging and uploading pictures and video for you to see. I have no idea what to expect because I've never been to anything quite like this. 

But this is what will shock you: THERE ARE ALSO 1 BILLION CONDOMS heading to South Africa. When I saw that number I couldn't believe it. Really?! Is humanity that sex crazed?! Everyone is planning on making big money from everyone's sexual appetite; taxi drivers, pimps, strip clubs, hotel concierge's, sauna's, message parlors. And all of this in an area that has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in the world. 

The result? Aborted fetuses, orphaned babies, boys and girls sex trafficked and forced to serve 40-60 clients a day, violence, abuse, and a ton of HIV spread for these folks to take home with them and infect others. This is absolutely heartbreaking. The world is in desperate need of a Savior. 

CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- South Africa and the World Cup: 1 Billion Condoms and 40,000 Workers. The taxi drivers hustling around the bars on Long Street in Cape Town say they are ready for all the soccer fans that will flood the city in June for the World Cup. So are hotels, restaurants, breweries and, inevitably, prostitutes.

Arguably, the soccer World Cup is to the sex industry what the holiday season is to candy shops. A temporary surge of excited people feeling collectively festive, willing to pay for a bit of extra indulgence.

South Africa's Drug Central Authority estimates 40,000 sex workers will trickle in for the event from as far as Russia, the Congo and Nigeria to cater to the wide taste spectrum of some 400,000, mostly male, visitors and their apres-soccer needs.

Henry Africa, 49, drives a taxi in Cape Town and, aside from the usual airport pickups and winery tours, he also operates the "Bright Red Tour," which he expects to be a hit among soccer fans. For the equivalent of 500 dollars, he'll shuttle customers from strip bar to strip bar all night and even bring them over to a safe-sex practicing prostitute, a relevant selling point in a country where one in five adults are estimated to be HIV positive.

Over the years as a cabbie, he says he has seen it all: men hoping to try sex with someone HIV-positive, men getting drugged, beat up and robbed because they thought they could find what they needed on their own. Read the rest of the article here, from the Huffington Post.

She Is Priceless - The New Web Site + Free Stuff

Today marks the launch SheisPriceless.com a new Web site devoted to the release of Priceless and a resource center for prayer, learning, and action on behalf of the victims of sex trafficking around the world. We are calling this campaign "Help Wanted."

Many girls respond to a "Help Wanted" ad for what they think is a glamorous new job and lots of money.

Instead they find themselves trapped as forced prostitutes. Some are raped up to 40 times each day. Raped for profit. But there is another meaning to "Help Wanted."

"Help Wanted" is the cry of 2 million children who are powerless to rescue and free themselves from the sex trade.

They need our help--to help educate others and prevent sex trafficking, to support those brave men and women who carry out rescue operations to free children from slavery, and to heal and care for those victims of sex trafficking.

We've packed the site with resource for you to dig into, and two special gifts! Right now you can download the first chapter of Priceless and the FULL VERSION of Scared. Go to http://www.sheispriceless.com and enter your information to receive access to the private download page.

The free version of Scared will only be available until May 10...so don't wait.

Also, our new site has a free 5-day devotional for you and your family, Sunday School, Bible Study, class, or small group. I've posted day one below, but you can get the full download at SheisPriceless.com.

Priceless 5 Day Devotional

Day 1: Deceit

Scenario:

Marina, from Priceless, represents thousands of girls across the world.  Girls who have had all hope stolen from them.  Girls who have spent their whole life in an orphanage and as early as fourteen years old they get kicked to the streets to fend for themselves.  Girls wondering where their next meal is going to come from.  Girls spending cold nights dreaming of better life.  These girls are approached by nice looking men, the first person who has looked at them kindly in months.  The men tell the young girls everything they want to hear.  They tell them that they will give them a promising job.  The job will be an opportunity to nanny in a foreign country making more money than the young girl ever dreamed possible.

Imagine yourself (or your daughter):

Living on the streets.  Imagine the hopelessness of not having a job and living on the cold streets.  Imagine your dreams for a better life and what they would include.  Imagine having no one to turn to for comfort or advice.  Now, imagine yourself being approached with a job opportunity-one that sounds too good to be true.  What do you have to lose? Maybe, just maybe, your life is going to turn around like you’ve always dreamed.

