With every donation or Hope Outfitters purchase, 100% helps Keep Hope Alive and contributes to organizations like Operation Underground Railroad, who are putting traffickers behind bars, rescuing victims every day, and supporting them through their aftercare process. Click here to donate to the cause.
Read the heartbreaking and touching story of Karol, a 19-year-old trafficking victim who received care from O.U.R. to help in her healing process:
"My story begins with a broken home. With a dad who drank and with a stepmother who hated me. She was the first one to traffic me by not letting me go to school because I had to clean, cook, etc. She took my freedom from me. And when I told my dad about what was happening, he called me ungrateful and kicked me out of the house.
One day, my stepmother's sister came and told me to go with her to buy some things for her children. We went to a bakery and she gave me some juice and bread. From that moment on I didn't know anything else. I woke up in a black room with red around it with many tattoo machines and stretchers. I was tied by the arms and legs, I asked her what was happening and she just bowed her head and left. Then a boy came in and turned on the tattoo machine. Crying, I tried to scream, but he put a scarf over my mouth and put me to sleep. When I woke up I felt that my skin hurt a lot, I had a tattoo made on my skin. It was burning and everything around it was red.
Then they locked me in a room where there was only a mattress thrown on the floor. The room, the mattress and the sheets were all dirty, in that disgusting place they abused me. I was so afraid, angry and I felt dirty. Marked like an animal as if my life, my body, and all of me belonged to that person. I cried a lot day and night, I got to the point where I tried to rip my skin off so I wouldn't see that disgusting name. I spent 4 days locked up in that room and I didn't eat anything I just cried and cried. Then my stepmother's sister went to look for me, she brought a gun and threatened me saying that if I said anything she was going to kill me including my family. She took me out of the room covering my face. When I was being forced into a car, I gathered some strength and pushed it. I ran very far from that place. I grabbed a motorcycle and I arrived at my mother's house and I told her everything that had happened and what I experienced in those 5 days that were the longest and most painful of my life.
My mother and my aunt took me to the hospital, and there, the childhood and adolescence police arrived and took me to a family police station, they referred me to a foundation that was going to help me overcome everything that happened. A week after being at the foundation I found out that my stepmother's sister was looking for me, so I wouldn't talk about what happened. They took me to the prosecutor's office to file a complaint and it was a pretty tough process but with the help of the foundation, the lawyer, and God, I won the case. They arrested all those people who hurt me so much, the foundation took me to a specialized clinic and they began to erase my tattoo with laser beams. The process was quite painful but I did it. I endured that pain so that I could feel clean again and stop feeling bad and crying every time I saw that name on my skin. My mother and my aunt were my greatest support, hand in hand with them I was able to overcome everything little by little. Thanks to the foundation, I finished school and finished my therapeutic process. I left the foundation, and I moved back with my mother but I never let go of the foundation's hand, even though I was already at home, they continued to support me to get ahead.
Some time later the director of the foundation summoned me to a place and there I met a wonderful person who unknowingly changed my whole life. She introduced me to an American man who worked for her partner, O.U.R. I didn't think I would ever be happy again, but that day everything changed for the better, that person who when he came into my life gave me back my happiness, my hopes, my motivation and my desire to move on. That day I understood that despite the pain and all the bad things there is always a reason to overcome smiling and move on. Since I was little I wanted to study social work, I have always had that vocation of wanting to make a social transformation, of wanting to change reality, the sad reality that many Survivors of Sexual Exploitation and Human Trafficking have experienced among all the bad things. Today thanks to that wonderful person, that Earthly Angel that God sent me I am studying Social Work in an excellent university.
I have great grades in school. I continue hand in hand with the foundation. Now I am part of a Committee that the Survivors of the foundation form, among all our objectives the most important is to support all those adolescents who are going through the same thing that we went through. We are the voice of all those people who suffered these crimes and do not dare to speak out of fear. With the help of the University, we created a hotbed against these crimes and I feel that little by little I am achieving the purpose for which I came into the world and now I understand that beautiful phrase that says "God gives his worst battles to his best warriors".
I am very happy and grateful to all those people who helped me and contributed their grain of sand to get me out of that nightmare in which I was where I just wanted to wake up and that none of this was real, thanks to all those wonderful people for whom today in I am what I am today. May God bless you and give you a long life so that you continue to transform lives."
We are proud to partner with O.U.R. to get survivors just like Karol the help they need. To donate to the cause, click here.
To read more of O.U.R.'s survivor stories, click here.
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Since the devastating earthquakes, our friends at Samaritan's Purse have been hard at work on ground zero. Feeding, sheltering, rescuing, and loving on the people of Turkey. THIS is what we call being the hands and feet of Jesus. In addition to praying for these brave men and women, you can help fund their work! 100% of all profits and donations made over the next day are being put to use by helping people in need.
