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Upgrades!

The Rogers family is Upgrading!

Since we moved to Norway, our friends have been allowing us to use this small electric car. It has a range of about 10 miles so it has been helpful in getting us around locally, getting groceries, getting to the local train station, and getting to the YWAM base. As much of a blessing as this little blue beast has been, it has had its limits. 

So now, its time for some upgrades.

For the first time since we've lived in Europe (about 8 years), we find it necessary to get a car of our own.

• In our previous locations we had access to cheap public transport. But now, in a more rural location with a longer commute, the need for a car of our own has manifested. 
• We used to be able to get by with the occasional car rental with an American driver's license. Now, because of the frequency we actually have to drive places on our own, it has finally become necessary with our residence permit that Sean get an actual European license!
• Our family of 3 just barely fits into the little blue car we've had access to. With an addition of a second child, we won't be able to squeeze in. 
• We definitely cannot fit a stroller into the blue car. To actually travel together as a family anywhere we need a larger vehicle. 
• Our hospital is a little bit further away, beyond the range of this small electric car, so while we have the possibility of borrowing a friends car as an emergency option, we really need a car capable of driving normal distances. 
• The ministry we've been able to connect with has a safe house near of Oslo.  We've been able to get away with using the train to commute to Oslo, but we have been invited to stay and work at safe-house, as a family, for a couple weekends a month. With the expense, and multiple journey legs, involved in getting there with this frequency, having a car would make this trip much more doable . 

We ask that you please consider partnering with us with special financial gifts towards the cost of exchanging the drivers license and towards the purchase of a car. 

Drivers license costs could vary: right now my practical test to finalize my Norwegian license is in a city about an hour away. For the test, you have to take a driving lesson and rent a "driving school car" (one with pedals for the driving instructor in the passenger seat). If I can find an appointment in a closer city, and reschedule it, it could be a little cheaper. If an earlier time in the nearby town does not become available: my current appointment on August 27th. The cost for a license will be anywhere from about $750 to about $850 depending on the exchange rate. 

We are also looking to by a used car. Here in Norway it looks like we could find a worthwhile older car for between $2000 and $4000. 

All and all, for this transition to being a European driver, we are hoping to raise around $5000.

Please prayerfully consider being a part of facilitating this need. Obviously it would be a blessing to us as a family, but our hope is that it will allow us to be a greater blessing to others as well!

Thanks for all your prayers and support in this season!

Sean, Theresa, and Ella 

Rogers family outreach - Greece!

One of the hot topics globally right now is the refugee crisis. Migrants from the middle east have fled to Europe via Greece in search of better lives. Over the course of the past year many of the countries in Europe, including Hungary (where we are now located), have closed their boarders to refugees. This means that many of the refugees who have fled to Europe are stuck in Greece and are living in difficult conditions. Many of these refugees are still hopeful of moving past Greece and further into the European union, but with the system inundated by the sheer volume of people many are stuck in Greece, desperate, and unable to proceed further. Many of these people are falling prey to various types of exploitation. While countries across Europe and the rest of the globe are trying to aid the situation via donations, there is still a great need for physical presence on the ground in Greece.

Migrants stranded in Athens gathering in one of the cities squares. 

As a family we saw this as a simple opportunity to serve practically. There are several NGO's across the city of Athens with warehouses full of clothes needing to be sorted so they can be distributed to the refugees who need them. Only a handful of people are working on it full time - day in and day out and progress is slow. 

Thousands of pounds of donations, on hundreds of pallets, waiting to be sorted. 

Ella "helping" pull some clothes out of a children's clothing bag. Clothes will be seperated into more specific categories and sizes for distribution.  

We were able to connect with a couple of ministries and spend some time helping practically by sorting clothes. At the warehouse pictured here, only a handful of people are sorting through these clothes full time helped by random teams pitching in periodically. It seems an insurmountable task. The team is sorting clothes into men's, women's, children's. They are sorting hygiene products and toiletries, backpacks, and separating damaged or moldy clothes from usable ones. Once sorted into these rough categories, they are sorted further into sizes and types of clothes to be distributed to camps and drop-in centers. During our short time there we estimate that we sorted somewhere around 600 to 800 pounds of clothing!

At the end of the day the work there felt like a drop in a large ocean, but were grateful to be able to serve and befriend the tired team who work there every day. Several of them were refugees themselves, and for all of them, having a happy baby and some extra helping hands was a big blessing and a highlight of their day. 

Later in the week we were able to participate in another ministry actually reaching out to refugees in the camps. After a day at one ministry helping prepare and serve a meal, connecting with some refugee families, we were able to visit one of the refugee camps in Athens. 

Tent city in the old Athen's Airport terminal.

Tent city in the old Athen's Airport terminal.

"Miss you dear Mom" - Many of the families get separated or lose family members on the journey to Greece.

The camp we visited is set up in an out-of-use airport. After entering the dilapidated terminal, you enter to find a massive tent city inside. We ran into a family we'd met the day before and they were gracious enough to invite us for tea in their 'house'. Even though they have very little, they welcomed us with generosity and hospitality. We were able to fellowship over tea and a bowl of raisins. It was a blessing to be able to listen to their stories and their hopes, share some laughs, and let them know they are heard, cared for, and that we will keep them in our prayers. The mother of the family even gave Ella a pair of baby booties which she had knit herself. 

