Park Cities Presbyterian Church (PCA)

Careers for God's glory

By Lindsay Stengle

Published February 1, 2009 in Witness

A PCPC group of 11 professionals including attorneys, law students, and business partners traveled in October to Bangalore, India, to serve with the International Justice Mission (IJM), a Christian organization that works to promote justice worldwide. IJM works in India to help free bonded slaves and women and children forced into prostitution. PCPC has been partnering with this organization for several years to share the gospel in word and deed.

The 27-hour journey to Bangalore served as an opportunity for team bonding and lawyers-in-the-trenches stories as BlackBerries, iPhones, and billable-hour requirements disappeared and conversations began.

The first three days in India were spent acclimating to the culture and attending seminars on the Indian legal system and bonded slavery. The highlight for most of us was journeying in a large blue bus (Cloud 9 was its name) into rural villages to meet former bonded slaves that IJM had worked to set free. We drove through hills, parked the bus, and hiked for about 10 minutes to get to a small community of about 10 concrete homes. We were all amazed that such secluded communities existed! The village gathered together under large trees and spread blankets for us to sit and hear their story of forced slavery in a brick kiln and how the IJM had rescued them. They then proudly led us on a tour to show us their crops, animals, and motorized water pump.

Meeting real people with real stories of rescue was great inspiration as we offered a two-day litigation CLE (Continuing Legal Education) teaching writing skills and witness preparation to IJM advocates from across India. The team of attorneys did a great job of utilizing their individual skills to create a dynamic and informative presentation. Team member Brian McKay had prepared an Indian legal brief to give to IJM to use in future cases.

We were all blessed by IJM’s hospitality and their awareness of PCPC’s continued efforts to support their mission. We were encouraged by their excitement to help serve God’s purposes abroad with a true joy.

The Dallas Volunteer Attorney program often says that pro bono work is “billable hours for your soul.” By journeying to India and partnering with IJM, we were refreshed, renewed, and ultimately charged to expand justice abroad by serving God’s people. A billable blessing indeed!