Back in 2009, it was estimated that trafficking of humans brought in $32,000,000,000 annually with the illegal sale of women, men, and children. (1) 32 BILLION. What a staggering number. Can you imagine that number? Can you imagine what we could do to end worldwide poverty with that amount of money?
But it is used for the sale of human beings. Want to know what is more staggering?
That number has grown. Not by a little. I mean even a 5% raise would be huge - $1,600,000,000. But it didn't rise by 5%. Or even 50%. Not even 100%. It EXPLODED. It is estimated that the profits from this "industry" has increased THREE HUNDRED SIXTY EIGHT PERCENT. (2) That's right. 368%. So while America's (and other countries') economy(ies) has(have) gotten a little unstable over the last several years, people have found the money for trafficking. For further demoralizing the poor, for further degrading those who need our hand up not their hands shackled.
Human trafficking now generates $150,000,000,000 in illegal profits annually. (3) It is on the rise. It is not going away.
Think on that.
Don't feel compelled to act?
If it continues like this, if it continues to explode by 368% every four years, that is another increase of $552,000,000,000. It would be over a $700 billion illegal industry by 2017.
I can only imagine that with the profits exploding that the number of victims has done the same. We cannot keep turning a blind eye. There aren't an endless number of human beings in this world. One day, if this doesn't stop, each of us will be personally affected by this. Our sponsored child, someone we met on a mission trip abroad, our neighbor, our friend, our daughter. We aren't immune to this in America.
We need to pray.
Then after praying, if you feel compelled to physically do something, please check out a website for many of the agencies that help rescue those who are trafficked or prevent trafficking. Here are a few of my faves, but there are many more.
A21 - http://www.thea21campaign.org
Not For Sale - http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/
Abolition International - http://abolitioninternational.org/
International Justice Mission - http://www.ijm.org/
Justice Generation - http://www.justice-generation.com/
Out of Darkness - http://www.outofdarkness.org/
Polaris Project - http://www.polarisproject.org/index.php
Project Rescue - http://projectrescue.com/
Please pray. Pray nonstop. Pray for these lives. Pray that this will stop.
Then act.
It doesn't do any good to know, then do nothing about it. And you can't un-know.
___________________________________________________
1. Keen, Laura. "Human Trafficking is on the Rise." notforsalecampaign.org. Not For Sale, June 24, 2014
2. ibid
3. ibid
Showing posts with label Trafficking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trafficking. Show all posts
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Sunday, October 27, 2013
I think I'm going to be sick...
Have you ever wanted something a lot, like a whole lot, then when you get it you think, "What did I just do?" Yeah, that is where I am right now. In a constant state of "I think I'm going to be sick."
For months and months and what seems like more months, I have been wanting to go to Thailand. Hayley first mentioned it at least two months before she left, so maybe April. She asked me to join her so I could see what she sees and experience what she experiences. She wanted someone who was going to understand. Honestly, I think she thought it was going to be more like village life in Africa, where life is lived in a village, where only one person speaks your language, and technology is scarce. That just isn't the case.
Over the last 18 months though, my desire to have a role in abolishing human trafficking has been burning more intensely. What started out as a trip to experience what Hayley has experienced has turned into a trip to help me learn more about trafficking and sexual exploitation of women and children. In a book I read called, "Refuse to do Nothing: Finding Your Power to Abolish Modern-Day Slavery" one of the authors was in the same boat as me. Outraged and wanting to do something about it but not knowing how to go about it. Just like me. She ended up taking a trip overseas to witness the effects of human trafficking. That is how this evolved.
I have been talking about it and saving for it for months. I have been disappointed when I thought I wasn't going to get to go. I have been excited when it looked like I could. Hayley's time in Thailand is coming to a close rapidly and I was beginning to wonder if the trip would happen.
But it is.
And now that I know for a fact that it is {Lord willing}, I feel like I'm going to be sick.
The thought of going to Thailand is fantastic.
Except for the scorpions that are as big as Hayley's hand. Except for snakes and bugs. Except that I am one of The. Pickiest. Eaters. Ever. Except for that pesky problem I have where I HATE TO FLY. ESPECIALLY OVER WATER.
So now this trip doesn't seem like such a great idea. It is really a good thing my desire to learn more about trafficking is so strong. It is a good thing I honestly believe that I am supposed to go. God will guide me, sustain me, calm me, and protect me.
This really is a trip of my lifetime. I won't have another opportunity. I have made contact with several people who are doing this brave work in Thailand and I will be visiting a rescue home. And to do this with Hayley alongside is a bonus.
If you had any part in supporting this trip and this mission of mine, THANK YOU. I mean it. From the bottom of my scared little heart. Thank you for the prayers, the encouraging words said at the right time when I was discouraged, the donations of auction items, the monetary donations, and the auction bids.
