One week ago today I had the privilege of meeting a young woman who had just days before experienced rescue from a life that many of us could never imagine. For several hours I was able to sit alongside her and two others who had been ministering to her, loving her, and providing for her basic needs. What I witnessed was a miracle in progress—the beginning of a beautiful story of restoration and recovery, of love and redemption.
I have studied human trafficking and victim statistics for about 18 months now. I had a certain level of understanding of what I should expect, and on the other hand, I had no idea what I might encounter.
My first impression surprised me. She looks a lot like my aunt sans 20 or so years. She is petite, fair skinned and freckled. She loves to draw and was working on a project to give to those who had been helping her as a way to thank them. Her love and gratitude was obvious, even though there was a visible battle of fear and mistrust trying to overcome her at the same time. She has a puppy that she loves and is concerned for, even more than her own welfare. She is just like you and me.
Except she isn’t.
Long before she was able to legally drive, someone that should have had her best interest at heart sold her for the money. During a time in her life when school and fashion should have been her main concerns, she was trying to survive unthinkable cruelty. Years of abuse followed, aging her physically and stunting her emotional and mental development. Her body was used as a commodity with no thought to her well-being or basic human rights.
Thankfully, the story doesn’t end there.
Justice Ministries in conjunction with Rise Up Ministries was able to provide safety, clothing, and shelter for this beautiful girl in Jesus’ name. Words of hope and healing were spoken into her soul. Constant reminders of Jesus’ love for her were shared. Given time, I believe she will accept them and believe them for herself and true rescue will take place. I pray this happens soon.
I am so thankful for this up-close view of the power of God. I too was once separated from God. And just as Jesus saved me from my sin, He can save every young women still trapped in lives of slavery. I am reminded of the promise given in Isaiah 61:7-8.
Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion; instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot; therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy. For I the Lord love justice; I hate robbery and wrong; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
Those rejected by their earthly families can have the opportunity to be adopted into a heavenly one that will love them as the precious sons and daughters that they truly are. It’s our job to offer this to them. To provide them rescue from harm and share with them the love of the One who can redeem their souls.
Will you pray with me as I seek to do that very thing in Jesus’ name? It is my desire that years from now I will have seen hundreds of such rescues take place. You can take part as well through your prayers and gifts to organizations like Justice Ministries, Rise Up and Citylight. For with God, nothing shall be impossible. (Luke 1:37)
This morning I found myself sitting in a waiting room watching in amazement as the news told of three lost women’s escape from a home where they have been held captives since their disappearances. According to a news article on CNN.com, Michele Knight was 20 years old when she went missing in August of 2002, Amanda Berry was kidnapped after leaving work the evening before her 17th birthday in 2003 and Gina DeJesus disappeared at the age of 14 in 2004. As is the case in many domestic human trafficking and slavery cases, neighbors had no idea the women were trapped in the home next door. (“Three women reunited with families after years in captivity” Read the CNN article here)
You may think situations like this are rare occurrences in the US, but unfortunately, for every celebrated rescue that makes the headlines, there are thousands that go missing and are never heard from again. Authors Kevin Bales and Ron Soodalter write of many of these human trafficking cases in their book The Slave Next Door: Human Trafficking and Slavery in America Today. In the case of these Cleveland women, they were being held not far from where they were taken captive. For many others, they are transported into other cities, other countries or criss-crossed between states so that finding them is next to impossible. While many are hidden behind locked doors to suffer a constant stream of visitors that take from their bodies, many others are hidden in plain sight at massage parlors, restaurants, farmers fields, and street corners.
I rejoice with the families of these three women whose lives can now begin again. I am thrilled to hear of the courage of Amanda Berry who took the opportunity she was given to attempt escape and I applaud the neighbor who helped her. I am thankful that the young child that was also rescued will have an opportunity to go to school, to play outside and to make friends.
How many more are begging God to rescue them too?