Ella makes friends wherever she goes. 

---

Cecilia, founder of Threads of Hope

Also there in Athens, we were able to connect with some counter-trafficking ministries. One ministry in particular has become very dear to Theresa's heart. A woman who has been engaging this issue in Greece for some time has taken the leap into starting small business to help give some of the girls a way out.

The Threads of Hope workshop. 

The business called Threads of Hope, is creating and selling beautifully crafted tote bags and other handmade items to help employ women trying to get out of prostitution. Theresa is a passionate and talented artist behind a sewing machine, so she was excited to be able to sit in with the girls and spend some time ministering to them and creating with them. We would love to champion this business/ministry venture and see them succeed. 

---

All-in-all Greece was a good trip and a great first of what we hope will be many "family outreaches" to come. 

During our last weekend we were able to do a little sightseeing up at the Acropolis. During this little excursion Ella developed an affinity for trying to eat rocks. At least if she's going to eat rocks, she's eating famous, historically significant ones. The girl's got taste. haha

Ella is 10 months old now!

Encouraging Ella to NOT to eat bits of the Acropolis.

Family picture time!

From Christmas into the New Year

Huge blocks of ice float down the Danube river in central Budapest with the below freezing tempuratures this winter. 

For our first year as a family of three, we rounded off the year with a Christmas party for some refugees at a nearby asylum house. Many of these refugees are from places like Sudan, Afganistan, or Somalia. Its been great being able to go and spend time with these families as a family, teaching English and building relationships. Lots of the families have kids so bringing Ella is great fun. 

Theresa making Christmas advent wreaths with the women at the Safe-house.

As we are getting underway into the new year, Sean has partnered with a team doing outreach in a park area outside of downtown here in Budapest. The dynamics of outreach here can be challenging. There are both men and women engaging in prostitution in this area.

One of the ladies we talked to was there out of desperation, living out of a homeless shelter and desperate to make some money to feed herself and her little dog named Raisin. We gave her a Bible and prayed for her. Please pray that she is able to overcome hopelessness and realize God's love for her. Also, please pray for us to continue to have good encounters with people as we continue to do outreach in this area. 

Burning Oil drums outside Budapest at one of the 'spots' serve as pickup points.

Outreach area at the outskirts of downtown Budapest

Thanks to all of your help, Hope Dies Last finally has 'The Book of Love' in all six languages!!!

Our family has experienced a lot of health challenges the past few months. Please be in prayer that we can get healthy, healed, and back up to full capacity again. 

Ella looking at things : the Budapest Parliament Building

New Family, New Perpective

At the end of April this year, we decided to have ice cream. Theresa sat down on the couch ready to enjoy her peanut butter and chocolate bar of creamy goodness after a long day. Suddenly, suprised, she exclaimed, "Did I Just pee myself?" After rushing to the restroom, we realized: no, Theresa was not incontinent, her water had broken! A short bus ride (yes, yes I know we should have taken a taxi, but it was fine), and about 12 hours later, we had our lovely little girl:

Ella Cohen Rogers.  

They say having kids will change your life... this is correct. As a friend of ours said about simply "living life" with a new baby: it was like learning a whole new language. For the first month Sleep? Showers? Eating dinner? What are those things?

However, as some time has passed we've been able to slowly learn how to function again. But all that being said, being new parents on a mission field has still been challenging and has been teaching us a lot about ourselves. 

---

The past few months Theresa has been able to resume teaching handmade art classes in a women's center, she's been able to work on some merchandising for a conference our team put on here in Budapest, and has also been able to participate in a local outreach to female refugees from the middle east. Sean has spent a lot of his time working on the beginning stages of a new video for the ministry we are partnering with in Russia.

Theresa's embroidery class/Bible study time at the womens center.

---

 We have just returned to Budapest from a big trip to the states. We were in southern California as well as a brief stint in the Smokey Mountains visiting supporters and building relationships. This trip was full and busy but we are grateful to be able to look back see that we've made some new/stronger connections and friendships. Much of our time was spent connecting with The Flipside church in southern California. This was truly a blessing.

Mexico mini-outreach with Flipside young adults group. 

We were able to teach in their young adult group, and go on a mini outreach to Mexico with them. Flipside also partnered with us by making little gift packages to pass out to men and women involved in sexual exploitation here in Europe. We are excited to distribute the packages in the coming months. 

Prayer time after speaking to young adult group.

young adult group making care packages

Now back in Budapest we are excited for the coming season. As a family we are excited to be doing more outreach together. Please be in prayer with us. 

-Greater sense of community outside of our small team. We have yet to find a church in Budapest where we feel really "at home." pray that we are able to find a place in the coming season. 

-Sean is looking to shift focus from media to sharpening himself in personal ministry skills such as counseling. During this season of diving into outreach and ministry skills development pray for Sean to find the right fit to develop deeper skills while still working in the ministry field in Budapest. 

-Pray for Theresa's work at the women's center as she continues to develop deeper relationships with the women there. 

