A Fight Against Modern Day Slavery

It all started one sunny day in October 2022. I drove 2 hours away from my tiny town to the big city with two friends who had taken up their spiritual weapons to fight against Human Sex Trafficking. I thought I was just along for the ride, for adventure. Little did I know God was about to wreck my world. There, in a little Vietnamese church in the worst part of town, surrounded by iron bars and a security gate, far out of my norm and comfort zone, I saw what my life could have been. 

 

I met a woman who had been sold into sex slavery, here in the US. Here in my back yard. As I watched her big brown eyes cloud over, knowing as she spoke her story, she was reliving every moment of the horror she has endured, my heart broke. I watched tears run down her face. She didn't even try to hide them. Her very soul and existence lay thick in the air between us. "How could I help her? What could I possibly say?" I thought. "If I met her 10 years ago, what could I have done differently? Different from those throughout her story who victimized her, rejected her, and shamed her, including those in the church." I knew something needed to change. I knew I needed to change. 

 

I went home with a broken and humbled heart asking God if I needed to pack my little family up and move to this town and help women like I had met that day. But God assured me I was right where He wanted me. There were women in my hometown who needed His grace and love just as desperately as the woman I had met that day. Women who no one even knows exist. Women much like the Samaritan woman in John 4, gathering at "The Well" at odd hours so as to hide from people who would judge and accuse them. So, I asked God to show me where they are, where was the modern day "Well" where these women are hiding in shame? I asked a lot of questions. I prayed for weeks. My heart broke over and over again as God revealed to me, I didn't need to go far to find the lost and forgotten of our generation. No, they were indeed all around me. They are the women of the night. Women in the sex Industry. 

 

Going to the well 

 

As I continued my research and prayer, it was not hard to find staggering statistics on Human Sex Trafficking. I was shocked to find that Sex Trafficking didn’t just happen in some unsettled war-torn country, nor at the border. No, this horrific act of modern-day slavery, was all around me. Hidden behind easily misjudged and misunderstood industries, like pornography, strip clubs, and massage parlors. And some less obvious places, like hotels - nice hotels, and more often than not, foster care homes and the homes of the neighbor you think would never have the capacity to do such horrendous acts against their children as to sell them for sex. As I surveyed the mass casualties of this multi-billion-dollar industry, I was immediately overwhelmed. How could I, little old me, ever make a dent in such a grand war as this? Was there anything I could do? God showed me very quickly there was. He showed me a group of women used and shamed by culture that greatly needed someone to cross social barriers and offer a hand, His hand of love to them and in the process, offer them a way out of a world they currently have no hope of leaving. God led me to "The Well" that looks like flashy signs and late-night hours. But housed behind its mystery and glamar I knew were women God was asking me to love on. And He was asking me to take a step of faith and trust Him to open doors that I never would have been able to on my own. And so, much like Noah, I have begun to build a boat that I really have no idea what it will become. But my hope and goals are to build a bridge between Jesus and the women He came to love, no matter their social status, color, background, or job title, or the mistakes they may have committed. This means building a network of connections to prevent recovered women from being revictimazed by a broken judicial system. It means making rooms in homes, not just shelters, for these women to find a safety and a love they may never have experienced before.* And ultimately, it means showing them the unconditional hope and love of Jesus that leads them to security in a forever home with Him. 

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Enter Learning to Live Beloved Ministries. This nonprofit will be a connection of safe homes providing Christ-centered, trauma informed care in a family environment where sex trafficked and domestically exploited women can find healing, restoration, and the freedom to live in the name God has always called them by – Beloved. Find out more of what we are doing and how you can be involved via the link below.

 

Join the Fight Against Modern Day Slavery

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There are many parts to this fight. And you play a key role! The number one thing you can do right now, right where you are is to pray for God to shine light on dark places and reveal the evil of the ones fueling this industry across the world. Then, put action to your prayers. Start doing your research. Start the conversation in your home, your town, and your local networks. We need awareness to be brought to the situation so that others can join this fight too. If you want to join in this fight, or simply learn more, please reach out to me via my contact page to find out how to get involved in your own town. Follow the "Angel Pack" link to donate a bag (Angel Pack) of personal hygiene, clothes, and food items to a woman rescued from Sex Trafficking (Each pack will also house a "Dear Beloved" letter written by me from God). Or follow the "More Info" link to learn more about the how, where and why's of Human Sex Trafficking. 

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If you are in danger please contact the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline 1 (888) 373-7888

or Text “HELP” or “INFO” to 233733

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