The Polaris Project has developed numerous resources for recognizing signs of human trafficking and how to help the victims. I encourage you to become familiar with this information so that you can help a victim when you meet one. Here is a partial list of trafficking red flags taken directly from their website:
Common Work and Living Conditions: The Individual(s) in Question
Is not free to leave or come and go as he/she wishes
Is under 18 and is providing commercial sex acts
Is in the commercial sex industry and has a pimp / manager
Is unpaid, paid very little, or paid only through tips
Works excessively long and/or unusual hours
Is not allowed breaks or suffers under unusual restrictions at work
Owes a large debt and is unable to pay it off
Was recruited through false promises concerning the nature and conditions of his/her work
High security measures exist in the work and/or living locations (e.g. opaque windows, boarded up windows, bars on windows, barbed wire, security cameras, etc.)
Poor Mental Health or Abnormal Behavior
Is fearful, anxious, depressed, submissive, tense, or nervous/paranoid
Exhibits unusually fearful or anxious behavior after bringing up law enforcement
Avoids eye contact
Poor Physical Health
Lacks health care
Appears malnourished
Shows signs of physical and/or sexual abuse, physical restraint, confinement, or torture
You can make a difference to one trapped in human trafficking and slavery!
He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? – Micah 6:8
Today is the official launch of the End It Movement. A coalition of seven anti-slavery organizations have joined forces to spread the message that not only does slavery still exist in our modern world, but that there are more slaves now than at any time in human history.
Shine a Light on Slavery
The mission of the End It Movement is simple.
We want every man, woman and child to know that there are 27 million men, women and children, just like them, living in the shadows. In brothels. In factories. In quarries. Working as slaves. In 161 countries. Including our own. We are here to shine a light on slavery. No more bondage. No more sex trafficking. No more child laborers. No more, starting now.
Approximately 27 million people are enslaved worldwide, many of them in the United States. Eighty percent of them women. Many, many of them children. For an average of $90 per person, a slave can be purchased and put to work where ever their owner deems fit, making them part of a $32 billion dollar industry.
This has to stop NOW.
One of the passages that I consider to be part of my personal calling and manifesto for my life is Isaiah 61: 1-4.
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion—to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.
This prophecy foretelling the coming of Christ and His mission says that He came to “proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.” How can we as His ambassadors do anything less? We must make freedom a top priority in our lives. Freedom from physical captivity as well as spiritual captivity.
I understand that this is a difficult thing to grasp—men, women and children being forced to do unspeakable things for the profit of another. It’s evil and ugly and we would much prefer to turn our heads and look away. But I beg you to think for just a moment…what if it was your child? What if it was your daughter kidnapped off the streets and forced to live and work in a brothel? What if it was your brother forced to work eighteen and twenty hour days in the sun doing back-breaking labor with no pay and very little food or water? What if it was you? Would you want someone to fight for you? Pray for you? Rescue you?
Indifference is not an option. I encourage you to go to EndItMovement.com. Learn the facts. Find out how you can help. Take the pledge to become part of the movement to end modern day slavery in this generation.
We can make a difference. Together we can ” repair the devastations of many generations.” I’m in it to END IT. Will you join me? Click here to sign the pledge.
I didn’t intend to read it in just two sittings. I wasn’t expecting it to bring tears to my eyes. But it did. In fact, The White Umbrella by Mary Frances Bowley continues to rattle around in my heart and mind, echoing the voices of the young women captured within its pages.
walking through the storm alone
The White Umbrella: Walking with Survivors of Sex Trafficking was written by the founder of Wellspring Living in Atlanta, Georgia. Wellspring Living began in the hearts of a small group of women who wanted to minister to the needs of the young girls in their community. As they prayed over their burden and reached out to those in need, they discovered that each girl had experienced sexual abuse at some point in their past. Realizing that God was doing something special they determined to do everything in their God-given power to rescue, restore and renew each of the lives that crossed their paths. God has blessed their ministry and has grown it into a multi-faceted program for both women and girls who have been sexually exploited. This book shares the stories of these girls, their process of recovery, how God has worked in the lives of their caregivers, and the ways that the readers can make a difference in the lives of victims everywhere.