-Please pray for us or partner with us as we are still seeking to expand our support team, so that we can be functioning in a sustainable way,long term, in the field. 

ps. To our friends we missed this trip, we had a jam packed schedule, especially with a new child,  and we weren't able to travel down to Florida, or even to connect with everyone we wanted to, even in the places we were able to visit. You are not forgotten, and we are sorry we missed you.Theresa is trying to write some letters so keep a lookout in your mailboxes.

Russia Project.... Some assembly Required

Sergei and his team have been helping women out of prostitution in Moscow. When we first heard of their ministry, we set out to support them with practical service. We were able to give them some necessary media tools to help their ministry grow. Now, having rescued dozens of women from sexual exploitation in Moscow, we are updating the team's media. So for most of March our team ventured north to Russia. 

For an added bit of excitement, Theresa was very pregnant on this trip. This made for a nervous, Father-to-be, Sean, as Theresa traversed the icy streets of Moscow's suburbs.

Despite a few "slippy-slidey" moments, we were both still able to get a lot accomplished without injury. Here is Theresa on one of the outreaches to a gypsy camp. 

Sean and the rest of the team were able to shoot a lot of video and were able to conduct several interviews. 

In addition to interviewing the team working to rescue girls there, we were able to interview a group of women who were survivors of being trafficked to Russia from Africa. 

Tricked into working in prostitution, these women have been through hell up until now. But after taking the risk of escape and pursuing freedom, these courageous girls are glad to be going home with hope for a brighter future. We are grateful these girls were willing to share some of their stories with us, and we are glad to be able to aid the workers making the rescue and repatriation process possible.   

Now, back in Budapest, with a baby on the way,  the "fun part" begins. Assembling all of our footage into a video that will serve the needs of the ministry and rally people to engage the issue of human trafficking. 

Please pray that God will guide the process of telling the Russian ministry's story effectively. Our hope for this video is that it will be a powerful tool for them to continue raising support and building their ministry. An additional "side effect" of the last video was that other teams were able to use our video as an educational tool to help others understand trafficking and help avoid and prevent being trafficked. Our hope is that this video will have the same scope of use. 

....And if you wouldn't mind, pray for us. We are going to be a family of 3 sometime in the next couple of weeks. : D

Please visit the "parter" page above to support our ministry!

В Россию с любовью

(To Russia with Love)

Table of contents

• We are going Back to Russia to support the human trafficking rescue ministry there!
• We need prayer for our visas to come through in time!
• Theresa is doing on online Bible School (FBSBS)
• Please consider supporting this trip!

To Russia!

Once again, our team is headed to Russia! In 2012 we went to Russia to bless a team there working to rescue trafficked women. We were able to make this video to help their ministry:

Since that time, their ministry has raised support, grown in size, and rescued dozens more women. So now our team is going back to make an up-to-date video to support their team. 

As per usual, it seems the Russia visa process is ever tricky. What we thought would be a simple process became very complicated. In Budapest, we would not have been able to procure visa's in time for travel. After searching for other, faster options, we have ended up quickly rushing to Latvia (we already were planning on stopping for some meetings anyhow) to get the application process started. 

So here we are in Riga Latvia, applying for Russian visas. While we are are here we will be meeting with a local ministry to women in prostitution. We will also be meeting with and working with the leader of this ministry to plan networking conference for those in this type of ministry later this year. 

Theresa in Bible School

In the midst of All of this, Theresa is enrolled in an intensive Bible study course with YWAM.  A Field worker's School of Biblical studies. She has wanted to bolster her Biblical foundation for quite sometime, and finding that they have on 'online' version of the School of Biblical Studies course available for people on the field was quite exciting. The school is broken down into nine sections (modules), lasting three months each. Theresa is excited to be able to further equip herself to make EVEN MORE impact on the mission field. 

Support Us

The process involved in getting to, and being in Moscow, and even Theresa's school, are special circumstances that take us above and beyond our current level of financial support. While we are always looking for new people to join our monthly support team, we are also asking now for special gifts to fund this trip specifically.

The costs of this trip for Theresa and I

(including visas, travel, and housing)

will be an estimated $1,694 

We are asking that you please consider sending us to Russia this spring. You can send your special gifts to help fund this trip by clicking the PayPal link below. 

2015 a (Re)Productive year

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This year has been a productive year as well as a 're-productive.' 

Since last autumn we've been on a whirlwind of a ride. Within a month of getting married Theresa and I moved to a completely new country to the both of us. This year has been quite the adjustment. As we are learning about one another we had to simultaneously learn how to do life, as well as ministry, in a new city. In spite of that we've had a pretty eventful year:

• We moved, to a new city
• Moved into a new office
• Travelled throughout the region establishing new relationships and new means of serving
• Established connections to ministries within Budapest
• Started serving at a safe-house for women brought out of prostitution  
• Served refugees in Budapest
• Designed the Book of Love in 6 languages.
• Promoted the Book of Love
• Raised thousands of dollars to get it printed
• Started the process of distributing the first 3 languages across Europe
• We had 8 event nights spanning from Hungary to Czech, from Germany to Belgium
• We distributed 1000s of copies
• We equipped and connected to ministries and saw ministries connecting to one another. 
• We supported a missions base in Norway with a promotional video
• and taught a group of students just starting in missions about worldview, justice and biblical sexuality. 

To our supporters, 

We are so grateful for enabling us to do the things we do. Your faithfulness has enabled every bit of the impact counteracting Human Trafficking and bringing hope to those in sexual exploitation this year. This is as much your accomplishment as it is ours. 