]]>It's been awhile since our last update on our causes, so we just wanted to share a few new stories and victories with you! We are continuing to support our three different causes: Operation Underground Railroad, Operation Heal Our Patriots and Live Action News. We hope that you are as encouraged as we are seeing God's hand at work in all three!
Operation Underground Railroad:
OUR has recently rescued their 1,000 survivor, Sara! This has been a huge victory that has been reached, and the new goal is thousands upon thousands more.
Jessica Mass, director of Aftercare, shares in video posted that OUR believes so strongly in going after the 1. Even one rescued is considered a massive victory, because every life counts. For as long as there is one more child, one more life needing to be rescued, Jessica states, " we believe that every effort is worth it".
Operation Heal Our Patriots:
Army Staff Sergeant Sean Karpf and his wife, Brandy, are another wonderful testimony of what OHOP is doing.
Brandy says here, in a short video, "Coming to OHOP has kind of given us a new lease on marriage... with the counseling and the tools it's reconnecting us not only to each other, but to God." Then her husband Sean adds, "no distractions and so much one-on-one time... to actually look into each other's eyes, it has been awesome".
Sean continues, " I decided to renew our vows, sign up for baptism, counseling... I basically signed up for everything, and I usually don't do that. I wanted to really show Brandy that this is it, this is me... you know, giving myself up to get closer to God. This is the change we both need."
Live Action News:
Alongside with Roe v Wade being overturned, there have been many MANY exciting events taking place to give us for pro-lifers hope. Live Action News shared Stephanie's story recently and it was so empowering, so joyful, and so full of God's Strength and power. Here is her and her sweet, baby boy, Beckett's story... may it bring you to tears as it did for me!
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You all have been waiting long enough for our new partnership reveal! I get it, we have been waiting and excited too. Well, we decided to change things up a bit; Instead of picking one organization and giving all our profit to them, we decided to give to 3 organizations. That's THREE awesome organizations centered around 3 main pillars: Fighting Human Trafficking, Saving Babies, and Working to Heal Our Wounded Warriors!
Here's how it'll all work; 100% of the profit from our In God We Trust Collection will be going to healing our wounded veterans through Operation Heal Our Patriots. 100% of the profit from our Pro-Life Collection will be given to saving unborn babies through Live Action News! And, 100% of the profit from everything else in our store will be given back to fight human trafficking.
We are PUMPED with this awesome new change here at Hope! Pray for us that the Lord will bless us in this new season just as much as He has in our last. We are eager to see how the Lord will move through us and use us, together, to glorify His name. Thanks for teaming with us and going on this journey alongside us. We are beyond blessed!
Love you all!
Ryan & Crissy, Founders Hope Outfitters
]]>Three-year-old Gardy sits on his father’s lap at church in Haiti. Happy. Content. Free. His papa, Guesno, gives him a gentle hug before he jumps down and runs off to go play. After a few minutes, Guesno goes out to look for him but can’t find him. A frantic search only confirms Guesno’s worst fears: Gardy is gone.
Now imagine this is your child. A million thoughts go through your mind as you search. As the minutes go by, you try not to panic. Where is he? Is he lost? Is he hiding? Is he safe? Did someone take him?
Have you ever had that frantic feeling of losing track of a child? Unfortunately, for this dad, it was not a happy ending. Guesno’s worst fears were confirmed; his son had been kidnapped.
When founder of Operation Underground Railroad (OUR), Tim Ballard, first heard Guesno’s story, he wanted to help. But when he asked what was being done to help find his son, he found out that Guesno was completely alone in his search. He said, Every day after work, I go and wander the worst parts of Haiti yelling for my son, hoping and praying that I will hear his voice. I go to work all day and stay up all night trying to find Gardy, believing that he is out there somewhere. I can’t sleep knowing that one of my children’s beds is empty. What would you do?
Tim Ballard made a commitment to Guesno that day--he would commit to helping him find his son. He promised to never quit looking for Gardy until the day he dies. They haven’t found the precious young boy yet, but every day he gets a little closer to his rescue and more clues are emerging in the search. Help us find Gardy!
Introducing our new campaign!! We will be working with Operation Underground Railroad for the next year. 100% of our profit will be donated back to finding Gardy and stopping the sexual exploitation of children all around the world!
]]>We are launching a pro-life campaign to save babies by giving to Embrace Grace & And Then There Were None (ATTWN). This is a holistic 2-fold approach: 1. By reaching mothers who are at risk for abortion and providing them the support they need to keep their babies (Embrace Grace) 2. By rescuing abortion workers out of the abortion industry (ATTWN). No abortion clinic workers, no abortion clinics, no abortions. It starts with the workers.
This comprehensive approach stops abortion at the source by reaching/supporting mothers who are at-risk for abortion and helping shut-down abortion clinics by rescuing the workers.