The powerful symbol of the white umbrella is explained best by the words of the author:
An umbrella is a common item, usually left forgotten in the back of a closet until needed. But when nature delivers a downpour or hailstorm, an umbrella makes a difference—a buffer that protects us from the harsh elements falling from the sky. An umbrella often does something else as well—it brings those who suffer together. When you share one with someone, you have to stand close, side by side…
To me, a white umbrella is the perfect symbol. The color white represents purity—the purity these girls stll possess and the motivation we have, without any agenda, to help them recover it. Our volunteers respect these young ladies as people. They look beneath the surface to glimpse the person God created them to be. Part of our call is portraying their innocence and worth to others who might not believe in them.
The umbrella represents protection against the storms and our willingness to stand with these girls shoulder to shoulder. Girls who have been trafficked live in a whirlwind of chaos and crisis. Like a tornado, you can’t understand it unless you’re in it. Our courageous volunteers and staff hold an umbrella over these young women, providing cover and letting them know they’re not alone.
I want to be an umbrella holder.
As I read the stories of these young women and children, my heart broke again for the devestation left behind in the wake of selfish people that ravaged their bodies and warped their minds. But I also rejoiced in that through the storm, God brings hope. He placed into the heart of one women a burden—a desire to help hurting children—and He used her to reach out to a young women named Sara, changing both of their lives forever.
She didn’t know that one would turn into dozens and now hundreds of faces and names entrusted to her care. She could never have imagined that God would one day provide thousands of dollars for emergency shelters, recovery homes, education, clothing, food, therapy and so much more that would be poured into these hurting lives. She never dreamed that so many would find hope and healing through the power of the Holy Spirit and transforming work of Christ. She was just a mom and a kindergarten teacher that had been told that a local hair stylist was in need of help. She thought she’d recommend a book for her to read and that would be the end.
She didn’t know, but God did.
God knew that Sara and thousands like her needed an advocate, a loving shoulder to cry on, an umbrella holder. And only God knows how many other Sara’s are still struggling to survive the streets of Atlanta, Chicago, Charlotte, San Diego, Tucson, and your home town. Are you willing to do what it takes to shelter a soul from the storms of this world with the umbrella of God’s grace and hope?
Learn more about The White Umbrella Campaign at www.thewhiteumbrellacampaign.com. Profits from the sales of The White Umbrella will go directly to Wellspring Living to further its work in confronting the issue of childhood sexual abuse and exploitation through awareness, training, and treatment for girls and women. Purchase your copy here.
These words may bring images to your mind of candy and costumes, but they mean a very different thing to the victim of modern day slavery.
(Warning: This post contains information that may be difficult for a sensitive or young reader.)
When a child or young woman (and often young men as well) is coerced or sold into sex slavery they are often forced to turn “tricks” many times a night. This means that their bodies are sold for another person’s pleasure to be used, abused, raped, beaten, strangled, etc. They are considered purchased property and therefore anything goes. If they resist their client, they may receive worse from their “daddy” when they come off the street for the night. If they don’t make their quota or do something else to make their controller unhappy beatings, torture, starvation and more can occur.
When a person is “treated” it means that they are severely degraded or insulted. This is a relatively minor and commonplace abuse these victims endure. I say “minor” not because it isn’t devastating, but as a comparison to other physical abuses. Emotional and mental manipulation is one of the ways owners or pimps wield control over their victims. This causes victims to experience high stress, depression, anxiety, Stockholm Syndrome, PTSD and other psychological distress.
CSEC is sexual activity involving a child in exchange for something of value, or promise thereof, to the child or another person or persons. The child is treated as a commercial and sexual object. CSEC is a form of violence against children.
In New York City alone there are an estimated 2,200 children victimized by commercial sexual exploitation annually (OCFS 2007 Prevalence Study).
The Department of Justice estimates the most frequent age of entry into the commercial sex industry in the United States is 12–14 years old (www.usdoj.gov).
100,000–300,000 children are at risk for commercial sexual exploitation each year in the United States (Estes & Weiner, 2001).
70–90% of commercially sexually exploited children have a history of child sexual abuse (Murphy, 1993).
