The Ride Against Traffick

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Reflections on the Ride - Kim Palma

From the elder lady's point of view, The Ride Against Traffick was and remains a profound, personal transformation in every dimension of my life. Preparing to develop the physical stamina for the ride was a continuous challenge. Each time Steve and I went biking I would think of Korea, the mountains we would have to ride up, and ride down, the reason we were doing this, wondering if we were crazy or if The Lord was truly calling us to ride. Finally, knowing we were being called by Him to do this outlandish thing, for something very dear to His suffering heart. I met marvelous people on this ride. People I have come to respect and love. People who care about Jesus heart for the abandoned, deeply wounded, enslaved. I met people who serve The Lord, by serving His people, and those who will yet become His children. And I admire them. I am so grateful for this privilege. I am absolutely delighted in knowing that we will be together for all eternity, joyously worshipping and serving the Lord together. I had five days of seeing Korea unfold before me for hours on a bike. I sensed The Lord Jesus pleasure and love in what He had created, His longing for Korea to embrace Him as their God. These verses washed over and over me while worshipping God and interceding for Korea and it's people while riding across it's stunningly beautiful land. "Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, The LORD, mighty in battle! Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of Hosts, He is the King of glory! Selah Psalm 24: 7-10 I love you.....and miss you. Kim Palma PS John Choi...we never had a rematch race....maybe we should have one on our turf?

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Final Words on the Ride Against Traffick, Busan to Seoul

Riders finishing strong

At the worship service on the morning of our last day, a few of the riders and support crew took the time to express before everyone else their thoughts at the close of our trip. Here are a few of their words.

June
Rider, Gwangju

"I thought that when I finished the trip I would be so proud of myself... but after worshiping with the team I realized it's not about me going back to Gwangju and being proud of myself, it's about going back and giving glory to God. At my church right now there is no hand helping the people in the area of human trafficking. Please pray for my church and I, that we would become a light to those in need."

Lila,

Rider, Jubilee Church

"The Korean speakers are the mouthpiece for our mission - we are able to share information with people on the street because they can speak with the Korean riders and support crew. Even strangers, once they knew that we are Christians, stopped to pray for us. As internationals we can daw a lot of attention to the issue, but it's the Koreans who have the power to speak into the government and make a permanent change in this country.

Joel,

Rider

"While we were riding I saw 3 snakes completely obliterated on the road, and road kill is not very common to see in Korea.... it reminded me that, even as we are fighting sex trafficking, our real enemy Satan is already defeated. Jesus already crushed Satan under his feet."

Kim Palma,

Rider, USA

"Going though this land, it is so incredibly gorgeous - it is so worth fighting for, interceding for, and reaching out to the people who will be God's people... We pray for Korean churches to receive orphans knowing that they are God's royal family."

This year's ride from Busan to Seoul was both exhilarating and incredibly challenging. The physical strain of the riders and the mental stress of the team trying to support them were difficult for many of us to endure. To my dismay, I did not always react to the challenges as I should have. The South Korean countryside was exquisitely beautiful, and yet my heart was not always worshipful. The work we were doing was in God's service, and yet I did not always feel submitted to Him. As the computer issues piled up one after the other in rapid succession, for me the bike trip became a 5-day fight against the power of my own selfishness, weariness and exasperation.

Yet as the days went by, I also grew increasingly aware of the power of God at work within my weak self. Whatever was done well was certainly done in the strength of God, for as Paul says: "it is God who works in you both to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose." (Philippians 2:13 NIV) I believe that it was according to His good purpose that we complete the ride well and testify against sex trafficking in this country. God gave us the power to complete it, and He will watch over the money raised and the hearts of those who witnessed the event. God, who has the power to move even the hardest heart, can certainly bring justice to this country.

Next year there will be another bike trip to raise awareness against sex trafficking in South Korea, so if you have felt compelled to ride with us, begin your training now! Remember that, in the words of Thomas Paine: "The battle... is not to the strong alone. It is to the vigilant, the active, the brave." You will grow stronger if you choose to ride, and you will certainly be challenged if you choose to join the support team, but more than strength, this trip requires courage, motivation, and endurance. For those in training for next year, "let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." (Galatians 6:9 NIV)

Day 5: Yeoju to Seoul, final log

Yeoju pension house - early morning

Getting pumped for the last route into Seoul!

"To worship You I live, I live to worship You...

You are worthy of it all,

For from You are all things,

And to You are all things

You deserve the glory..."

The song filled the pension room as our entire team of 40 people came together for our last morning meeting. This day we would complete the ride from Busan to Seoul. It was the end of the Korean Chuseok holiday, and the end of our 5 day journey.

Pastor Peter spoke passionately after the worship, reminding us of the purpose of our ride. This trip was intended not just to raise awareness about sex trafficking, and not just to raise money for the rescue of at-risk orphans. Those were two aspects of the trip, but a third was to commission our members to restore the church for the cause of orphans and social justice. It would not be complete with a time of prayer for our own people. So for the last time we gathered to pray, lifting up to the Lord our gratitude for His protection all through the journey, and lifting up the members of our group who sought to be commissioned for the fight against sex trafficking. Among these people, praying with one heart for the will of God to be done and justice seen in this land, I could feel that all of the struggle and weariness of the past five days was worth it.