To top it all of Theresa and I discovered in Norway that we have a new addition on the way, in the month of May we will have a little one joining us. We are excited to be starting a family on the mission field. The coming year we are planning on reconnecting with our friends in Russia and supporting them with fresh media to keep their ministry going. We will also print and distribute the next three languages of the Book of Love.

 Also, we are hosting the Shine Conference here in Hungary. The Shine conference brings together ministries across the world who are working in the field of Human trafficking ministry to connect with one another and be encouraged. We are excited to see how the next year unfolds! 

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THE BOOK of LOVE!

    The long awaited Book of Love Project has finally come to fruition! For over a year our team has had the desire to equip ministries with a tool to effectively communicate the gospel to those involved in trafficking and sexual exploitation. With issues of worthlessness, and feeling unlovable by God being commonplace in Red-light districts across Europe, we set out with a goal to get the truth of the good news of Jesus into these places in all of the needed languages. 

After months of designing, planning, internships, and obtaining copy-write permissions, translating of supplemental content, and multi-lingual page layouts, we are finally able to hold the first three languages in our hands.

In a van packed with English, Czech,  and German Bibles,
we set out on our a tour to distribute the book and encourage ministries across Europe. Over two weeks, we hosted several events. Our team connected with seventeen different ministries and hundreds of people. We spoke about trafficking issues, Biblical justice and Biblical sexuality and true intimacy. We encouraged people to support their local red-light ministries, and equipped these ministries with over one-thousand books.

Over the course of the tour, we received great feedback about the book from the ministries who received it as well and the event attendees. We were able to connect with men who are inspired to take a stand against lust, and even women who have come out of the industry. It was great to see various ministries working in the same region coming together in unity. Several ministries are already reporting more involvement from local believers. We are excited that the Book of Love is off to a great start. 

In the coming weeks we will be printing and shipping the remaining three of our six languages (Bulgarian, Romanian, and Hungarian) and continuing to distribute the book to other ministries across Europe. We are continuing to receive requests from ministries across Europe who want to use the book as they reach out to those involved in trafficking and we are excited to finally be able to meet this need.

In the coming weeks our team will be
traveling back to Germany for a week
to teach in a Discipleship training school.

We will teach on Biblical justice, sexuality
and how to address issues of injustice by engaging in cultural transformation.

We are praying that we are able to
communicate God's heart for these issues
clearly, and in a way that inspires action.

New kids on the block

Greetings Family, and Friends, New and Old,

It has been a fun, stretching, renewing and growing first part of the year. For those of you that don’t know me, I am Theresa, and I get the privilege of being Sean’s wife. Some of you may be wondering who is this girl? Sean and I both come from "orange states" just 2,475 miles away, no big deal. Our paths didn't cross state side but in Herrnhut, Germany in 2010.  I love old Volkswagens, fairy tales, and the forest, with all of the magical creatures that live inside. I enjoy getting lost in books, especially ones with adventure. I can’t help but want to learn all sorts of handmade arts. We bonded over photography, country music (yup, I said it), our passion for justice and using our talents for His Kingdom.

After becoming a 'Rogers' joining the Hope Dies Last team has been a big adventure for me. Sean and I have had new experiences together: food, languages, culture and community. In this last six months we have had the privilege of traveling through a bit of the Balkans and meeting some of the field workers. Our trip through the Balkans was a glimpse into how beautiful and wonderful this region is, and what a warm culture it brings to society. In each place we arrived God gave new perspective to us as a team and as individuals. We saw missionaries laying down their lives for Jesus and committing to serve in places where years could pass before they see the fruit of their work.

Having just recently moved into the Region of central Europe, the past few months have been a phase of overcoming the feeling that we are the new kids on the block. Being as relational as this region is, people don't like getting to know you over the internet. Facebook and email, are horrible ways of networking in this part of the world. Meet someone face to face however, and you're friends for life. So, the past couple months included a lot of travel, and a lot of meetings.

The one family who impacted me the most was a young couple. Even though they recently went through a traumatic event, their love and commitment to God never faltered. They seek to see people come to know Jesus in a meaningful and lasting way. Their country has less than 1% Evangelical Christians and yet they seek to bring hope to the existing Christ followers, while taking time to invest in those that still don’t believe, and are waiting patiently for them to come to know Him.

After a trip through the Balkan region (pictured below), we attended a counter-trafficking conference in Romania. We were able to reconnect with teams we've worked with, as well as meet new teams working in the region. We had a great time connecting with the team from Moscow that we've worked with in the past. They are eager for us to visit and work with them again. At the end of it all we have made a lot of new friends and valuable relationships that span the central European region.

Our team's main focus right now is the "Book of Love" project. It's a tool we've been developing to equip fieldworkers engaging the issue of sexual exploitation. The book will contain the Gospel of John; as well as additional content geared specifically towards the issues faced by those involved in the sex industry. We have been working to gather content, art work, obtaining copyright permissions for multiple languages, and gathering submissions from others with experience in this field.

