About a decade ago, Joy Grayczyk learned about human trafficking when two teenage girls on their way to an East Toledo fast food restaurant were abducted.
Though the girls were rescued days later, the issue of their nightmare of forced prostitution has remained with Ms. Grayczyk, 23, who knew the cousins.
Now, Ms. Grayczyk’s empathy for the less fortunate, and those whose lives are rife with pain such as what the teens endured, has prompted her to prepare for a nearly year-long international mission trip to three continents. Indeed, her passion is to fight human trafficking, but she’ll undertake other tasks with about 30 to 40 others on the trip organized by Adventures in Missions [AIM] of Gainesville, Ga.
“I’ve always had compassion for others,” said the Oregon resident, who’s been on church-organized mission endeavors in Toledo, Detroit, Philadelphia, and in Appalachia in West Virginia and in Kentucky, as well as Malvern, Jamaica, and Juarez, Mexico.
With only a tent, sleeping bag, and whatever else she can fit into a backpack, Ms. Grayczyk will leave this fall for what the mission group calls the “world race,” that includes stops in Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Japan, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
The group will partner with other churches and agencies to address many of the matters such operations typically take on, ranging from prayer and Bible study to gardening, housekeeping, and construction, according to Kayla House, an AIM world race admissions representative.
Ms. Grayczyk recently obtained her undergraduate degree in special education with a minor in counseling from the University of Toledo. On this trip, she hopes to use her counseling skills.
“I’ll be working with kids that have been pulled out of human trafficking,” she said. “We’ll be working with them to transition them back into education, the community, and into life.”
Giving food to the hungry in Appalachia and urban America on previous experiences was eye-opening for her.
“[There are] some things a lot of people are not able to have. When we worked with inner-city schools, we provided lunches for children,” said Ms. Grayczyk, who someday wants to be a middle school special education teacher.
“I realize how much we have to be thankful for and how blessed I am to have what I have and to be able to go to school, drive, have a house with a roof, and to have access to a doctor and clean water. There are so many little things that I take for granted that most people don't have in the world.”
The parents of Ms. Grayczyk and her siblings, Bethany, 22, and Jonathan, 19, are instrumental in their concern for the less fortunate. Their father, Joseph Grayczyk, is an Oregon police officer, and mother, Shari Grayczyk, is a grants manager at UT in the department of geography and planning.
“Mom has taken us with her to do volunteer work and she took us to help,” Ms. Grayczyk said.
“Dad is a cop and has taught us to protect those who cannot protect themselves and to care for those who cannot care for themselves.”
The abduction story made national headlines and compelled Ms. Grayczyk to give a 60-minute presentation on human trafficking while still in school at Cardinal Stritch.
“Through research I learned how prevailing it is in Toledo and in the world,” she said about human trafficking.
Of course, it's only natural to be concerned about one's welfare during her nearly year-long trip.
“Safety is a huge concern. A lot of the countries we are going to have civil unrest,” she said. “I'll be living out of a tent the entire time. I'm worried about sleeping in a tent and I don't know how to pack for an entire year in one backpack.”
So why take the risk?
“Because I have the chance of helping a few kids realize that their life is important and that they have a chance to enjoy their life, even though they have been through more than what I can imagine at their age,” she said.
Though human trafficking is an international issue, Ms. Grayczyk hopes she can in a small way still make a positive impact.
“Though I'm only one of 40 people trying to make a difference, someone may look and chuckle at that, but working with God, you never know the impact that can be made,” she said. “Faith has always been a huge part of my life. It's given me patience and keeps me going. I've seen God do miracles, even in my own family. The things God can do are unimaginable.”
Ms. Grayczyk, whose blog address is joygrayczyk.theworldrace.org, is fund-raising to finance her $17,000 trip. She’s speaking at churches and organizations and plans a 5K fund-raiser for 8 a.m. on Aug. 8 at Pearson Metropark in Oregon. For details, visit imathlete.com and search for “end trafficking”. Also, a benefit concert fund-raiser is set for Aug. 2 at 7 p.m., Sylvania United Church of Christ, 7240 Erie St., Sylvania.
Contact Rose Russell at rrussell@theblade.com or 419-724-6178.
First Published July 26, 2015, 4:00 a.m.