Now I just ask that you continue to pray for this trip. That you pray that I don't completely freak out when I realize that my flight is going over the ocean. And also please pray for the family that I am leaving behind. 17 days is a long time when you are four.
I appreciate you so very much.
Now, I'm going to go. I think I'm going to be sick...
For months and months and what seems like more months, I have been wanting to go to Thailand. Hayley first mentioned it at least two months before she left, so maybe April. She asked me to join her so I could see what she sees and experience what she experiences. She wanted someone who was going to understand. Honestly, I think she thought it was going to be more like village life in Africa, where life is lived in a village, where only one person speaks your language, and technology is scarce. That just isn't the case.
Over the last 18 months though, my desire to have a role in abolishing human trafficking has been burning more intensely. What started out as a trip to experience what Hayley has experienced has turned into a trip to help me learn more about trafficking and sexual exploitation of women and children. In a book I read called, "Refuse to do Nothing: Finding Your Power to Abolish Modern-Day Slavery" one of the authors was in the same boat as me. Outraged and wanting to do something about it but not knowing how to go about it. Just like me. She ended up taking a trip overseas to witness the effects of human trafficking. That is how this evolved.
I have been talking about it and saving for it for months. I have been disappointed when I thought I wasn't going to get to go. I have been excited when it looked like I could. Hayley's time in Thailand is coming to a close rapidly and I was beginning to wonder if the trip would happen.
But it is.
And now that I know for a fact that it is {Lord willing}, I feel like I'm going to be sick.
The thought of going to Thailand is fantastic.
Except for the scorpions that are as big as Hayley's hand. Except for snakes and bugs. Except that I am one of The. Pickiest. Eaters. Ever. Except for that pesky problem I have where I HATE TO FLY. ESPECIALLY OVER WATER.
So now this trip doesn't seem like such a great idea. It is really a good thing my desire to learn more about trafficking is so strong. It is a good thing I honestly believe that I am supposed to go. God will guide me, sustain me, calm me, and protect me.
This really is a trip of my lifetime. I won't have another opportunity. I have made contact with several people who are doing this brave work in Thailand and I will be visiting a rescue home. And to do this with Hayley alongside is a bonus.
If you had any part in supporting this trip and this mission of mine, THANK YOU. I mean it. From the bottom of my scared little heart. Thank you for the prayers, the encouraging words said at the right time when I was discouraged, the donations of auction items, the monetary donations, and the auction bids.
Now I just ask that you continue to pray for this trip. That you pray that I don't completely freak out when I realize that my flight is going over the ocean. And also please pray for the family that I am leaving behind. 17 days is a long time when you are four.
I appreciate you so very much.
Now, I'm going to go. I think I'm going to be sick...
Friday, September 6, 2013
A little different
This post is a little different this time.
I don't have a lot to say, except that my heart really breaks for those who are hurt by trafficking and modern day slavery.
So please read my post here: Open Up My Eyes.
I will be doing a fundraiser in the near future, to help me have my eyes opened and my heart broken for those in the sex industry in another country. Don't get me wrong, I know they are here too. It is just more hidden and not as easily accessible. I need to see it there first, so I can help here.
Please pray for me, for those affected by trafficking both here and abroad, and for those who keep trafficking alive.
I don't have a lot to say, except that my heart really breaks for those who are hurt by trafficking and modern day slavery.
So please read my post here: Open Up My Eyes.
I will be doing a fundraiser in the near future, to help me have my eyes opened and my heart broken for those in the sex industry in another country. Don't get me wrong, I know they are here too. It is just more hidden and not as easily accessible. I need to see it there first, so I can help here.
Please pray for me, for those affected by trafficking both here and abroad, and for those who keep trafficking alive.
Friday, April 12, 2013
So...
So I have come to a point in my blog life when I felt the need to split my blog. There are some things I want to share with the world and other things I want to share with my friends and family.
Don't worry, I'm not getting too big for my britches. I don't have a blog that people all over the world are reading. In fact, I have about 30-ish steady readers and I am pleased with that. You have read about my goofs, my new adventures in staying at home, my on-my-knees moments when God is teaching me something new, as well as my new passion - human trafficking. Some of my posts have had as many as 101 views, while another has been as low as 4, but my normal is 30-35. No, I'm not touching the world with my words, but I might be sharing something that touched a few. I am super okay with that.
Very recently I made a decision that I started to share on here relating to trafficking and what my role would be. I don't want to be one of those "flash in the pan" type of person that finds a cause and is outraged, then fades away into the night. I want to devote my time and my effort to eradicating slavery and human trafficking. I want to plant a seed here. And there. And over there. I want to make the entire city of California, the entire county of Moniteau, and the entire mid-MO area aware that slavery still exists. That 27 million of our brothers and sisters are enslaved in absolutely inhumane conditions.