Our team also has the privilege of working with two design interns from John Brown University. With them here we are now full speed ahead with piecing the book together. We are excited to be able to distribute this book to ministry teams across the region! You will soon be hearing much more about this project,  and if you want a better look, check it out at:

www.hopedieslast.org/thebookoflove

THE BALKANS

Serbia

Montenegro

Albania

Kosovo

Croatia

Bosnia

A Wedding, a Poorly Timed Stomach Virus, and a Move to Budapest

      I would like to introduce Theresa. Theresa and I have been working with the same missions organization for about the same length of time. Middle of last year we started dating and quickly realized that God was calling us in the same direction, and was calling us there together. So we decided to get married. 

     So, on October 11th, We tied the knot, as they say.  The wedding was lovely, we got married in North Carolina in the woods behind my parents home, and then had a lovely little picnic reception. While the ceremony was great, the day was... well funny. Theresa and I always talk about how a wedding isn't about the wedding day its about the marriage. So I find it funny that what followed the ceremony quickly launched us from wedding ceremony into marriage, and quickly initiated Theresa into the Rogers' family. 

     I have always had a weak stomach. On family vacations growing up my dad would always carry around ziplock bags in case I, or one of my siblings, had to throw up out of the blue. Us Rogers kids seemed to have proclivity for throwing up at inconvenient times and places. So, I probably shouldn't have been surprised after the reception when I started feeling nauseous as we were getting ready to set out on the two and a half hour drive for our honeymoon spot.  

    About ten minutes out of the driveway I had to pull over. I barely got out of the car before projectile vomiting...I now remembered that there was a stomach bug going around. Ten minutes later again I had to pull over. After this cycle repeating 4 or 5 times, I no longer had the strength to drive the rental car and had my new wife take over. From there it was now her job to pull over every few minutes for me to spill my guts. We are sure there are probably some photos online somewhere from puke #350 where I was laying in the back seat, head hanging out of the car, heaving, while Theresa was pumping gas in her wedding dress. The last bit of our now FIVE and a half hour trip was on a main highway with no pull-offs. "No place to pull off? just get there." I said, reenacting my childhood as I grabbed a nearby plastic bag that just happened to be in the back seat. "BARFFF."

Later Theresa would have to drive around holding this 'puke bag' as we didn't want to smell up our honeymoon cabin with the smell of vomit. At the end of the night when my puke-o-rama had finally ended, I was able to utter to my wife "welcome to the Rogers family, you have been initiated.  While an unpleasant few hours, I look back on this as a funny story. A small reminder that marriage isn't about smiles and dressing up and eating cake. Its about being there for one another when you're having a gastro - intestinal apocalypse. 

In sickness and in health. 

In other news, our ministry has dreamt about moving to a more strategic location for the past couple of years. Our dreams are finally realized as our whole team has now moved to and settled into the city of Budapest. Over the past couple months Theresa and I have made our apartment into a home and were able to get settled in over the holidays. 

Now that everyone is settled, we are getting back into the swing of ministry. We are looking at an office space to work from and are hopefully moving in over the course of the next week or two. Our team leader Amy has been connecting with people local outreaches to women in prostitution. And we already have a busy schedule for this year connecting with ministries and anti-trafficking organizations throughout the region in countries such as Kosovo, Romania, and Greece. 

Please pray for us as we get back into the swing of things in our new location! 

Theresa and Sean 

We're Moving to Budapest!

As some of you know our ministry Hope Dies Last has wanted to move to a more strategic location for some time now. Over the last few months we've been exploring what that looks like and praying about a few different possibilities.  As we went to visit the regional leadership of Ywam Central Europe seeking their wisdom, our eyes began to open to the potential that the city of Budapest held.

Moving to Budapest, our ministry will be working directly under the YWAM Central European office. We are excited to be able to work with a team that is focused on an entire region. As a ministry focusing on the issue of Human Trafficking in the field of Europe, this represents a move upstream towards the problem. In Red-light districts in Western Europe and Germany, anywhere from 60-80% of the women working there are from Central and Eastern Europe. Moving to Budapest puts us in a geographically strategic location, with easy, and affordable, accessibility to everywhere else in Central and Eastern Europe. Working with a regionally focused office also puts us a step up on our ability to network within the region. As we continue this work, relationships with the people working throughout these fifteen countries is critical. (Central Europe consists of fifteen countries including, Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and Slovakia) 

While Budapest represents a strategic step in our regional work, it is also a "livable city" that we see ourselves planting roots in as we pursue our long term goals for the region. In addition, when we are "home" Budapest also possesses ample opportunity for constant local outreach: it has its own red-light areas, homeless and gypsy population. 

Over the next few years we are planning to continue to work with front line trafficking ministries within the region. But another passion that we have at Hope Dies Last, is to facilitate and equip those on the ground to engage in ministry in the areas of sexual exploitation. We hope in the coming season: to develop media packets, to equip teams on the ground to set up prevention programs, and to facilitate training to help people engage with ministry in areas of prostitution. A project we are currently developing is a booklet similar to the Jesus Loves PornStars Bible put out by XXXchurch. Our hope is to come out with a booklet including: large portions of the Bible, testimonies from former pimps and women working in prostitution, and other additional content in all of the main European languages. This will serve as a tool custom tailored to bring the gospel to the men and women involved in the sex trade throughout the field of Europe.  

Please stand with me in prayer or even financial support as our team prepares for this move. 