So on a night when many dress up in scant costumes for entertainment, I plead with you to realize that so many hurting people will be walking the streets tonight in similar attire with more than a sugar high on their minds.
I encourage you to pray for those in the bonds of sex trafficking tonight.
Pray for their release and healing. Pray for their captors to come to Christ. Pray for physical, emotional and spiritual freedom.
Do you have questions about modern day slavery? Visit the modern day slavery page for more information or post a question in the comments section below.
Everyone is afraid of something—and not usually just one something, but a lot of somethings. The list of common phobias is extensive.
Attribution: KickAss Pics (Forgive the name please. I didn’t choose it!)
Reactions to fear
Avoidance
Fear can be paralyzing or motivating depending on how you handle it. Personally, I am afraid of spiders. I don’t care if they aren’t poisonous, there is something just inherently evil about something with that many legs creeping about my house. My common reaction to spiders is avoidance and delegation. In college, my friend Naomi was my designated spider killer (and I kept her quite busy). After college, my roommate and I had a deal. She killed the eight legged creatures and I disposed of the lesser legged intruders. It was a great partnership.
Procrastination
There is also a great deal of fear wrapped up in my writing. This manifests as procrastination. What if I say the wrong thing? What if someone disagrees with me? Will people expect me to have all of my life together and be disappointed when they find out I have a basketful of faults that I struggle with every day? If I let it, these fears will keep me from writing. They cause me to delay posts my heart is begging me to share and they turn every chapter that I write for publishing into a spiritual battleground.
Motivation
My greatest and most personal fear is personal harm. I believe a lot of people share this fear or something like it and that it is paralyzing us in our efforts to reach the needy of this world with the power of Christ. However, I believe that my fear of being raped is part of what motivates me to fight on behalf of the thousands of women and children that face that reality every day in the multi-billion dollar sex industry. The Lord has given me an enormous burden and passion to help these souls, in part, because I am so afraid of becoming a victim myself.
Control
When Jesus visited the Gadarenes in Mark chapter 5, he had just performed an amazing miracle. He had cast out a legion of demons from a man that had been so tormented by them that he was forever crying out and cutting himself. Any attempt to restrain him had failed. So the people of the town avoided him as he roamed the graveyard and mountains near the city. Jesus came along and had compassion on the man. He cast out the demons who then entered a herd of pigs causing them to run into the sea to their deaths.
You would expect the people to be angry at their loss of livestock and income at such a turn of events, but that isn’t what the Bible says happened. It says that when the witnesses to what happened told the other townspeople, they were afraid and begged Jesus to leave their region. I’ve always wondered at that. It would seem that if they weren’t angry at him for the loss of the pigs that they would be grateful that a legion of demons had been sent away from this neighbor of theirs, and by nature of his proximity to their families and homes, had been afflicting them as well. But instead of offering their thanks and praise, they ran Jesus out of town.
Results of letting fear rule
Recently have I started to see this story in a new light. I realized people are afraid of what they can’t control and what they don’t understand. Things like homelessness, human trafficking, divorcees, single moms, low income families. These problems don’t have easy answers. Dealing with people in difficult circumstances can be draining, costly and even dangerous. So instead of showing them the love of Jesus and letting loose the power of the Holy Spirit in our hearts as we minister to them, we turn away, avert our eyes, come up with excuses not to help, turn the channel on the news broadcast, or even blame them for being in such a mess. We do what the people of the Gadarenes did—we ask Jesus to leave us alone.
What are you afraid of?
So I wonder—what are you afraid of? What is it that you feel motivated by the Holy Spirit to do, but that you aren’t sure what might happen if you try? Is there something you’ve always wanted to attempt, but never felt like you were qualified or the time was right? Jesus wants to do amazing things through us to change our lives and those in our communities. We have to let Him work through our fear. We have to invite Him into the mess and let His Spirit cast out the inner demons keeping us trapped in complacency.
Face your fears with Jesus
Let Jesus bring life and healing into your fears. Can you imagine what other miracles the people of that town missed out on because they were afraid? Don’t be like them. Face your fears and let Jesus have His way with them.