Read more about these two amazing organizations here:
]]>I have heard of the global clean water crisis, but growing up in suburban America and constantly being bombarded by pictures of poor kids in bad places I distanced myself from the issue. I told myself that it was someone else’s problem. I mean seriously, how many pictures of poor kids drinking out of dirty holes do you have to see before you just start to tune them out? I realized I was not alone…they call it empathy fatigue. When you see people in distress, in order to cope, you just stop feeling for people.
Really, it is heartbreaking and shameful for me to admit. I had lost God’s love for people and not just any people—His people. These are God’s kids whom he left heaven to save. Jesus came down off His throne, poured himself out, and bore our sin to save them. And then he said that, “…whatever you did for one of the least of these…you have done to me.” Wow! When we take care of the broken, we are actually taking care of Jesus and when we choose to ignore them, we are actually ignoring him! I definitely needed a heart change!
I have three wonderful girls and if they were in a place without clean water I would give everything to help them and make sure they had a clean source to drink from. I would cross the farthest ocean and give my life if I knew my girls were in trouble. That is same compassion I asked God to give me for these kids and thankfully He has….I’m proof God uses broken vessels. That is why we are excited to announce our newest partnership with Lifewater. For a year Hope Outfitters is partnered with Lifewater and will donate 100% of the profit from all purchases back to ending the global water crisis.
Did you know that every 60 seconds a child under the age of 5 dies of a preventable water-born illness. Why? You would think in our day & age this is so preventable. The reality is that many around the world do not have access to clean water. I would like to introduce you to Tibika.
Tibka grew up in Ethiopia in a town without a source of clean water. As young as four years old, she — like all of the girls in her town – spent many hours every day with a large clay pot strapped to her back, collecting water from a dirty river. Fortunately, when she was ten years old the town installed a water system with hand pumps. That single change allowed Tibka’s opportunities to blossom. Since she no longer had to spend all day collecting water, she was able to attend primary school, then high school, and was eventually accepted into the animal health program at the local university.
Lifewater is going into those rural communities drilling wells, teaching sanitation, standing up maintenance programs, & planting churches. Digging wells and leaving does not work in the long term because when they break down no one is there to fix them. Lifewater invests years into a single village to create a sustainable clean water culture. Then, at the same time they plant churches and share the love of Christ. Check out the video below for their approach:
For His Glory,
Ryan Welch
Founder, Hope Outfitters
Click the video above to hear Zakael's story. Read below to hear other stories of Hope and healing.
When Somaya was born with a cleft lip and cleft palate, her father abandoned her. But her mother, Neny, never stopped praying for her daughter to be healed so she could be like other children. Even when neighbors encouraged her to give Somaya away to an orphanage, Neny would not listen. “Somaya is a gift from God,” she would say.
Then one day Neny saw a program on TV that informed her that Mercy Ships was coming to Madagascar to provide free surgeries. Her hope soared. “This is an answer from God,” she thought. She rushed to get Somaya a card for screening—but two days before the screening Neny’s home caught fire and the card was destroyed. Neny felt like abandoning all hope for her daughter.
Losing the screening card weighed heavily on Neny, but five months later hope was restored when Neny heard that Mercy Ships was returning to Madagascar. Somaya would have a second chance! In the hospital ship’s ward, Neny and Somaya met other mothers and children with cleft conditions. They no longer felt alone. Soon Somaya’s life-changing surgery was scheduled.
This is exactly the mission and purpose of Mercy Ships! Mercy Ships restores hope, brings healing and offers love to people in some of the poorest countries in the world. They offer the surgeries for men, women and children that give them their life back, restore stolen childhoods, redeem teenage years and self worth.
Mercy Ships is a floating hospital run by volunteer surgeons and nurses. They offer state of the art surgeries for those who otherwise would live their whole life with cleft palate, tumors, burns, club foot or bowed legs. Most of these infirmities are directly caused by biological and economic conditions that these precious people are born into.
Not only do people receive the health care that is otherwise unavailable, they also receive God's love and compassion from doctors, nurses and support staff. They leave Mercy Ships new people, inside and out.
As you choose to partner with Hope Outfitters for this 6 month campaign, you are also partnering with Mercy Ships offering hope, healing and a new life to each life that Mercy Ship serves. It is such an exciting concept to us that the profit from every piece of apparel sold will go directly to Mercy Ships to help pay for the diesel fuel to power the ships to arrive into these ports, the anesthesia needed for these intricate and delicate surgeries, the food on board to feed the doctors and nurses, the bedding and pain medicine needed for post operation recovery.... and the list could go on.
Thank you for all of your support and prayer. We know this will be our most successful campaign yet, and the thought of funding Mercy Ships to be the hands and feet of Jesus has our team so full of excitement and anticipation.
