Don't worry, be sappy

When it comes to physical issues people want to provide physical help. It makes sense. However, what so many of us fail to recognize is the importance of prayer.

The epidemic of trafficking, whether it be forced labor or sexual exploitation, is not a mere force of nature or a simple problem that can be fixed with action. There are spiritual battles at work all around us, good and evil, angels and demons, God and Satan, and if we want to make a lasting impact on the world then we need to take a serious stance on prayer and the overcoming of evil.

Fantastic news, guys! I found an incredible site that keeps an updated account of organizations and their websites related to human trafficking (as well as other issues). You can find it here: www.missionfinder.org/stop-human-trafficking-resources/

Let me give you a brief overview:

*They provide alphabetical order listings of the organizations.

*They give you an excerpt of what to expect once you click on the link.

*AND these sites are all incredible and worthy of reading.

My personal favorites are Compasio, Hagar International, Rahab’s Rope, and Servant Works. However, these are far from the only helpful ones.

Reading about everything as I scanned through this site prodded me so much to get involved (everything was a click away) that I decided to email Servant Works through the comment box they provided on their page. 

It took less than 24 hours for them to respond. Not only did he respond, but he was SO helpful. He provided me with details of their work in Thailand, their current projects, and things they want to work on in the future. I told him I wanted to help and he cared enough to provide me with a look at what I may be helping with. It was so encouraging.

So, everyone, I encourage you to take a moment and decide where you’d like to go to help a world that has a hard time of helping itself (for the better, at least). Thailand, India, Mexico, Columbia? Vietnam? The U.S.? Find it, read about it, and plan to go. Click the link and change the world. Make a difference, change your own life as well as lives around you, and tell me about it. I’ll post your story here and we can tell the world together.

Prayer is powerful, but we are not called to merely sit and wait. We are called to act.  God does not portray love as an emotion, he portrays it as an act of sacrifice. 

If enough of us love, then there could be a revival so big that the world is forever changed. A community is required to band together in order to stand against the atrocities of human trafficking. A community can only remain in tack if love is the glue.

As the famous Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ...

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

This is not intended for marriages only. This is to show the world what great gifts The Lord has given those who are His. The ability to love. The ability to see through faults, through struggles, through sadness and impatience, and to see that all need help, all need love. We are in need of love, every one of us, and the best way to find it is to give it. 

In regard to human trafficking, there are women and children out there who are being used and abused numerous times every day. How exhausting. How hopeless they must feel. How unloved they must feel.

In researching credible people and sources in regard to human trafficking and active abolitionists, I came across these inspiring women. There are far more, but these are the most recent I have found. Take a look:

  https://www.childrenofthenight.org/who_we_are.html

Dr. Lois Lee – For years now, she’s been an active abolitionist and lover of others who are in need of help. With her simple courage to stand up for what is right and her ability to trust others and put herself in the middle of a world that needs help, she has changed thousands of lives. Truly a joy to read.

(https://twitter.com/drloislee)

  http://seedswillgrow.com

Jennie Joy – an active follower and lover of Christ. Her blog provides a mixture of thoughts, experiences, hopes, understandings, and wonderful insight. What drew me most to her is her clear inexpressible joy for Christ and her willingness to follow Him.

(https://twitter.com/seedswillgrow)

  *Lois has clearly used her ability to network and communicate with others to provide an amazing opportunity for those whose lives may otherwise have ended in the sex trade.

We should remember this. Always take into account that we can make a difference by talking to someone else. Doors are opened and help is fruitful.

The very current and literally up-to-date source for human trafficking information and details regarding the crime can be found at http://human.globalincidentmap.com. 

Whether it's slavery and labor traffic or sexual exploitation and smuggling, the crimes are apparent and the need for justice must continue.

Now I ask the question, what next? These individuals, whether child, woman, or man, are all victims of this epidemic in some way. Victims, victimizers, mothers, fathers, siblings... what happens when one finally escapes the nightmare of human trafficking?

For the victims who've been forced under long-hour labor, their may be a need for rehabilitation depending on the treatment by the oppressors, but victory is won in the end for those freed. 

However, for those who've been sexually exploited, there is a need for rehabilitation and shelter. So many of those rescued return to the streets once they're rescued because they do not receive adequate care or adequate love.

For the traffickers themselves, they are not necessarily to be thrown in the lion's den and left for dead. In many cultures, the men and women exploiting younger individuals do not realize the inner turmoil it causes. Poverty strikes and a woman sells her daughter; a white man comes to the village and the children sell sex for money; a family is in need so the daughter willingly enters the trade and her traffickers never let her leave. These are all crimes, yes, but the traffickers need to realize and be enlightened, not merely "justified."

In any case with trafficking, there is often much more than the eye meets or than someone assumes. The world of trafficking is harsh and unforgiving. Although being forced under labor may not seem as bad as being sexually exploited and forced into prostitution, the effects are still there. People are beaten and driven into fear. Families are left behind when kidnapped or manipulated. Life is not easy in any way, much less for those who do not have control over their own.

That being said, I'd like to unapologetically proclaim the freedom we have in Christ and therefore the rest given to those who seek Him. When we give our life to He who died for it, then we acknowledge that we were bought at a price and therefore our lives are not our own. And Hallelujah for that! With The Lord in control of our lives, then peace can be given even when a trafficker tries to claim that life as his own. For no one can truly have a life that is The Lord's.

For those who get caught in such a terrible mess as trafficking, it is no wonder that many of them come out of it praising the Almighty and embracing His redeeming love when they realize how desperately they need it. 

So now, I challenge you to get involved and help transform lives. One must start with the physical life in order to reach the spiritual one, so go. Be hands-on, and save lives.

Women all over the world fall prey to similar traps of manipulation by the men they love. 

These women only want to be loved in return, but their abusers often seek power or money, turning their relationships into dysfunctional pairings of abuse and cooperation.

The worst part is:

Too many young women are willing to die for the ones they love when they don't realize that the greatest Love has already died for them.

*Love is not a feeling, it is an action. Love does not come in the form of envy, boastfulness, arrogance, rudeness, insistence, irritability, resentment, wrong-doing, or endings.

Love is patient and kind. It rejoices in truth, bears all things, believes all things, is hopeful, and enduring.*

This blog will not remain a subject on a site, but a foundation to be Hands-On and to Go. A foundation for donating, fundraising, acting, and loving.

Donating 

Donating with time, energy, and passion. I plan to build a blog that will be beneficial, credible, and full of first-account stories that will shed a light on the atrocities of slavery, as well as the freedom one is able to find afterward. I want to donate my time so that others can donate theirs if they choose. I want to donate my money and passions so that others may benefit. I want to donate my "comfortable" life so that others may have an actual life.

Fundraising

Fundraising through art auctions, art contests, and art from the victims themselves. This blog will be a spot for artists to come together, buy, bid, shop, and sell, all in order to raise money for those who need help.

Acting

Acting with energy. When this blog is stable and credible, the money that comes in will not just go to other organizations that are already well on their way to helping those in need; the money will go to the nonprofit surrounding this very blog, and those who donate will have a say in where the money goes. Whether it be near or far, the money will go to rescuing victims, to helping them rehabilitate, and ultimately, to loving them. 

Loving

The center for centers; this blog will provide legitimate, top human trafficking/human rights rescue nonprofits so you don't have to search far and wide.

Information? You'll find it here.

Statistics? A % of the time.

Drive? Decide on a direction.

Act? Please.