Matt's Ride Against Traffick

This coming September 6-10, I will be participating in the third annual Ride Against Traffick. This year it will be a 600km bike ride starting in Busan and ending in Seoul.

The sex industry in South Korea is huge. Each year a large number of women from many East and Southeast Asian nations are illegally trafficked into South Korea to help meet the demand. Korean women from assorted backgrounds find themselves caught up in the industry as well, many led in through coercion and exploitation. Many also find themselves exported by traffickers to other countries such as America, Japan, and Australia. It is estimated that up to one million Korean women around the world are trapped in sexual slavery today.

The purpose of our ride is to raise awareness of the rampant sex trafficking problem in South Korea and to raise money for two great local causes making tangible efforts to put an end to these very issues.

The first is the Women Hope Center's House of Hope. House of Hope provides Gospel-centered restoration and aid to women rescued out of the sex trade in Korea. The second is Jerusalem Ministry's Oak Tree Project, which provides college scholarships and one-on-one mentorship to orphans, giving hope and opportunity to young adults who would otherwise be extremely vulnerable to exploitation.

Both ministries are gospel-focused and depend on the generosity of those who share in God's heart for the vulnerable and oppressed. All funds raised go straight to these organizations. Every bit counts so even if you can only contribute a small amount, please don't hesitate to give!

Please also join us in prayer. Pray for freedom for women that are trapped in the industry. Pray for protection of the vulnerable - the orphan, the widow, the poor, the foreigner. Pray for a change in culture, that the people of Korea would no longer stand for this injustice. Pray for the church to stand and be a voice for the voiceless, that we will truly be the hands and feet of Jesus.

Thank you for your support and prayers!

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.