Last night we had an intern Christmas party at our directors’ house. We ate a family dinner, which made me tear up because I’m very family oriented, played games, talked, and exchanged a few presents. Our amazing directors got each of us a word picture — pictures of various objects that look like letters that are put together to spell out names and words. Before we opened them our director told us that all of the presents were similar, but she had chosen the one that reminded her of us as individuals. We all got different words: Peace, Faith, Rest, Smile, and so on. I opened mine and I saw Hope. At first I thought, “That’s nice,” but there wasn’t any big “Wow. This is so me!” moment, until I read the quote underneath it.
“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” – Dale Carnegie.
It’s no secret around the HAO that my God-given passion is to help sex trafficking victims and to put an end to trafficking. In fact, someday I hope to work in a safe house here in the United States. However given my age and current intern status, it’s hard to do much other than spreading the word and giving a few dollars here and there to organizations that are helping these victims. I know everyone has to start helping somewhere, but my heart is out on the field with those girls and boys. You may be saying, “Well you’re spreading the word and giving, so that’s good enough.” For some people that may be all they’re called to do, but I want to physically and actively be involved.
There are an estimated 1.2 million children who are sex trafficking victims in the world and most of them are either in the United States or on their way here. Every minute two children are being sold for sexual exploitation. I have been told time and again that, “It doesn’t happen here.” Or, “Well if it’s the U.S. it’s only in places like California or New York.” Did you know the number one pick-up spot in the United States of America of children for sex trafficking purposes is the Midwest? Specifically Missouri, Oklahoma, and Kansas. That’s right, the Bible Belt is the place where children are most likely to be bought and sold for trafficking. This is because you can take a child from the heartland and run in any direction, and it’ll be extremely hard for police to trace you.
The target age for victims is between 8 and 13 years old, but victims as young as newborns are taken, and most of them will be dead within seven years of being abducted. Pimps and traffickers don’t care about race, age, gender, or social class. This doesn’t just happen to people in other countries, and not just to kids who are in the “system”. People have been taken from their homes, schools, parks, stores, and even churches. Human trafficking is the second largest underground industry, after drugs. It is the fastest growing industry and generates $32 billion dollars in annual revenue. Yet it is the most ignored problem in the world.
We pretend that it doesn’t happen here; we sweep it under the rug because it’s ugly and messy and we don’t to get involved. We sacrifice people for the sake of a false security that it’s not happening. We close our eyes, our ears, and our hearts to the dying around us.
I was once told that sex trafficking would never be completely eliminated and there was no point in fighting it because it was just a lost cause. To quote the great American actor, Jimmy Stewart, in the great American movie, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,
“It’s very often that the lost causes are the only causes worth fighting for.”
Aren’t the “lost causes” the very ones we should be giving our lives for? Jesus seemed to think so. When he died on the cross to save humanity from hell, didn’t he give up his life for a bunch of lost causes? Christ died to save an entire world that mocks and rejects him time and time again. If I were Christ I probably would have said, “You know what? This is just a lost cause so I don’t think I’ll fight for them. I’m not going to save all of them so I won’t try at all.” Thankfully Christ didn’t do that to us. Christ looked at a bunch of lost causes and decided he loved so much that he was willing to give his life for us anyway.
Sometimes I imagine Jesus preparing to come down to earth and the angels saying, “Lord why go? You won’t save all of them. It’s a lost cause.” I can see Jesus just looking at them and saying, “Not all will be saved. But by going, all can be. Even so, some will receive me and be saved. They may be lost causes, but they’re my lost causes and I love them. They are worth fighting for.” I’m sure that’s not what actually happened, but even so Jesus Christ looked down at a lost cause and decided we were worth his life.
Hebrews 13:3 says, “Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.” We often use this verse in reference to the persecuted church, which is correct, but sometimes I think we use it as an excuse to pray and not take action. Prayer is amazing and powerful, but we are called to follow up our prayer with action. We can’t just quote this verse every day and say that we pray for the persecuted church but ignore the fact that every single day our own children are being placed into bondage.
Isaiah 61:1 says, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.” We are called to set people free. We are called to make a difference. We have been called to action. It’s often said that, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” This is completely true. Human trafficking is a very real and prominent problem, and it’s not going to just magically go away. Until we stop shoving it under the rug, it’s only going to get worse. If it were you, or your daughter, son, sister, brother; wouldn’t you want someone to do something? Yes. Victims of trafficking are in such physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual bondage that they can’t become free on their own. Someone has to break their chains and rescue them.
There are several ways to get involved. There are tons of organizations such as International Justice Mission, Courage To Be You, Love146, and Nightlight Int. that need your financial support, prayer. If you’re interested, they even offer special training and volunteer opportunities. I will never be able to save every single girl who has been forced into prostitution, but I will keep trying even when it seems like there’s no hope, because that is the only way I will ever accomplish anything for the Kingdom of God.
~ Carrots
