Kristen Hendricks

Dear Family and Friends,

Hello! I hope you are doing well. I’m doing the “Ride Against Traffick,” which is a 5-day bike from Busan to Seoul, because I believe God’s heart BURNS to see the oppressed set free and made whole. As a disciple of Jesus, I believe I’ve been called to “proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound” (Isaiah 61:1). As I do the Ride Against Traffick, I’m raising money that will go directly to two organizations: House of Hope and Oak Tree Project. These two organizations directly combat sex trafficking here in Seoul. House of Hope is a “Gospel-centered, restorative place for women in the Korea who are survivors of sex-trafficking.” Oak Tree Project is a scholarship fund/mentorship program for college-aged orphans. Orphans are targeted by pimps for the sex slavery because they have no family ties, so Oak Tree Project seeks to provide a loving support system for orphans by not only providing for their financial needs but also spiritual, relational, and emotional needs. For more information on these two organizations, check out these websites:

http://give.whckorea.org/houseofhope
http://www.oaktreeproject.com/

I ask that you please prayerfully consider giving to the Ride. I’ve spent hours training for this ride because I believe that it is powerful when the people of God stand up for what’s right. If you decide to give, you can pay through paypal, Korean bank transfer, or by mailing a check. My goal is to raise 6,250,000 krw (roughly $6,000) which when split between House of Hope and OTP, is enough for half a scholarship for an orphan.

Training for this ride has had its ups and downs, especially through hill training (haha, bad biking joke). However, I’ve been training since May and I can honestly say that I LOVE biking. So, advocating for justice will riding my bike seems pretty perfect to me  My person vision for this ride and what I cling to when I feel like I want to quit is this verse from Hebrews 12:1-2. “[L]et us run (or ride) with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand throne of God.”

Thank you for your support!
Kristen

UPDATE: We have exceeded our original goal of 20 million won! Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed so far. But it's not too late to give! Let's see if we can hit 30 million now!

Details:
Dates: 2014 Chuseok weekend Sep 6-10 (Saturday to Wednesday)
Route: 4 Rivers Cycle Path from Busan to Seoul (riders will take the KTX to Busan, and the bikes will be sent via truck ahead of time). We'll cover approximately 120-135 km per day.
Worship and Prayer: Each night we'll have an optional worship and prayer meeting.  Sunday morning we will have an optional worship service before we depart for the day.
Cost:  Still TBD, but in the neighborhood of 120,000 - 150,000 plus money for meals.
Who:  Anyone who is cleared physically by a doctor to join and willing to train.  Novice to expert levels are welcome.  We are also in need of support crew volunteers.
Sign Up Deadline:  Cyclists and support crew volunteers should contact John Choi (johnchoi80@gmail.com) by June 15th.  After June 15th cyclists will be put on a waiting list.

Objectives:
1. Raise awareness about the injustice of human trafficking, especially sex trafficking, as well as the plight of orphans (high risk targets of pimps/traffickers) in Korea. Awareness is spread through each involved person's relationships, social circles and social networks - there will be daily updates as we bike from Busan to Seoul.
2. Raise funds for House of Hope (Korea's only gospel-centered restoration center for trafficked victims) and Oak Tree Project (college scholarship and mentoring program for true orphans).  We raise funds through our website www.rideagainsttraffick.org
3. Pray for leaders, laws, law enforcement, society/culture perspective, pimps/traffickers, johns, and victims. Pray for justice. Pray for churches and Christians to rise up, live out the gospel in caring for the orphans, marginalized, and oppressed.

Requirements:
1. A road bike or hybrid bike, front and rear lights, helmet. Biking shorts highly recommended.
2. Physical / doctor approval of health
3. Training - Cyclists must commit to ride 20 km 3x a week and to taking one longer ride per week.  We have a group that is already training in Seoul and the Incheon group will start next week.