Unfortunately, this job is not a nanny or waitress job after all.  What these girls do not know is that they are going to be trafficked and forced into a life of sexual slavery.

Suggested Reading:

Priceless Chapters 6-11

Statistic to think on today:

Every 2 minutes, a child is being prepared for sexual exploitation

Scriptures to study:

Psalm 43:1 – Vindicate me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation; rescue me from deceitful and wicked men.

Psalm 120:2 – Save me, O LORD, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues.

Psalm 144:11 – Deliver me and rescue me from the hands of foreigners whose mouths are full of lies, whose right hands are deceitful.

Prayer Focus:

Pray that the Lord will close the eyes of those seeking vulnerable girls to traffic
Pray that the girls’ eyes would be opened to truth and they would flee

Durban, South Africa - Partnership with Children's HopeChest and Focus on the Family

Children's Hopechest & Focus on the Family South Africa from Tom Davis on Vimeo.

Exciting News - Opening a New Country in Africa

On Saturday morning I'm leaving for South Africa. This country is #1 in the number of AIDS orphans in the world with over 1.4 million. The total number of orphans is 3.4 million, a massive amount of children trying to survive without one or both parents.

This is a partnership formed between Children's Hopechest and Focus on the Family that's been in the works for a number of years now. Focus will help us recruit churches and sponsors for the many orphans will be ministering to through media, print and radio. I'll meet with Amon, the President of Focus on the Family Africa, to assess ministry sites and see the needs. 

Then, we'll be off to Swaziland for a few days to visit our staff and see the carepoints. Riaan Heyns, the missions pastor at New Life Church in Colorado Springs will also be in Swaziland with me. They will be sponsoring a carepoint as a church, but he's also there to see the sites Desperation and Heartwork are building. They are doing some amazing work in Swaziland! Building kitchens and schools, feeding a thousand orphans, drilling well, it's going to be incredible. 

Please pray for us! This is a fast moving trip with lots to do. I'll be posting updates, pictures and video on my blog so keep checking back or sign up to receive the email updates. 

Watch this music video of my buddy, Jon Egan of the Desperation band who will be in Swaziland in May. It's inspiring! 

OFFICIAL-Light Up the World Music Video from Desperation Band on Vimeo.

Breaking News - New Study Says Christians Give Poor People the Shaft

Please take a look at this new study. I know this can induce controversy, but it is reality and something we need to wrestle with. The post is from my friend Anne Jackson. Anne and I will be going to Moldova and Russia to help several projects that are involved with girls/orphans who have been rescued form the sex-trade industry. More to come.

The Bliss Institute recently commissioned a study on what “Conservative Religious Activists” deem important and what “Progressive Activists” deem important. You can download the study here.  but for definition’s sake:

“Conservative and progressive religious activists have distinct profiles in terms of affiliation, practice, and belief”

“Conservative religious activists are almost exclusively Christian.”

“Progressive activists are markedly more diverse in terms of religious affiliation. No single faith tradition makes up a majority of progressive religious activists.”

I’ll let the chart do it’s work, but let’s just say that only 23% of us “Christians” (the survey defined it even further as a majority of Christians being mainline protestant, um, people like you and me) think that poverty is an issue we should stand behind and fight.

The red in the survey represents a majority of “Christian” folk.

The blue is just your average, ordinary Joe.

Jesus himself said something about how people will know we are followers of Christ. (John 13:35)

According to this survey people will know we follow Christ by how much we fight gay marriage and not poverty and disease.

We care so much about abortion, about children before they are born. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

However, I’m wondering if the phrase “Sanctity of Life” in our political language should be changed to “Sanctity of the American Unborn” because according to these statistics, there are quite a few people who don’t care what happens to the child (or the parents or the siblings) once that baby is actually born.

If they these people really did care, well, actions speak louder than words…

…What about the 30,000 children who starve to death every day because of hunger?

Or the millions who die from malaria each year?

Or the millions who die from diarrhea because they have no clean water.

This is horrific.

This must change.

We must begin to engage this “Christian” world view that poverty is not an issue and help them see that caring for the poor is at the very heart of Christ.

What's It Like Arriving at an Orphanage?

Going into an Orphanage from Tom Davis on Vimeo.