According to statistics, 27 million people on the planet today live in some form of slavery or bondage. That’s a disturbing statistic, the kind of information that gives us insight into the magnitude of a global problem. However, it’s important to peel back those numbers to learn the stories of those who live or have lived in some form of slavery. Personal stories are powerful because they can give us insight into how a person becomes a part of disturbing statistics. And, because personal stories tend to touch our hearts they can also compel us to become a part of the solution — to act in a practical and measurable way to make a difference. It’s easy for us to shake our heads and dismiss disturbing statistics and exclaim, “What a shame!” But, it’s harder to dismiss the story of just one person who has experienced the horrors reflected by the statistics.

A little more than two years ago, I led our missions ministry to became engaged in the fight against human trafficking. We now have several justice partners with whom we work both at home and abroad. Among these is an aftercare home for young girls rescued from the forced commercial sex trade in the brothels of South Asia. Every time I visit this home I am reminded of why we must remain engaged in the fight against injustice. And every time I listen to a young girl tell her story, I understand a little better why God is concerned about the welfare of the victims of injustice and all who are destitute, poor, and needy. Those trapped in the world of slavery need for us to hear their cries, to speak and to act on their behalf, and to champion their cause. You cannot unlock the shackles of the enslaved with the dull keys of ignorance, silence, and inactivity. We must become increasingly knowledgeable, intentionally engaged, and strategically active in order to bring about change.

Yesterday, I met a thirteen year-old girl who lives in the aftercare home we support. She is new here since my last visit. She has a beautiful smile but lonely and longing eyes. She approached me and stared at me for a moment and then said, “You remind me of my father.” I asked, “When was the last time you saw your father?” And with that, her story began to unfold. This young lady is from a small village in a neighboring country. Almost a year ago, her family sent her to visit her aunt in a larger city. While there, a neighbor invited her to accompany her into the city to run some errands. That was the last time she saw her aunt. She remembered waking up in a room where her descent into hell began. For four months she was kept in a drug-induced stupor so that men could have their way with her. Then she remembers waking up in a police station where she was told that she had been unconscious for four days. The courts placed her in aftercare where she is recovering from her ordeal.

I asked her how she survived through her unimaginably dark days in captivity where she was forced to service the sexual whims of evil men. “God was with me. That’s why I am saved.” And then she told me how much she misses her parents and wishes that she could contact them and just talk with them. But, she can’t even remember where her village is located. She hopes that one day she can find her way back home to her family. In the meantime, she has a safe place to live and to recover. I encouraged her as much as I could and then, as we finished our conversation, told her that she had a beautiful smile. “If I don’t smile,” she said, “I won’t be able to live.” That is a beautiful testimony to her faith and resilient spirit. This sweet little girl with the beautiful smile has hope and I am confident that one day she will be reunited with her family. I can only imagine that there will be lots of beautiful smiles on that day.

In a final act of desperation, a single mother and her children walked through the gates of the Imparting Smiles orphanage this afternoon. As our team concluded the final session of today’s Vacation Bible School, she sat with Noit Hyde, Steve’s wife, and unfolded the story of her life — a tattered tapestry of sadness. Her story, unfortunately, is not unique in a place like Poipet where evil people prey upon the weak, destroy lives, and never look back. The perpetrators of these evils are emboldened because they are seldom caught, seldom brought to justice, and seldom held accountable for their deeds. They do what they do with an arrogant spirit of impunity. The mother who walked through the gates this afternoon is just one of many whose lives are steeped in unimaginable pain and despair. This is her story.

This woman was married to a promiscuous man who died of AIDS about five years ago, leaving her to raise their children alone. However, her husband left her with one additional hardship — he passed the AIDS virus on to his wife and she is now in the final stages of her life. But, there is more to her story. As a young married woman, she found a baby boy in the woods while she was out gathering firewood. This baby had been left there to die of exposure. So, this compassionate woman took the child home to raise him along with her three other sons. A few years later she found a baby girl in the woods who had also been left there to die. She also brought that child home to raise as her own. This in itself is an amazing act of compassion because she did not have the means to care for such a large family.