And to do that, I need a place to write, like a blog, a place to put my thoughts that people will read and maybe they will have that thought too. Maybe they will want to join this fight as well. I want to be able to post what I want and share it with whomever it needs shared.
But I don't want to share my babies with the world. So...
I am splitting my blog. This will remain the family/friend blog where I brag about SAHM accomplishments, laugh at SAHM goofs, whine about boy poop (I'm so over it!!!), share my faith. This is where I will have pics of my babies and pics of my friends.
I will still blog about trafficking and fair trade from time to time here. And sometimes I may link over to the other blog. I won't be linking the other blog back here.
Some things are precious. Sacred. Mine. And I don't want to share that with the world. Maybe the world won't see my other blog, maybe I'll have fewer readers. I am okay with that. I still don't want everyone on the planet to have the opportunity to check out what I'm doing. I've got kiddos to protect too.
So...
Check out my other blog here: http://onceuknow.blogspot.com/ if you are interested in trafficking and fair trade. Just don't forget to come back here and check out the family as well.
Thank you to all those who read my thoughts and love me anyway. Or at least like. Or at least still read. I appreciate you!
Don't worry, I'm not getting too big for my britches. I don't have a blog that people all over the world are reading. In fact, I have about 30-ish steady readers and I am pleased with that. You have read about my goofs, my new adventures in staying at home, my on-my-knees moments when God is teaching me something new, as well as my new passion - human trafficking. Some of my posts have had as many as 101 views, while another has been as low as 4, but my normal is 30-35. No, I'm not touching the world with my words, but I might be sharing something that touched a few. I am super okay with that.
Very recently I made a decision that I started to share on here relating to trafficking and what my role would be. I don't want to be one of those "flash in the pan" type of person that finds a cause and is outraged, then fades away into the night. I want to devote my time and my effort to eradicating slavery and human trafficking. I want to plant a seed here. And there. And over there. I want to make the entire city of California, the entire county of Moniteau, and the entire mid-MO area aware that slavery still exists. That 27 million of our brothers and sisters are enslaved in absolutely inhumane conditions.
And to do that, I need a place to write, like a blog, a place to put my thoughts that people will read and maybe they will have that thought too. Maybe they will want to join this fight as well. I want to be able to post what I want and share it with whomever it needs shared.
But I don't want to share my babies with the world. So...
I am splitting my blog. This will remain the family/friend blog where I brag about SAHM accomplishments, laugh at SAHM goofs, whine about boy poop (I'm so over it!!!), share my faith. This is where I will have pics of my babies and pics of my friends.
I will still blog about trafficking and fair trade from time to time here. And sometimes I may link over to the other blog. I won't be linking the other blog back here.
Some things are precious. Sacred. Mine. And I don't want to share that with the world. Maybe the world won't see my other blog, maybe I'll have fewer readers. I am okay with that. I still don't want everyone on the planet to have the opportunity to check out what I'm doing. I've got kiddos to protect too.
So...
Check out my other blog here: http://onceuknow.blogspot.com/ if you are interested in trafficking and fair trade. Just don't forget to come back here and check out the family as well.
Thank you to all those who read my thoughts and love me anyway. Or at least like. Or at least still read. I appreciate you!
Saturday, March 30, 2013
In The Beginning
Two years ago, I sat in my office in the Howerton Building, where I worked for the State, reading a bill on human trafficking for a fiscal note. I am embarrassed to say that I couldn't imagine why our legislators were wasting precious time on a bill that didn't impact us when so many other more important bills were not being read.
How naive. How uninformed. How sad.
I had no idea then what it was about, nor did I have any idea that one day that very topic would mean so very much to me.
A little over a year ago, one of Hayley's friends had a vision. She wanted to bring human trafficking awareness to California. Rather than do 30 hour famine, she asked our youth pastor if we could do a human trafficking weekend. I thought it was a good idea, but I didn't really want to give up 30 hour famine. After all, it was about feeding those who didn't have food. Or clean water. What is more important than that? Why are we wasting time on an issue that isn't ours when we could feed the hungry. Still naive. Uninformed. Sad.
I participated a little during the weekend, but couldn't participate in the whole thing. I saw a glimpse of the horror. Just a glimpse. And that glimpse changed my perspective. Human trafficking was real. It was really a problem. Here. In Missouri.
I read up on it a little and signed up to get a newsletter from A21 Campaign, but was still naive just really what it all meant, why it mattered. Then in July I went to Chalfont St Peter, UK, to participate in a Run the Race event during the Olympics {loved it!!} and one of the night events was a Stop the Traffik (misspelled on purpose) night. I heard more about human trafficking. The speaker talked about a book called Trafficked by Sophie Hayes, a British girl who was trafficked by her best friend and sold as a sex slave to many men each night. I was stunned. I was ashamed. I was addicted. I started reading everything I could about this issue. I signed up for website after website and newsletter after newsletter. I didn't still do anything other than read about it and pray about it sometimes.
