Julia Immonen - Row for Freedom: Crossing an Ocean in Search of Hope

Praise for Row for Freedom

Row for Freedom is an inspiring story of resolute determination and courage, born out of one womans conviction to tackle the great injustice of human slavery. This story shows us that with perseverance and commitment we each can make a difference to the condition of humanity.

Rt Hon William Hague MP Author, William Wilberforce: The Life of the Great Anti-Slave Trade Campaigner

Great storybrilliantly told. Inspirational in the best way.

Sir Matthew Pinsent CBE Four-time Olympic rowing gold medalist

I supported Julia and her crew throughout their rowing campaign, which raised much needed awareness of the scale and effects of human trafficking in the UK and globally. Row for Freedom is an inspiring example of bravery and determination. I wish Julia all the continued success.

Fiona Mactaggart MP Founder and secretary, All-Party Parliamentary Group on Prostitution and the Global Sex Trade; and co-chair, All-Party Parliamentary Group on Human Trafficking/Modern-Day Slavery

The impact of Row forFreedom ripples far and wide, inspiring us all that we can play our parts to see the eradication of modern slavery. You cannot be anything but inspired and moved to action after reading Julias book.

Kirsty Gallacher British TV broadcaster and Sport for Freedom ambassador

Some stories are the stuff of legend-making and must be told. They are tales of heroism and duty and relentless determined passion. Julias story is all of thatit is also the potent pursuit of purpose. This journey in words gives us just an inkling of both the horrors of human trafficking and the grit one woman has to stand up and state her anger at the peddlers of injustice, with a cry for freedom and a row that stretches even the most insistent to adoration and respect. The fact that nations now are alert to this ugly money-grabbing system of trading human lives, and governments are acting to reverse the tide again, is in some major part a tribute to this woman and to her agony for freedomfor her and for the captives, it is just beautiful.

Lord Hastings of Scarisbrick CBE, PhD Parliament, United Kingdom

The physical achievement in crossing the Atlantic, breaking records along the way, is more than matched by their achievement in raising awareness of an issue that is closest to my heart.

Catherine Bearder MEP South East England

Julia Immonen is an inspiration to anyone who wants to make a difference in this world. She is visionary, braveand huge fun as well. She is spurred on to achieve her extraordinary feats on sea and land by a single-minded determination to play her part in ending the evil of human trafficking. We admire her more than we can say and commend her book to you.

Nicky and Pippa Gumbel Holy Trinity Brompton, Britain

I spoke to Julia when she was buried deep in the waves of the mid Atlantic. I heard the pain and the struggle in her voice but also her tenacious, relentless determination for freedom. She is an example of what can happen when you say yes to step out beyond the ordinary.

Christine Caine A21 campaign founder and Equip & Empower Ministries director

If youre gonna risk it all, you might as well make it count. Julia Immonens Row for Freedom is a gritty and gutsy adventure, one filled with terrifying challenges and surreal rewards, like the reward of knowing that each relentless pull of the oars as they crossed perilous waters was breaking chains that held others captive. They rowed so others could live free.

Julia radiates stunning hope and beautiful compassion, both of which drench these pages with a sense that you, too, have an adventure to live and a story to tell. You dont have to cross an ocean, but you do have to face your fears and realize that you can do more than you have ever imagined.

Louie Giglio Speaker, author, and pastor, Passion City Church and Passion Conferences

Passion is often defined as the degree of difficulty were willing to endure to achieve our goal. That being the case, the story of Julias Atlantic row is a most remarkable display of passion. With her goal in mind of helping those chained by the shackles of human trafficking and modern-day slavery, she never gives up on hope and never gives in to her fears. The perseverance shown on these pages will inspire you to face oceans of adventure or adversity in your own life.

Matt Redman Songwriter; and Beth Redman, author and A21 campaign ambassador

Julia Immonen is a hero! This brave and stunning woman has shown us that every ordinary life can bring about remarkable change. Row for Freedom will encourage you to believe that every day of your life is pregnant with hope, strength, and the ability to impact our world.

Lisa Bevere Messenger International, best-selling author, and minister

A gripping account of how an ordinary woman went on an extraordinary venture to highlight an appalling evil. Honest, authentic and utterly challenging.

J.John (Reverend Canon) Speaker; author; and director, Philo Trust, England

2014 Julia Immonen

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by W Publishing Group, an imprint of Thomas Nelson.

Published in association with D. C. Jacobson & Associates, an Author Management Company, www.dcjacobson.com.

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This is a work of nonfiction. The events and experiences detailed herein are all true and have been faithfully rendered as I have remembered them, to the best of my ability. Some names and identities have been changed in order to protect the privacy of certain individuals involved.

Though conversations come from my keen recollection of them, they are not written to represent word-for-word documentation; rather, I have retold them in a way that evokes the real feeling and meaning of what was said, in keeping with the true essence of the mood and spirit of the event.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

Photo insert: Guy Bell, www.gbphotos.com. Brian Finke. Deborah Paul. Photographs by Stuart Tipplestun of Barbados Photography, www.Barbados-Photography.com. All photos used by permission.

ISBN: 9780718021535 (eBook)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request:

LCCN 2014902293

ISBN: 9780529101471

14 15 16 17 18 RRD 5 4 3 2 1

Contents

by Bear Grylls

A ll of us have adventure in the blood. Go back far enough into your family history and youll find the stories. An ancestor who left his homeland in search of a better life. A distant relative who fought against impossible odds and won. A family who took a risk and made a change.

Thats what adventure is. Its about starting the search when we dont know exactly what well find. Its about doing whatever it takes to make a change. Its about saying yes to the struggle.

And its part of all of us.

The question is, how big an adventure is each of us going to live?