After the death of her husband, a man approached this woman and told her that he was looking for young men to go to Thailand to work for a short period. He promised that her teenage son would make lots of money and then return home to help the family. Desperate, she agreed to let her son go, not realizing that the man who had approached her was trafficking kids to work as laborers in Thailand. This trafficker had no intention of letting her son return home. That was the last time she saw her son. Later, her other teenage son was taken from her by traffickers and she has not seen him again. And now, she has one teenage son left and the two adopted children who are 11 and 8 years-old. This grief-stricken woman brought her two adopted children to Imparting Smiles orphanage because she can no longer care for them. Steve and Noit accepted the children and told her she could visit them at any time and promised that her children would receive the very best care. The woman left with her 15 year-old son who will care for her and then bury her when she dies.

There are 27 million people in the world today who live in some type of slavery. Two of those 27 million are the sons of a woman dying of AIDS in Poipet, Cambodia. We must not remain silent or passive about modern-day slavery but must intentionally do something to help. Of course, we can and must pray for the oppressed. But we must also act with intention and compassion. Through our partnership with Steve Hyde, Kingsland’s missions ministry is investing in initiatives that are making a difference in places like Popipet. Through the aftercare homes that we support in South Asia, Africa, and Central America we are helping those who have been rescued to start a new life. Through our local justice initiatives we are reaching out to women trafficked to our own country. Because God cares about the oppressed we must work to champion the rights of those who continue to suffer at the hands of evil people. We must continue to work toward the day when “man who is of the earth may strike terror no more” (Ps. 10:18).

Our Just Run is designed to raise awareness about human trafficking. That’s why this year’s race featured a compelling wall of panels that stretched sixty-feet across our parking lot. Each panel sequentially illustrated the story of how young girls and boys are trafficked and how those who champion justice come to their aid. The final set of panels were designed for this morning’s participants to write a prayer on behalf of the oppressed. I was encouraged by the heartfelt notes and prayers that people posted on the justice wall. Many commented that this wall helped them to better understand why we must be engaged in working and speaking on behalf of the oppressed and those who have no voice. I am grateful to Susan Derbecker and her team of volunteers for the many hours they invested in making the wall a reality. We will definitely use it again throughout the year at other justice initiatives.

Those present this morning also had an opportunity to listen to a brief testimony from Mariam Kagaso, a child labor trafficking survivor who currently lives in Dallas, Texas. Mariam was brought from Africa to the United States under false pretenses and was forced to work in a home even though she was just a child. Although she was raised as a Muslim, she found new life and hope in Jesus Christ and was able to escape from the bondage of human trafficking. Today, Mariam continues to tell her story and to inspire others to get involved in championing the cause of the oppressed. Listening to Mariam this morning helped many to put a face on human trafficking. It’s one thing to hear that there are twenty-seven million people in the world today in some kind of slavery. But it’s another thing to actually see and listen to the story of just one from among the twenty-seven million.

We at Kingsland remain committed to the fight against human trafficking. We understand that this battle will not likely be won in our generation — but we are nevertheless determined to do all that we can to make a difference. And we are determined to equip and to pass the baton to the next generation. This morning, many people in our community learned about the plight of the oppressed. For many, this was their first exposure to the truth about a reality that they may never see — the dark world of human trafficking. My prayer is that each of us will make a commitment to pray for and to speak on behalf of those who have no voice and to financially support initiatives that result in the rescue of the oppressed. My favorite quote on the justice wall sums it up best: William Wilberforce said, “You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know.”

Women in prostitution on the road to hope.

Casa Esperanza is situated at the end of a dirt road that is scarred by erosion and flanked by tall tress. Hundreds of women in prostitution in Managua know this road well because it is the road to hope. Every week these women, many with children in tow, make their way to Casa Esperanza, the House of Hope. They walk there to hear an encouraging message from founder April Havlin and to make greeting cards and jewelry, part of a vocational training program offered at Casa Esperanza. April is committed to loving and empowering women in prostitution to leave the world’s oldest profession in order to realize their greater potential in Christ. And, women in large numbers are responding to her invitation and efforts to help. The difficulties and challenges of her work do little to slow her down. April is a woman on a mission — on a rescue mission.