It was a fairly gentle ride compared to the last four days, although the weather was warm and the traffic grew denser as we approached the city. The outskirts of Seoul are vague, and without noticing the beginning of the transition, suddenly we had moved from countryside back into cityscape. The riders gathered again at Banpo park, the beginning and the end of their journey, in order to regroup for the careful route through the city blocks to end at Jubilee church. There they were warmly greeted by cheers from celebrating friends and family, and given food, drinks, t-shirts, and passes for the bathhouse nearby.

After getting cleaned up and sharing a much-needed meal, the riders, support team and friends and family of all, gathered in Jubilee church to worship, pray, and finally to watch a film about the sex trafficking industry. It was terribly moving to watch a dramatization of an adult man preying buying the opportunity to prey upon a girl, only seven years old. She had been stolen from her home and trafficked into sexual slavery, and it was so easily done, so quickly accomplished, that it was no wonder to us that even with the laws against it, human trafficking is one of the fastest growing criminal industries in the world.

After the film we listened to a lecture given by Dr. Park Son Yeong, who conducts research about the participation of Korean nationals in human trafficking both domestically and internationally. She gave us a brief summary of the context for our Ride against Traffick. In Korea, there is now no domestic anti-human trafficking law, although it complies to international law. The country itself is both a source country and a destination country for trafficking throughout Southeast Asia. Korean men often engage in sex tourism abroad, but most Koreans remain unaware of the issue of sex trafficking at all. When it comes to trafficking, children are the most vulnerable group. Pimps want to maximize their profits, and children are not only often the most valuable, but they are also the most easy to manipulate, control and exploit. Due to widespread poverty in Southeast Asia it is often necessary for children to get jobs, although they cannot hold them legally due to their age. Therefore it is often simple for a pimp to buy a child from its parents for 100 dollars, and then traffick the child into sexual slavery. If she ever contracts a disease or has another problem, she is merely tied up in a bag and thrown out with the garbage. This is the inhumanity that is perpetuated by the country's ignorance of their own sex trafficking industry. Dr. Park urged us, above all, to keep praying and to support the NGOs that fight sex trafficking by various methods.

If you want more information about this year's ride, or are interested in participating in next year's ride, please go to www.rideagainsttraffick.org or join the facebook group Ride Against Traffick.

Eating lunch on the road - one more ride into Seoul

Regrouping and prayer - team 2

Freedom riders set off again

Support team packs up the van one last time

Friends and family waiting to celebrate with the riders

Thaddeus does his part :)

VICTORY!

The Palmas arrive!

Congratulations abound

Brothers and cousins - riding together

The Palmas came from USA to South Korea, to ride with love and hope for renewal

Three years in a row these men and women have ridden and supported the Ride Against Traffick

Sharing a rest before getting cleaned up

So tired and happy to be finished

John and Marcus Ryu

David Ahn leads the community in worship at the end of the ride

Dr. Park speaks on the context for the Ride Against Traffick

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Day 4: Suanbu to Yeoju - afternoon and evening

Lunch was pleasant, in an amphitheater where we could rest together on the clean, hard stone and watch the dragonflies humming around our apple slices. Even simple things brought us so much pleasure - tomato and lettuce added to our tuna sandwiches, a little music to listen to, a shoulder massage. Each of these gifts gave us so much joy in the Lord's provision, and much more strength for the last of our journey.

The most challenging portion came towards the end when one of the members of team three got his third flat tire in the same day. His teammates went back with him to the checkpoint in order to fix the tire together, which they did with good humor.

They were soon rewarded for their patience, because almost as soon as all the members arrived at this evening's pension, the support team shuttled them over to a restaurant for a delicious dinner of samgyupsal. The team grew happier and happier as they grilled their dinner, some sitting with old friends and some with relative strangers, but all part of the family of Christ. It was a satisfying last dinner to share as a team, and one our return to the pension we also shared a last worship and prayer time.

Day 4: Suanbo to Yeoju - Morning log

The riders had a much easier day, traveling only 90 km on relatively level ground. We are coming closer and closer to Seoul - to our homes and our comforts - and both our companionship and our constant efforts are drawing to a close.

But those for whom we ride, the victims of trafficking, have not finished suffering simply because our trip is almost over. For them, the effort, the struggle, is constant. It cannot be directly relieved by the efforts of our riders, but our hope is that somehow they will reap the benefit of our work, through rescue and rehabilitation.

This day was much simpler: each stop was only about 20 km apart, and there was no mountain to climb. Often the rides brought us by a beautiful riverside, and with the cool breeze blowing it was vey refreshing. In the morning a couple of the bikes needed repair, which delayed the team momentarily, but otherwise the teams made good time.