Transitioning to a larger city, I am expecting my basic expenses will increase, but also we will likely be traveling within the region quite frequently. 

Also please pray for the move itself that the timing of moving out and finding new housing would work out smoothly. Our whole team is hoping to live fairly close to one another within the city. 

Also be in prayer as we continue with the development of our Bible project, and that God would continue to inspire us as we pull this ministry tool together! 

Saarbrücken

This weekend our team made the trek out to the French boarder of Germany, to the German city of Saarbrücken.

In Saarbrücken we connected with a pastor who had attended the Object Conference. His church is beginning to awaken to the amount of prostitution happening in their city and are beginning to take steps towards engaging the issue. 

When we arrived on Friday night the pastor drove us around the city. The city hall has several brothels only a short distance away. The amount of street prostitution occurring on the roads of this boarder town reminded me of our visit to the Czech Republic, where similarly, many woman walk the streets, waiting for men to drive from across the boarder to pay for cheap thrills.

Interestingly, because this town is so close to France, it is known for its culinary excellence. The city is saturated with Michelin starred restaurants. The pastor told us: "You could go to any one of these restaurants, and even the cheapest thing on the menu, a dessert for instance, would cost you more than 15 €. But you can drive out to these roads outside the city and 15 € is how much these girls are selling themselves for. You can buy a girl for less than a dessert.... something is seriously wrong here." 

On Saturday we participated in the Walk 4 Freedom. A demonstration organized by the pastor and his church in the middle of the city. Almost 200 women walked down the street single file, while men passed out flyers about sexual exploitation in the area. The event had media and newspaper coverage as well. We where glad to be able to support this church as they are beginning to engage the issue of sexual exploitation in their area. 

Gaby Wentland, who runs a major anti-trafficking ministry out of Hamburg, and was one of the main speakers at our Object Conference, was also there participating in the walk, and she spoke later in the evening.  We soon realized something as a team. The pastor had tried to connect with Gaby previously via email and hadn't been able to connect. But he was able to meet her at Object Conference during our networking session. It was there that their relationship started and how they were able to get her and Mission Freedom to participate in their event. In some small way, that day in Saarbrücken was the fruit of our conference. 

On our return trip we were able to stop by another city for a dinner meeting with the leaders of the Justice Project in the city of Karlsruhe. It was great to catch up with them, and again learned that they have been able to develop relationships with several other startup counter-trafficking ministries throughout Germany as a result of meeting one another at the Object conference. It was super encouraging for our team to see that already, all the long months of work for that conference is starting to yield fruit in the fight against sexual exploitation in Germany.

2014

Our team had the privilege of spending this last week in Budapest in Hungary.

While we were there we were able to stay with Rachel and Yohannen, who are part of the YWAM leadership team for the region of Central Europe.

It was a great time of soaking in the city, as well as their wisdom. We were able to bounce ideas off one another as we brainstormed potential ideas for our ministry over the coming years in Western, Central, and Eastern Europe. 

It was an exciting, life giving and refreshing time. We are excited for whats on the horizon. 

Looking Back, Looking Forward

Its been great to take some time off for a few weeks back home in Florida. The past few weeks have been refreshing and as I recount the things I've been involved in this past year...

~Supporting the ministry in Russia with service, media, and financial support

~Local red-light district outreaches in Germany and the Netherlands

~Challenging people to engage the issue of sexual exploitation via tours around Germany

~Equipping over 500 people to engage the issue via our Object Conference 

~Teaching on Biblical sexuality, justice and human trafficking in France 

~And even since being home speaking about Biblical sexuality and identity to a group of high schoolers here in Orlando at Orlando Children's Church

...I am able to get excited about the past year in a new way. Sitting back and looking at the big picture is encouraging in a way that I wasn't able to experience in the midst of the chaos of the year. 

This reflection is also getting me excited about the new opportunities we have this upcoming year. Whether working in new cities in Germany (France's new anti-prostitution laws are increasing demand for paid sex in boarder regions with Germany), revisiting Russia, or aiding a frontline organization in Latvia. 

God is doing great things, and I'm stoked that I can be a part of it. 

If you are interested in participating in my ministry, prayer and financial support are always needed. A dear friend of mine just brought to my attention that PayPal has recently added a 'recurring donation' option. So becoming a monthly supporter is now incredibly easy to do. Just click the 'donate' button on this page. 

If you would like a 501C3 tax deductible receipt there are also other ways to set up support with that as an option.

For iPhone users: I've also just set up a Venmo account! 

Thanks for all your prayers and support! 

~Sean 

Crunch Time

We are here in the midst of a crazy couple of weeks... The Object conference (which we have been prepping for for the past year) is this weekend. We have been busy spending late nights getting last minute preparations together for this event. We are excited for the impact this conference will have on this city of Hamburg, the nation of Germany, and the rest of Europe. Please pray for our team this week and this weekend as we are now in Hamburg setting up for the conference.

Gretchen and I have been designing and fabricating the booth for HopeDiesLast and Object.

Immediately following the conference, I will be flying from Hamburg to France for a few days, there I will be teaching in a YWAM school of Biblical Christian Worldview. During these few days I will be teaching on Biblical sexuality, God's heart for justice, and the issue of human trafficking. So in the midst of setting up for the conference, and practicing with the conference worship team, I am also studying for, and preparing a 3 day teaching.  