In 2006, April started a new initiative to give women a hand up rather than a hand out. She offers women micro-grants to start businesses that can help them to support themselves and their families without having to return to the brothels. Since starting the program, April has given $75 grants to more than one-hundred fifty women who had good ideas for business ventures but did not have the resources to realize their dreams. The results are impressive. Out of more than one-hundred fifty businesses started, at least 75% proved successful. These are just some of the businesses started and that continue to provide income to women who once sold themselves in order to support their families:

• A piñata-making business.
• Selling flip-flops.
• Making and selling hammocks.
• Various baking and pastry businesses.
• A pig-slaughtering/processing business.
• Transporting goods to local markets.
• Selling women’s and children’s under-garments.

I spoke with a woman named Anna who used her grant to purchase a sewing machine five years ago. She now runs a successful tailoring business that has enabled her to support her family. She no longer has to sell herself in order to put food on her table. She has been out of the brothels for over five years, all because of a $75 dollar grant that enabled her to buy a sewing machine. When recent flood waters inundated her little home, she told me that she and her sons moved the sewing machine to higher ground but lost everything else. They have no regrets about choosing the sewing machine over all other possessions. To many of us in America, $75 dollars is not a lot of money, but to the women who have been selling themselves in Nicaragua’s brothels for $1.50 per customer, this grant means the difference between a life of continuing despair or a life of hope. Because of the kindness of Kingsland members, our missions ministry is providing the funds to underwrite grants to an additional forty women — money well invested to bless women on the road to hope.

How does a guy who was once a good friend kill a classmate? Raja’s killer, a marginal student, was jealous because Raja was the smarter student. When I read this I was reminded of an old Cowboy Proverb that says, “Don’t get mad at somebody who knows more’n you do. It ain’t their fault” — advice that Raja’s killer should have heeded. The bullying started after Raja refused to let his friend copy his answers on a major school examination. The bullying progressively escalated until finally, on Wednesday, July 6, Raja stood up to the bully. The bully, whose name was withheld by The Times of India, became so angry that “he started kicking and punching” Raja “in the chest and banged his head repeatedly against the wall.” But, the worst part of it all is that Raja screamed for help, “but no student or teacher came to his rescue.”

The final words of the story are perhaps the saddest of all, “… no student or teacher came to his rescue.” Raja did not lose his life in some dark alley but instead at the school gates in broad daylight. For whatever reason, students and teachers who heard his cries for help failed to act. No one was willing to lift a finger or lend a hand to help stop the violence. Had anyone taken any initiative to intervene, they might have saved the lives of both boys. But now, one is dead and the other faces an uncertain future to be decided by India’s judicial system. And Raja’s mother, pictured in the article, now faces a grief-filled future without her son.

Irish statesman Edmund Burke once said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” He was right. A reader left this interesting comment on a blog I posted from Kolkata: “Don’t leave it up to someone else. You are someone else.” Simple but brilliant observation. It’s not until we realize that we are the someone else who can make a difference and then act accordingly that we will make a difference. We must do more than avoid evil, we must actively oppose it and stand up against it, even at personal risk. There is no virtue in remaining passive or ignoring the cries for help from those suffering abuse. We must act with courage and intention lest the bullies of the world triumph.

Early this morning, the boys on our team headed back to the slum school in the village of Udayan Pally where they continued their work with the children of Bengali Hindus. The path to New Hope School is still coated with a film of slick and slippery mud that makes walking a challenge. But it’s worth taking every step to the school just to see the smiles on the faces of the children who are finding new hope there. Our boys are fully engaged with their assignment and are taking advantage of every opportunity to chat with curious onlookers about why we have come. One thing is certain, the villagers are as excited about our presence here as the children. For the majority of these poor families, their children will be the first to learn how to read and write in both Bangla and English. And, their children will be the first in their families to hear the story of Jesus and His love. Pastor Rudra’s curriculum includes teaching the story of Jesus in a way that children can reproduce it at home — through stories and songs.