In November 2013, I went to a women's retreat and again, human trafficking was mentioned. That is when I said, "Okay, God. I hear you. You have placed this issue in front of me three times in 8 months. I ask that you show me what you would have me do about it." For the last 4 months I have continually asked God to show me what my role in the abolishment of slavery would be. I asked a few people to also pray for me. I was not sure whether I was supposed to just spread awareness, get a job in the fight, a mix of both, or be a prayer warrior. I told God that I would do as He asked if He would just let me know what it is I was to do.
I began posting human trafficking information on my Facebook page. The more I learned the more I wanted to share. I wanted others to see the suffering so that we can end this. I made it my goal - no, my commitment - to post or share at least one thing about trafficking every single day. Some days I flood Facebook and/or Twitter with images, stories, and facts. Other days I only have a brief note. Some days I am ready to tackle this and the next I am completely overwhelmed by the magnitude.
It is on those days I have to remind myself that God is still sovereign. He is still on His throne. And I have to remember that I don't have to tell God how big the problem is. He knows. He put this in front of me continually until I got it. I am a little slow at times.
That leads me to the month of March. A beautiful friend of mine asked me to do a {short} presentation on human trafficking at her women's conference at her church. Apparently regardless of my height, I don't know what short means. I researched and read; studied and wrote. Satan tried to thwart this presentation, but he is a punk. My God is bigger. Once I began talking, it felt like home. It felt right. Not only was I spreading awareness about this issue, God was revealing to me His plan.
How is that for a cliffhanger? Okay, it isn't a nail-biter like a season finale of NCIS, but I hope you stay tuned for "the rest of the story".
How naive. How uninformed. How sad.
I had no idea then what it was about, nor did I have any idea that one day that very topic would mean so very much to me.
A little over a year ago, one of Hayley's friends had a vision. She wanted to bring human trafficking awareness to California. Rather than do 30 hour famine, she asked our youth pastor if we could do a human trafficking weekend. I thought it was a good idea, but I didn't really want to give up 30 hour famine. After all, it was about feeding those who didn't have food. Or clean water. What is more important than that? Why are we wasting time on an issue that isn't ours when we could feed the hungry. Still naive. Uninformed. Sad.
I participated a little during the weekend, but couldn't participate in the whole thing. I saw a glimpse of the horror. Just a glimpse. And that glimpse changed my perspective. Human trafficking was real. It was really a problem. Here. In Missouri.
I read up on it a little and signed up to get a newsletter from A21 Campaign, but was still naive just really what it all meant, why it mattered. Then in July I went to Chalfont St Peter, UK, to participate in a Run the Race event during the Olympics {loved it!!} and one of the night events was a Stop the Traffik (misspelled on purpose) night. I heard more about human trafficking. The speaker talked about a book called Trafficked by Sophie Hayes, a British girl who was trafficked by her best friend and sold as a sex slave to many men each night. I was stunned. I was ashamed. I was addicted. I started reading everything I could about this issue. I signed up for website after website and newsletter after newsletter. I didn't still do anything other than read about it and pray about it sometimes.
In November 2013, I went to a women's retreat and again, human trafficking was mentioned. That is when I said, "Okay, God. I hear you. You have placed this issue in front of me three times in 8 months. I ask that you show me what you would have me do about it." For the last 4 months I have continually asked God to show me what my role in the abolishment of slavery would be. I asked a few people to also pray for me. I was not sure whether I was supposed to just spread awareness, get a job in the fight, a mix of both, or be a prayer warrior. I told God that I would do as He asked if He would just let me know what it is I was to do.
I began posting human trafficking information on my Facebook page. The more I learned the more I wanted to share. I wanted others to see the suffering so that we can end this. I made it my goal - no, my commitment - to post or share at least one thing about trafficking every single day. Some days I flood Facebook and/or Twitter with images, stories, and facts. Other days I only have a brief note. Some days I am ready to tackle this and the next I am completely overwhelmed by the magnitude.
It is on those days I have to remind myself that God is still sovereign. He is still on His throne. And I have to remember that I don't have to tell God how big the problem is. He knows. He put this in front of me continually until I got it. I am a little slow at times.
That leads me to the month of March. A beautiful friend of mine asked me to do a {short} presentation on human trafficking at her women's conference at her church. Apparently regardless of my height, I don't know what short means. I researched and read; studied and wrote. Satan tried to thwart this presentation, but he is a punk. My God is bigger. Once I began talking, it felt like home. It felt right. Not only was I spreading awareness about this issue, God was revealing to me His plan.
