As we look at poverty around the world, some individuals are forced into some very desperate situations just to provide the basic needs of life. Sometimes prostitution appears to be the only way out. With that comes exploitation and sex-trafficking.Fortunately, someone's engaged in a ministry designed to break that cycle. That person is Alex Kuhlow. Alex is the founder & executive director for Threads of Hope, Inc.While growing up, becoming a missionary was simply not a part of Alex's vocational plans. As the son of a plumber, Alex grew up in the affluence of Neenah, Wisconsin, where he eventually became a machinist. Working long hours, he reasoned that he wanted to retire and live a comfortable life.One day as he was reading about the rich young ruler, the idea of selling everything, giving it to the poor and following Christ hit Alex hard. He wondered what his response would be if Christ was giving these instructions to him personally.As Alex noted, he wasn't a pilot, a church planter or a Bible translator. He was just a blue-collar machinist so he didn't think he had anything to offer the mission field.But God had other plans...One day a missionary came to to his church who happened to be a journeyman plumber. He was sharing with youth that whatever skills and abilities you have, the Lord can use them on the mission field. After the presentation, Alex asked the missionary what the greatest obstacle was in getting to the mission field. The missionary told him it was financial debt. That was the very week Alex and his wife had become financially debt free. There went that excuse!