Please pray for me that I would be able to clearly organize my thoughts and that God would use me to effectively communicate God's heart for these issues to the students. 

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Please prayerfully consider joining my support team. We need your prayers and financial support to  continue to fully devote our time to engaging the issue of human trafficking.

I would like to see my monthly support increase by at least $500 dollars each month. This amount will allow me to move beyond meeting my basic needs of living in Germany to being able to continue doing more frequent outreach within Germany and to the Eastern European nations. 

You can donate via the PayPal link on this page, or...

Americans: If your are interested in supporting me on a monthly basis, you can email me at MrSeanRogers@aol.com and i can send you the appropriate forms to fill out and mail in to set up a tax deductible monthly donation. 

Sean

Cultural Transformation Starts with Heart Transformation

We got into Amsterdam late Sunday. We were there that week to work with an anti-trafficking ministry for a few days. The ministry leader was excited, because her friend had just been baptized. The story of this friend was rather remarkable.

'Sofia' had been working in the Red-light district of Amsterdam for some time. The ministry we partnered with that week sells soup in the Red-light district, and through that, built a relationship with this Sofia. Over time, the ministry shared about Jesus with her, about her heavenly father who loved her, and about her value as a unique creation of God's and Sofia gave her life to Jesus. That in itself is a huge praise report...

BUT HERE is the part of the story I find particularly interesting. Sofia didn't, right then and there, throw on something more decent and walk out of the window. The anti-trafficking ministry didn't try to "convince" or urge Sofia to leave her current employment as a prostitute either.  The ministry simply continued to love her as a sister. A couple of weeks later,  Sofia exclaimed to the ministry workers,

"You know something!? Now that I have Jesus, I cant work here anymore!"

Sofia left working in the Red-light district, and the day we arrived in Amsterdam we heard her story in conjunction with news that she had been baptized that day.

Me preparing soups for the girls.

Amy going out to deliver soup and talk with the girls.

Working in the field of anti-trafficking, I feel like there is generally a predisposition towards remedying the physical situation: End prostitution! Get the girls out! Save them! Those things are important, but this story reminds me of why I am working in a missions based anti-trafficking organization, not just in a social minded anti-trafficking organization. This story is a reminder that there is power in the name of Jesus, and that there is more to saving girls than changing their location and occupation. This is why, while we are passionate about seing the physical situation change, we go to local Red-light districts offering prayer and sharing the gospel with the men and women we find there. While we do engage this issue on a level of social action, we also believe that cultural transformation starts with people's hearts. 

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The next few months are going to be ones of exciting transition. Coming from Russia at the beginning of the year, working on the front lines there, and now finishing up a support video for that ministry, we are turning our sights towards Germany.

Adding an original soundtrack to the Russia video.

Working the video and conference prep

Germany legalized prostitution just over a decade ago.  A law passed in the name of regulation for the safety of the women, has lead to drastic increases in the amount of prostitution, but also in the amount of trafficking and abuse. Aside from the direct ramifications to the areas of prostitution and trafficking, this has larger cultural and spiritual ramifications. Even women in prostitution recognize this cultural difference, "I wouldn't date a guy from here because he's grown up thinking its ok just to buy sex," we heard from one girl. This is why our ministry does local outreaches to redlight districts, and why we are putting on a conference later this year in Hamburg.

We are gearing up for the OBJECT Conference (On Bringing Justice and Engaging Cultural Transformation) with the vision of seeing the church of Germany take a stand on the issue.
I was able to be involved in the organization of a similar conference our base hosted in 2010 in Hamburg. We are still hearing news of different ministries throughout Germany that have popped up as a direct result of that conference.  One of these ministries, in Cologne, was able to hold a Christmas church service for the women inside Pascha, the largest brothel in Europe last year. We were thrilled that they had this unique opportunity to share the gospel. We are hoping for multiplication of these new ministries out of this coming conference. Countries in Eastern Europe, such as Romania and Moldova, who are looking to become more western European, and even join the European union, see Germany as a role model. Cultural transformation here will not only impact Germany but influence those countries as well.

Check out the Website!

objectconference.com

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Please prayerfully consider joining my support team. We need your prayers and financial support to  continue to fully devote our time to serving those trapped in slavery.

I would like to see my monthly support increase by at least $500 dollars each month. This amount will allow me to move beyond meeting my basic needs of living in Germany to being able to continue doing more frequent outreach within Germany and to the Eastern European nations. If 20 people would commit to $25 a month that goal would be reached.

You can donate via the PayPal link on this page, or...

Americans: If your are interested in supporting me on a monthly basis, you can email julie.sinke@ywamtyler.org to go about setting up a monthly auto debit.

For one time donations you can make checks out to YWAM and mail to
Accounting Department, PO Box 3000, Garden Valley, TX 75771-3000

Donations made through Ywam Tyler are tax deductable, so for tax purposes my name cannot appear anywhere on the check. With the check please enclose a SEPARATE piece of paper with the following on it: “Donation for: Sean C Rogers, Herrnhut Germany” You will get a receipt in the mail confirming your donation. If you would like to set up an automatic withdrawal.. you can email Julie in their accounting department and she can send you a letter of explanation julie.sinke@ywamtyler.org Thanks so much to everyone for your prayers and support and  especially for those who have already been commited faithful supporters, every little bit helps!