How is that for a cliffhanger? Okay, it isn't a nail-biter like a season finale of NCIS, but I hope you stay tuned for "the rest of the story".
Monday, March 25, 2013
Revealing
After much praying over many months, God has begun to reveal what my role will be in the abolishment of human trafficking/modern day slavery. A friend of mine had a vision very similar to one I was having of my future. Her vision gave credence to my thoughts, that they weren't just my thoughts, but were from the Holy Spirit.
So, in the coming days, I ask that you pray for me, that His divine will be made known to me. I know the direction I have discerned that He has chosen for me, but how I get from here to there is still a mystery to me. I do know that God will make it possible for me to find the way so I have faith that He will lead me to it. Prayer will be your contribution to the task of ending modern day slavery.
More information regarding human trafficking/modern day slavery/fair trade will be coming in the next few weeks. I have done considerable amount of research and reading books to increase my knowledge. I want to share it with you.
As for what my role is? That is still between God, my prayer warrior friend, and me. I expect that you will see it revealed in the coming months.
Until then, please pray. Pray for those trapped in slavery ~ whether it be the little girls, teens, or women trapped in sexual slavery; children, adults, and seniors trapped in labor servitude - that they will find and know God ~ and also pray for their captors. That God will show up big in their lives and all will know that He is the I AM.
Thank you so much to those who were praying for me for discernment. He has big plans, I'm excited to be a small part.
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
~Micah 6:8
So, in the coming days, I ask that you pray for me, that His divine will be made known to me. I know the direction I have discerned that He has chosen for me, but how I get from here to there is still a mystery to me. I do know that God will make it possible for me to find the way so I have faith that He will lead me to it. Prayer will be your contribution to the task of ending modern day slavery.
More information regarding human trafficking/modern day slavery/fair trade will be coming in the next few weeks. I have done considerable amount of research and reading books to increase my knowledge. I want to share it with you.
As for what my role is? That is still between God, my prayer warrior friend, and me. I expect that you will see it revealed in the coming months.
Until then, please pray. Pray for those trapped in slavery ~ whether it be the little girls, teens, or women trapped in sexual slavery; children, adults, and seniors trapped in labor servitude - that they will find and know God ~ and also pray for their captors. That God will show up big in their lives and all will know that He is the I AM.
Thank you so much to those who were praying for me for discernment. He has big plans, I'm excited to be a small part.
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
~Micah 6:8
Monday, February 11, 2013
Undaunted
I am not going to lie. This post is mostly the brilliant brain child and heart-wrenching thoughts of another. But it touched ME so deeply I must share. I am reading Undaunted: Daring to do what God calls you to do by Christine Caine. She is the co-founder of A21 Campaign (http://www.thea21campaign.org/index.php#.URlSY1_naHs), an organization whose mission is to abolish injustice in the 21st century. They exist for prevention, protection, prosecution, and partnerships. I found A21 about 9 months ago and have learned so much from them regarding human trafficking. I decided to read Christine's book and am convicted in the first chapter.
The first chapter starts out with her visiting fourteen young women that were recently rescued from sex trafficking. She listened to their stories, told them about the One who can rescue them, and one girl yelled, "If what you are telling me is true, if what you say about your God is true - then where were you? Where have you been? Why didn't you come sooner?"
"Why didn't you come sooner?"
Christine runs this question through her mind and she said "The question seemed to echo." She thought of the pain in her own life, thought of their pain, and admitted to herself but not out loud that she hadn't known about them. However she didn't offer that excuse. The next is the part that haunts me:
"A scene from the movie Schindler's List began to roll through my mind. The movie, produced and directed by Steven Spielberg in 1993, is the story of Oskar Schindler, a Gentile businessman in Nazi Germany who saved the lives of more than a thousand Jews by breaking the law to keep them working in his factories. In a powerful scene at the end of that movie, Schindler, played by Liam Neeson, is being thanked for what he has done by a crowd of those he has rescued - just before he flees for his own life. The grateful Jews present him with a ring on the inside of which is inscribed a saying from the Talmud: 'Whoever saves one life saves the world entire.' But, distressed, Schindler says, 'I could have got more out. I could have got more. I don't know...if I had just...I threw away so much money. You have no idea...I didn't do enough.' He looks at his car. 'Why did I keep the car? Ten people right there.' He pulls a pin from his lapel. 'This pin. This is gold. Two more people...and I didn't. I didn't.' And then he collapses into tears, overcome by the realization not of all that he did do, but that the pin in his lapel was apparently worth more to him than the lives of two people.
This moment, sitting at that table in Thessaloniki with those women so recently saved from slavery and yet still so devastated, was my Schindler's List moment. It was my moment of wondering what, in my life, had been my golden pin like Schindler's, the thing so precious to me that it never occurred to me to use it to ransom the life of someone else."
