Freedom

Happy Easter! Today the precious words from the old hymn have been continually drifting through my mind… “Christ the Lord is risen today-ay…” This song holds special meaning for me because as a young girl my Grandma T. would always sing me this song. I would have sleepovers at her house and I would ask her to sing me the words as I fell asleep. Those are some very precious memories that I cherish to this day. The thing that I love most about this memory is that we did not reserve this song for Easter. We were not just celebrating the resurrection of our Savior one day a year. The Risen Lord is something to celebrate every moment of everyday for as long as I have breath in my lungs! So today, like every other day, I want to shout out (or in this case, type out!) that CHRIST IS RISEN and because he conquered death we have REDEMPTION and HEALING and HOPE and FREEDOM!

For a while now my mind and heart have been captivated by the concept of freedom. Freedom from darkness, freedom from death, freedom from evil and hopelessness. Freedom for the millions of people who are living in bondage and slavey. You could choose to read this figuratively, and yes, there is definite spiritual bondage, but right now I am talking about literal slavery and human trafficking. This may seem like an odd post for Easter, but the more I think about it, the more relevant it is in my mind. Christ died and rose from the grave to conquer death and bring light to the darkness. Yet the battle still rages on, there is still so much evil in the world, and it is believers who are called to shine the Light and Hope of the Lord Jesus Christ into those dark places. We are to be Lightbringers. If we don't fight for the lost, broken, hurting, enslaved, persecuted, and abandoned, then who will?!

The more I learn about the atrocities that take place to children around the world, the more pain and anger and horror I feel. I don't know what to do to stop it, but I feel the urgency to do something. For so long I was blind to the reality of what is happening to millions of children who have no one to fight for them. Now that my eyes have been opened, I can't sit in silence. It is easy for me to be apathetic when I am ignorant. So I am done being ignorant, and apathy is no longer an option.

Here are some shocking and horrifying facts about human trafficking. As you read them, don't let your mind brush them off as statistics. Instead, picture your daughter or son, or niece or nephew, or any of the precious children that I have posted about on this blog. These are not just statistics, they are about real people who once had family and who are broken, abused, and living in hell on earth. These are people who need freedom! They need our help!

Sex Trafficking Facts

• -1.2 million children are trafficked every year; this is in addition to the millions already held captive by trafficking ⁽¹⁾
• -Every 2 minutes a child is being prepared for sexual exploitation ⁽¹⁾
• -The average victim is forced to have sex up to 40 times a day ⁽⁵⁾
• -The average age of a trafficked victim is 14 years old ⁽⁵⁾
• -Approximately 30 million children have lost their childhood through sexual exploitation over the past 30 years ⁽¹⁾
• -Sex trafficking is an engine of the global AIDS epidemic ⁽⁴⁾
• -People are trafficked from 127 countries to be exploited in 137 countries ⁽³⁾
• -Between 14,500 and 17,500 victims are trafficked into the USA each year ⁽⁴⁾
• -The total market value of illicit Sex Trafficking is estimated to be in excess of $32 billion ⁽²⁾
• -By 2010 Sex Trafficking will be the number one crime worldwide ⁽⁵⁾
• -Trafficking in women is the second largest global organized crime today
• -Over 25% of victims are trafficked from Southern and Eastern Europe.
• -Tragically, only 1-2 percent of victims are rescued, and only 1 in 100,000 Europeans involved in trafficking are convicted.

(1-UNICEF, 2-UN, 3-UNODC, 4-US Department of State, 5-The A21 Campaign)

**Facts from SheIsPriceless.com

Reading this makes me so angry! This is not the way the world is supposed to be! The devastating thing is that most of the kids who are trafficked are orphans. They are easy targets. No one is there to fight for them and no one would miss them if they didn't arrive back in their hometown when they are aged out of the orphan care system. WE NEED TO FIGHT FOR THEM!

Jesus Christ fought for us and died for us so that we could be free from the power of death. We must shine His light into the dark places and fight for those who have no voice.

"The only thing necessary for evil to triumph over good is for good men to do nothing."

-Edmund Burke

So let's do something! If you would like more information, check out these websites:

- love146.org

- www.iempathize.org

- www.hopechest.org

- www.notforsalecampaign.org

- www.globalcenturion.org

Also, here are some things that you could begin to PRAY for on a daily basis:

-Pray that the Lord will close the eyes of those seeking vulnerable girls to traffic.

-Pray that the girls’ eyes would be opened to truth and they would flee.

-Pray that the Lord will comfort the girls in their affliction.

-Pray that they will feel His arms wrapped around them.

-Pray for their protection, in body, soul and spirit.

-Pray that the girls will not lose hope.

-Pray that the girls will band together to encourage one another.

-Pray for Satan’s voice to be quieted as he tells them there is no hope.

-Pray for the eyes of the rescue organizations to be opened to see girls who need rescuing.

-Pray that the rescuers who are strategizing how to rescue will have discernment.

-Pray for safety during rescue efforts.

-Pray for the newly rescued girls, that they will know they are safe.

-Pray that they will be comforted by the Holy Spirit as they begin to grieve.

-Pray for healing for their deepest wounds that can only come from Him.

(Prayer requests from sheispriceless.com)

I know this is not the typical Eater message, but I couldn't hold it in any longer. If you have made it to the end of this post, please join me in praying for people who are trafficked, and in educating ourselves about what is really happening.