Sean

The Dark Places

A little girl in a grocery store picks up a flashlight and flicks the switch...

"Mom! Its not working," she yelled.

Her mother replied, "It is working dear, its just too bright in here to see it"

"Well then, let's take it somewhere dark where we can see it shine."

(Nürnberg Redlight District)

Jesus told us to "Let our lights shine before men", and I think most Christ followers attempt to do this. The past few years and especially the past few months I've been challenged more and more to take this to a new level and to shine light into the truly 'dark' places.

This is a challenge the ministry I am a part of, Hope Dies Last, and I take seriously. We have taken our light to the dark places outside of Moscow, where women are bought and sold. From our time there we are now putting together a video to raise support for the men and women still operating a ministry and laying down their lives to rescue women from slavery there.

This challenge has brought us continually up against the issue of prostitution in Germany. It is legal and regulated here, but that does not mean it is devoid of exploitation.  We are frequently making trips as of late to the city of Nürnberg. For us, in this city, one of the darkest places is the red-light district at around 3am. We go hand out Red-bull energy drinks to the women who are there working late. When they ask us why we would be handing out Red-bulls for free, we tell them:

 "Cause its late, you might be tired, and because Jesus loves you."

Then we offer to pray for them. This last weekend we were there, and several women (in previous visits only one women let us pray for her) allowed us to pray for them. Maybe its a small thing, but its progress, and I'm thrilled that we got to pray prayers of Hope over these women.

In the coming week we will be traveling across Germany, from Berlin to Cologne, to connect with various ministries working in anti trafficking.

Please pray for us as we travel across Germany connecting with these other ministries.

Please pray for the women of the Nürnberg red-light district, that they would recognize that they were meant for more, and that their futures are NOT hopeless.

Also please prayerfully consider joining my support team. We need your prayers and financial support to  continue to fully devote our time to serving those trapped in slavery.

The Girls in the Headlights

The driver of the car had named a price, and the span of his headlights was quickly filled shoulder to shoulder with girls who have been told that this is what they are worth. Many of these women, no.... girls is still the most apt description, were Moldovan.

This brought a new dimension to this visit to Moldova this past week. I spent a large part of the week there teaching English with, and spending time with, Moldovan youth. Many were girls the same age as the ones I'd seen in those headlights in the forest outside Moscow. The girls were part of an after school program run by Beginning of Life (BOL), an organization we made an educational fundraising video for last year.

It is exciting and enlightening to be reminded of, and to participate in, the things BOL is doing on the prevention and rehabilitation side of the modern-day-slavery coin. Culture is being transformed in schools and through after-school programs. In their rehabilitation rescued women are being shown their true value, maybe for the first time. They are worth more than a laying down a few hundred rubles for; as Jesus demonstrated at the cross, they are worth laying down our time, our lives, for.

In addition to spending time with Moldovan youth, it was great to catch up with the another YWAM team on outreach in Chisinau, as well as staff from BOL. The founder of BOL told us that he was able to use the video we made, 40+ times, with great success on a fundraising tour in Canada. He will soon take the video on a tour in the UK. We consider ourselves privileged to be able to support them.

We are now back in Moscow and will continue to work with and support the ministry here until the end of January. As we undertake a video to support the ministry here, please pray for our team's creativity, and plenty of opportunities for shooting footage so we can provide them with an awesome support video to continue their work here.

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If you are interested in supporting the work I am doing as part of HopeDiesLast, you can donate via PayPal using the "Donate" button on this page. If you are interested in supporting me on a monthly basis, you can email julie.sinke@ywamtyler.org to go about setting up a monthly auto debit.

Russia Update!!!

 Our Visa's are in process and should be done Tuesday!

 If you've been following the last few blog posts we are on our way to Russia to work with and support various ministries there.

We are grateful for everyone who has supported us thus far. We have our visa's and will be booking our flights for next Tuesday very soon! As it stands now, we've raised about a quarter of our total budget!

For our time in Moscow we still need roughly 1,000 euro per person (4,000 euro total) We are going in faith but still have very little of our housing budget, so if you feel lead to support us please do!

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While one time gifts are certainly appreciated, I also need monthly supporters. I will be in missions long term, and the consistant partnership of monthly supporters is extremely valuable.

I would like to see my monthly support increase by at least $500 dollars each month. If 20 people would commit to $25 a month that goal would be reached.

Americans: If your are interested in supporting me on a monthly basis, you can email julie.sinke@ywamtyler.org to go about setting up a monthly auto debit.

For one time donations you can make checks out to YWAM and mail to
Accounting Department, PO Box 3000, Garden Valley, TX 75771-3000

Donations made through Ywam Tyler are tax deductable, so for tax purposes my name cannot appear anywhere on the check. With the check please enclose a SEPARATE piece of paper with the following on it: “Donation for: Sean C Rogers, Herrnhut Germany” You will get a receipt in the mail confirming your donation. If you would like to set up an automatic withdrawal.. you can email Julie in their accounting department and she can send you a letter of explanation julie.sinke@ywamtyler.org Thanks so much to everyone for your prayers and support, every little bit helps!


Sean