Powerful? Convicting?
What in my life means more to me than helping to save someone's life? A car? A 40" tv? A retirement fund? It reminds me of Jesus talking to the rich young man who wanted eternal life and said he had followed all of the commands.
"Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth." Matthew 19: 21-22.
I have said before I don't know what my role is in the fight against human trafficking, but I need to seek His will, ask for discernment, and be prepared to give it all up to do as He says. If I don't, I am no better than the rich young man who wouldn't give up his wealth.
I can't sit here and think that there is any material possession that I wouldn't give up if it meant saving the life of one person.
Would you consider praying for me? Pray for discernment. Pray I will bow to His will. Pray that I will know my role and be comfortable in it. And pray for the victims. Pray for the traffickers, the sellers, the pimps, the slave bosses, the men who hire these women ~ pray their hearts will be turned from their wicked ways, they will free these people (men, women, and children) and that they too will turn their eyes upon Jesus.
And want a good read? Here are two I have read or am reading.
Trafficked by Sophie Hayes
Undaunted by Christine Caine
Excerpts in bold italics from the book:
Caine, Christine. Undaunted: Daring to do what God calls you to do. Grand Rapids, MI. Zondervan, 2012. ePub.
The first chapter starts out with her visiting fourteen young women that were recently rescued from sex trafficking. She listened to their stories, told them about the One who can rescue them, and one girl yelled, "If what you are telling me is true, if what you say about your God is true - then where were you? Where have you been? Why didn't you come sooner?"
"Why didn't you come sooner?"
Christine runs this question through her mind and she said "The question seemed to echo." She thought of the pain in her own life, thought of their pain, and admitted to herself but not out loud that she hadn't known about them. However she didn't offer that excuse. The next is the part that haunts me:
"A scene from the movie Schindler's List began to roll through my mind. The movie, produced and directed by Steven Spielberg in 1993, is the story of Oskar Schindler, a Gentile businessman in Nazi Germany who saved the lives of more than a thousand Jews by breaking the law to keep them working in his factories. In a powerful scene at the end of that movie, Schindler, played by Liam Neeson, is being thanked for what he has done by a crowd of those he has rescued - just before he flees for his own life. The grateful Jews present him with a ring on the inside of which is inscribed a saying from the Talmud: 'Whoever saves one life saves the world entire.' But, distressed, Schindler says, 'I could have got more out. I could have got more. I don't know...if I had just...I threw away so much money. You have no idea...I didn't do enough.' He looks at his car. 'Why did I keep the car? Ten people right there.' He pulls a pin from his lapel. 'This pin. This is gold. Two more people...and I didn't. I didn't.' And then he collapses into tears, overcome by the realization not of all that he did do, but that the pin in his lapel was apparently worth more to him than the lives of two people.
This moment, sitting at that table in Thessaloniki with those women so recently saved from slavery and yet still so devastated, was my Schindler's List moment. It was my moment of wondering what, in my life, had been my golden pin like Schindler's, the thing so precious to me that it never occurred to me to use it to ransom the life of someone else."
Powerful? Convicting?
What in my life means more to me than helping to save someone's life? A car? A 40" tv? A retirement fund? It reminds me of Jesus talking to the rich young man who wanted eternal life and said he had followed all of the commands.
"Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth." Matthew 19: 21-22.
I have said before I don't know what my role is in the fight against human trafficking, but I need to seek His will, ask for discernment, and be prepared to give it all up to do as He says. If I don't, I am no better than the rich young man who wouldn't give up his wealth.
I can't sit here and think that there is any material possession that I wouldn't give up if it meant saving the life of one person.
Would you consider praying for me? Pray for discernment. Pray I will bow to His will. Pray that I will know my role and be comfortable in it. And pray for the victims. Pray for the traffickers, the sellers, the pimps, the slave bosses, the men who hire these women ~ pray their hearts will be turned from their wicked ways, they will free these people (men, women, and children) and that they too will turn their eyes upon Jesus.
And want a good read? Here are two I have read or am reading.
Trafficked by Sophie Hayes
Undaunted by Christine Caine
Excerpts in bold italics from the book:
Caine, Christine. Undaunted: Daring to do what God calls you to do. Grand Rapids, MI. Zondervan, 2012. ePub.
Friday, November 23, 2012
Trafficking videos
Trafficking scares me to death. For my girls. For my boys. For everyone.
