GSR Today - Today, Feb. 8, is the International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking, and it's no coincidence that it is also the feast day of St. Josephine Bakhita: The date was chosen at the request of women religious to highlight her life.

After being involved with anti-trafficking efforts for 10 years, I received a grant from the Louisville Institute to study the resilience of women who have been trafficked here in the United States. Through my interviews, I discovered a face of the human trafficking reality that is rarely addressed. Survivors themselves made it clear that they would like more focus on their growth, goals and strength — on who they have become in their own resilience.

There is a prevalence of albinism in certain parts of Africa and people living there with the condition are at risk; they are shunned, they are attacked, and witchdoctors use their body parts for potions to bring wealth. In Tanzania sisters offer protection at residential schools and work with other activists who are trying to halt this practice with a simple message: People with albinism are just regular people.

Sr. Imelda Poole of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary is president of RENATE (Religious in Europe Networking Against Trafficking and Exploitation). On Sunday, Feb. 7, Poole, 69, attended a prayer service in St. Paul's Cathedral in the Albanian capital Tirana, where she has been based for the past 10 years establishing her Mary Ward Loreto Foundation, which works in the field of trafficking.

From A Nun's Life podcasts - How do I find a spiritual pen-pal? In this Random Nun Clip, a listener asks how to find a pen-pal for spiritual convo (conversation).

See for Yourself - Latitude and longitude are fine if you're traveling from one place to another. But what about inner travels? What about moving forward with my life or career or relationships or any number of other things? There aren't maps published for those.

"Some of the seed will find its way to good soil. God has promised."

When I cook, I try to offer love and nourishment to my sisters whose days have been full of offering works of mercy to our hurting neighbors and friends. And when I'm busy in ministry, knowing that my day will end with a shared meal strengthens me. Within this rhythm of mindful and grounded cooking and eating we are strengthened to grow in right relationship with community. It is just as grounding as the heartbeat of our prayer.

Salesian Sr. Zita Rema works in the Chittagong diocese of eastern Bangladesh, leading a ministry to assist indigenous people from rural areas who are migrating to urban centers, such as Chittagong, Bangladesh's second largest city. Rema, 56, is herself Garo, a group of about 200,000 — predominately Christian — in a country that is overwhelmingly Muslim. The Garos have long experienced problems stemming from discrimination and poverty.

The political martyrs of El Salvador may be more well-known, but many sisters and priests who were working for non-violent solutions in Peru during the '80s and '90s were murdered there by the Sendero Luminoso anti-government group. The Incarnate Word Sisters chose not to flee the violence, and the results of their work today are evident in the many health, education, and formation programs in the small country.