- Hope Outfitters
To shop and support the cause click here.
To learn more about Mercy Ships click here.
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Have you ever felt hopeless and afraid? I know I have, yet even in my darkest moments I've still had love and support from family and friends. Sadly, too many youth in America don't feel the same--It is estimated that up to 2 million youth per year experience a period of homelessness. Many are without hope and have nobody to turn to. Many come from mentally and physically abusive situations where a parent or relative neglects their responsibility to love and care for them. These abused and neglected youth are often called the invisible generation because they live among us, but we don't see them. They live with friends, on the streets, and in shelters. We pass many of them every day, but don't take the time to care. This was the situation that Gina found herself in. Hear her powerful story in the video below:
Now's your chance to change this. For the next 6 months, through the end of February, Hope Outfitters is partnered with the Dream Center to make this invisible generation seen. During this campaign, 100% of the profit is given back to the Dream Center to rescue homeless youth from the streets. With every purchase you can help show these youth that God loves them, and has a purpose for their lives!
To purchase new merchandise and give back, Click Here.
To learn more about the Dream Center, Click Here.
#WeWearHope
]]>The campaign below ended in August 2016. During this campaign we were able to raise $20,000 to give back to Agape International Missions. The post below was written to launch this campaign.
What if your little girl was kidnapped? What if your best friend was kidnapped? Please, for one minute stop, close your eyes and imagine your little girl or best friend in that situation. How would you feel and what would you do? How far would you go to rescue them? Me, I have 3 beautiful little girls and I know I would stop at nothing to find them and rescue them. For 1000's of little girls around the world, each year, this is their reality. They are kidnapped and trafficked...but there is hope.
Christ is the hope and He is calling His people to make a difference. Here's how you can help. For the next 4 months Hope Outfitters is partnered with Crazy Love and Agape International Missions (AIM) to rescue girls out of human trafficking in Cambodia. During the Forever Free Campaign 100% of the profit from every shirt purchased will be used to fund a transitional home for girls coming out the trafficking industry. With your purchase, you become a part of the team helping us to set these girls free.
#ForeverFree #WeWearHope
Click Here to Find Out More About Our Campaign Partners!
- The Hope Outfitters Family
]]>To raise financial support for this unit, Hope Outfitters launched the “Hand Made” campaign. Through the end of June 2015, Hope Outfitters sold specially designed T-shirts at www.hopeoutfitters.com and events across the Pacific Northwest. During this time, 100% of the profit from the purchase of any Hope Outfitters gear was given back to Save the Storks to save lives.
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
Psalm 139:13-14
]]>Hope Outfitters partnered with the Union Gospel Mission to help with the building of a new facility that will drastically increase the mission's ability to provide shelter and support services to the homeless population of the Tri Cities. A new facility will provide double the shelter space for women and children, triple the space for men, and better support their mission to transform the lives of those in need in our community. Below is the video we produced for the campaign:
]]>Hope Outfitters partnered with Heart for the Fatherless to rescue orphans locally and around the world. 100% of the profit during this campaign went towards grants for families who are adopting. These grants were used to help families bring their children home.
Through this project children who have been abandoned were "Grafted In" to a family who loves them and cares for them. Below is the video we produced for the campaign.
]]>Hope Outfitters partnered with Sold (www.soldexp.org) to fight against human trafficking. 100% of the profit during this campaign went back to purchase thousands of bars of soap. These bars were and will be placed in hotels and motels nationwide. Each bar of soap has a label with a hotline number to help the victim escape.
Through this project girls were and will be freed from slavery. We heard reports from the location where the bars of soap were placed that girls called the hotline number to get rescued out. Your purchase is making the difference. Go back to www.hopeoutfitters.com and buy any T-shirt or decal and 100% of the profit from your purchase will be given back to the current campaign.
Below is the campaign video that was produced for the Free Indeed Campaign:
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Leprosy…. It is a “Death Sentence” in the lives of many people in India. This dreadful and debilitating disease carries with it an enormous social and religious stigma.
India may be one of the fastest growing economies in the world, but 130,000 Indians are diagnosed with leprosy every year – more than every other country put together. It's partly because the country's population is so huge it has become an epidemic disease. The activist say, the Indian government and Non Governmental Organizations have largely neglected the fight against the disease as result hundreds of thousands of Indians suffer from leprosy and its debilitating after-effects.
Hope Outfitters raised money to dig a well and water distribution system for a Leper Colony in India. During this campaign over $2000 was raised. The Leper's in India are outcasts, through this project they experienced the real and tangible love of Christ.
]]>She fell from as high as 45 to 50 feet off the ground, said her father. Online photos of other people using the swing show them soaring high among tall evergreens, wearing a safety harness and helmet.
Hope Outfitters supported a benefit night and during this time raised over $1500 that was donated via physical product.
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