Here are a few videos ~ please watch them and really think on them. We have to stop this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stxmmQqKL0E&list=PLgsKa8DSxwZFA6mZtCzy7jXFIqFFsDeux&index=1&feature=plpp_video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRoaaeSPO3I&feature=bf_next&list=PLgsKa8DSxwZFA6mZtCzy7jXFIqFFsDeux
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPpzj-m-kEE&feature=bf_next&list=PLgsKa8DSxwZFA6mZtCzy7jXFIqFFsDeux
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roxUbCV9x_c&feature=bf_next&list=PLgsKa8DSxwZFA6mZtCzy7jXFIqFFsDeux
Lastly, check out this song, if you can't watch all of the videos above.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jYU9meVXKg
Here are a few videos ~ please watch them and really think on them. We have to stop this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stxmmQqKL0E&list=PLgsKa8DSxwZFA6mZtCzy7jXFIqFFsDeux&index=1&feature=plpp_video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRoaaeSPO3I&feature=bf_next&list=PLgsKa8DSxwZFA6mZtCzy7jXFIqFFsDeux
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPpzj-m-kEE&feature=bf_next&list=PLgsKa8DSxwZFA6mZtCzy7jXFIqFFsDeux
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roxUbCV9x_c&feature=bf_next&list=PLgsKa8DSxwZFA6mZtCzy7jXFIqFFsDeux
Lastly, check out this song, if you can't watch all of the videos above.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jYU9meVXKg
Monday, November 12, 2012
TRAFFICKING
Last spring, the youth at our church had a human trafficking weekend. I had heard about human trafficking only briefly while I worked for the State, as a bill was moving through the legislature. At the time, I really didn't get it or why there would be a bill in Missouri. Then Austen Barr had a vision for a trafficking weekend at our church and the youth pastor agreed it was a great topic.
I began learning about human trafficking during that weekend. I heard some of the stories, some even as close as Missouri. It was shocking the things that people here in the US had done and some of them with their own children. We heard about kids and women who had been trafficked for the sex industry, the coffee industry, and chocolate industry, as well as many others. These things were shocking to me. I just really had no idea before then.
I thought about human trafficking but I really wasn't sure what to do about it. What can I do to prevent it? There are 1.3 million women in sexual servitude in the world. This is not including the children who are kidnapped and made to work in coffee bean or cocoa bean fields with no pay, or any other sweat shop type industry. How can one person ~ in the middle of the Bible belt ~ have any impact on worldwide human trafficking? So while I thought about it, I didn't do much about it.
God may have had other plans though. While in Gerrard's Cross, UK in July at the Run the Race event, we had a Stop the Traffik night. Someone from the Stop the Traffik organization from that local area came to speak to us about it. She mentioned a book called Trafficked by Sophie Hayes. I immediately bought it on my Kindle and started reading it. 3.5 months later, I still haven't finished it as it is a haunting story of how this girl, around Hayley's age, was trafficked by someone she considered a close personal friend. I can't quite read it now that I am at the part where the betrayal actually occurs. But I am slowly making it through. I just really started thinking that some things needed to change. Again, though, what could I possibly do?
That is why I keep bringing it up on Women's Ministry newsletters. That is why I need to pray about it. That is why I am trying to figure out how to afford fair trade chocolate and coffee in our house, instead of the US companies that insist on making profits off the backs and through the blood of enslaved children. That is why I need to know what my role is.
James 4:17 ~ If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
I keep hearing about human trafficking. I keep learning more about it, although still I have only touched the tip of the iceberg.
James 2:14-17 ~ What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
James 1:27 ~ Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
James. The brother of Jesus. He is constantly convicting me of things ~ not taming my tongue, not submitting to God, boasting about tomorrow, etc. But this time I am going to try to heed his word. I want to know what it is I should do, then DO IT. I want to look after orphans and widows in their distress. I want to help those who have been trafficked, who think there is no hope, who don't know that there is a God who loves them more than He even loves the sparrows for whom He provides.
What does that look like? I still don't know.
But I know that it will be in the Women's Ministry newsletters each time. I know that Michael's coffee bill just went up. I know that our chocolate bill went up. I know that I will be praying for them. I will be figuring out how to be a part of this. I will be writing letters to these precious souls who have been rescued, to let them know they are treasured and loved. After that, I don't know. But I do know that I am praying for discernment ~ only God knows where this will take me. Maybe only as a prayer warrior. Maybe more.
I will be talking about this in the future. Trafficking. Please pray for those currently in bondage. Please pray for those who are doing the trafficking or are the slave masters/brothel owners/pimps/slave owners/etc. They need Jesus just as much as those who are enslaved.
Father God ~ I lift these lives up to You. I pray that You will put a hedge of protection around these little children who are beaten and starved, yet work more during the day than I do during the week. Protect them God, because they cannot protect themselves. Help us as Americans to realize that our coffee and chocolate addictions are not worth the blood of these children. God I lift up those women and children who find themselves slaves to the sex industry. I pray for their release and freedom Lord. I pray that they will be rescued and will learn that You love them. I pray they will find You. Father, I lift up those who are inflicting this evil on these people. I pray that You convict them, You grab hold of their hearts, and You turn them. I pray that they release these people. I pray that they find You. Lord, I don't know my role in this yet, so I am asking for discernment. I need to know what it is You would have me do. I don't believe this is something that I am just supposed to hear but do nothing about. It has been brought to my attention at FBC during trafficking weekend, at GX during Stop the Traffik night, and again this weekend at the Heart Retreat when Chelsea told us about Project Rescue. Help me see my role then help me fulfill it to the best of my ability. I know that only through You can I do what You would have me do. Thank You for my freedom. Thank You for my salvation. Thank You for bringing this to my attention. Three different times. I know that you will work all this for the good, as I love You God, and I am called according to Your purpose. Work through me. In Your name I lift my praise and prayer. Amen.
I began learning about human trafficking during that weekend. I heard some of the stories, some even as close as Missouri. It was shocking the things that people here in the US had done and some of them with their own children. We heard about kids and women who had been trafficked for the sex industry, the coffee industry, and chocolate industry, as well as many others. These things were shocking to me. I just really had no idea before then.
I thought about human trafficking but I really wasn't sure what to do about it. What can I do to prevent it? There are 1.3 million women in sexual servitude in the world. This is not including the children who are kidnapped and made to work in coffee bean or cocoa bean fields with no pay, or any other sweat shop type industry. How can one person ~ in the middle of the Bible belt ~ have any impact on worldwide human trafficking? So while I thought about it, I didn't do much about it.
God may have had other plans though. While in Gerrard's Cross, UK in July at the Run the Race event, we had a Stop the Traffik night. Someone from the Stop the Traffik organization from that local area came to speak to us about it. She mentioned a book called Trafficked by Sophie Hayes. I immediately bought it on my Kindle and started reading it. 3.5 months later, I still haven't finished it as it is a haunting story of how this girl, around Hayley's age, was trafficked by someone she considered a close personal friend. I can't quite read it now that I am at the part where the betrayal actually occurs. But I am slowly making it through. I just really started thinking that some things needed to change. Again, though, what could I possibly do?
That is why I keep bringing it up on Women's Ministry newsletters. That is why I need to pray about it. That is why I am trying to figure out how to afford fair trade chocolate and coffee in our house, instead of the US companies that insist on making profits off the backs and through the blood of enslaved children. That is why I need to know what my role is.
James 4:17 ~ If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
I keep hearing about human trafficking. I keep learning more about it, although still I have only touched the tip of the iceberg.
James 2:14-17 ~ What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
James 1:27 ~ Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
James. The brother of Jesus. He is constantly convicting me of things ~ not taming my tongue, not submitting to God, boasting about tomorrow, etc. But this time I am going to try to heed his word. I want to know what it is I should do, then DO IT. I want to look after orphans and widows in their distress. I want to help those who have been trafficked, who think there is no hope, who don't know that there is a God who loves them more than He even loves the sparrows for whom He provides.
What does that look like? I still don't know.
But I know that it will be in the Women's Ministry newsletters each time. I know that Michael's coffee bill just went up. I know that our chocolate bill went up. I know that I will be praying for them. I will be figuring out how to be a part of this. I will be writing letters to these precious souls who have been rescued, to let them know they are treasured and loved. After that, I don't know. But I do know that I am praying for discernment ~ only God knows where this will take me. Maybe only as a prayer warrior. Maybe more.
I will be talking about this in the future. Trafficking. Please pray for those currently in bondage. Please pray for those who are doing the trafficking or are the slave masters/brothel owners/pimps/slave owners/etc. They need Jesus just as much as those who are enslaved.
Father God ~ I lift these lives up to You. I pray that You will put a hedge of protection around these little children who are beaten and starved, yet work more during the day than I do during the week. Protect them God, because they cannot protect themselves. Help us as Americans to realize that our coffee and chocolate addictions are not worth the blood of these children. God I lift up those women and children who find themselves slaves to the sex industry. I pray for their release and freedom Lord. I pray that they will be rescued and will learn that You love them. I pray they will find You. Father, I lift up those who are inflicting this evil on these people. I pray that You convict them, You grab hold of their hearts, and You turn them. I pray that they release these people. I pray that they find You. Lord, I don't know my role in this yet, so I am asking for discernment. I need to know what it is You would have me do. I don't believe this is something that I am just supposed to hear but do nothing about. It has been brought to my attention at FBC during trafficking weekend, at GX during Stop the Traffik night, and again this weekend at the Heart Retreat when Chelsea told us about Project Rescue. Help me see my role then help me fulfill it to the best of my ability. I know that only through You can I do what You would have me do. Thank You for my freedom. Thank You for my salvation. Thank You for bringing this to my attention. Three different times. I know that you will work all this for the good, as I love You God, and I am called according to Your purpose. Work through me. In Your name I lift my praise and prayer. Amen.
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