Later in the morning, the girls on our team boarded a bus that took them to the aftercare home that we fund for girls rescued from forced commercial sex. Most of these young sex trafficking victims are younger than the girls on our team and have already lived through a lifetime’s worth of hell and abuse at the hands of filthy men seeking to satisfy their sexual appetites at any cost. When we arrived and entered the secure campus, the young girls there greeted our team with beautiful smiles and waves. Within minutes, the girls in aftercare and our team members introduced themselves to one another. As I stood there watching all of this happen, one of the young aftercare residents approached me with a smile and said to me in very broken English, “I go home today. My father is coming.” Her broad smile advertised an immense joy in her heart that she had not only been rescued, but would soon be reunited with the family who had lost a daughter through the deception of a sex trafficker.

“My father is coming” are the sweetest words I have ever heard on any of my visits to the aftercare home. Some of the girls in aftercare can never return home because they were sold to traffickers by their own family members. For these girls, the words “my father is coming” would have an entirely different meaning. But for a girl who fell into the trap of an unscrupulous sex trafficker, the words “my father is coming” represent new hope and the opportunity to heal among a family that thought they would never see their daughter again. The young lady who joyfully uttered those words told me that she wanted to continue her education and aspired to become a beautician — a dream she never thought she would fulfill when her life was abruptly interrupted by the evil intentions of a sex trafficker. And, to make things even sweeter, she clutched a small cross dangling from a string around her neck, lifted it to her lips, and kissed it. “”I am a Christian,” she said, “and I am going home today. My father is coming.”

One of the very best things about our Summer of Service initiatives is giving parents and their kids the opportunity to serve together. At Kingsland, we are committed to equipping the next generation to love God and to love people. I love watching our families serve together. Last night was no exception. Moms and Dads and sons and daughters filled their bags and then sat together to write encouraging Scripture verses on colored index cards. The women on our justice outreach team have reported seeing these Scripture cards taped to mirrors or kept in places where the girls who receive them can see the cards every day. That is encouraging. Psalm 119:130a states, “The unfolding of Thy words gives light.” God is using His Word to enlighten the hearts of those living in dark places. We are grateful for every individual who helped us to assemble three-hundred bags of redemption and hope that will be distributed by our justice outreach team in the coming weeks.

We also stressed five important prayer points concerning human trafficking. First, ask God to raise up champions who will fight for the rights of the 27 million people trapped in some form of slavery today. Second, pray for the unfortunate victims of human trafficking who are often abused and sometimes killed. Third, ask God to frustrate the plans of the wicked — those who deceive, traffic, and enslave victims in the dark work of the commercial sex trade. Fourth, pray as you travel up and down Interstate 10, the major transportation corridor for those who traffic human beings. Ask God to stop these traffickers in their tracks! And finally, pray that God will use the New Testament and hand-written Scripture cards to bring hope to the girls who receive them.

Our final three Summer of Service initiatives are scheduled for August. Please remember the 400+ Kingsland students and members who will be serving in locations around the world in the month of July. When you have a moment, check out this video thanks from Houston’s homeless for the Bags of Hope distributed by Bobby and Amanda Herring.

Chloe and Morgan Isenberger recently stopped by my office with a zip lock bag containing $56.00 in change. Morgan had recently told her mom, Kelly, that she wanted to have a lemonade stand. Kelly wasn’t sure it could be done because Morgan and her sister Chloe had to be at their swim team practice every day after school. After thinking about it, Kelly suggested that they set up their lemonade stand at the place where their swim team practices. So, Kelly and the girls went shopping and selected items that would give them the best profit margin. They also made a sign with a price list and this message: All proceeds support a home for girls rescued out of slavery. In addition to raising funds to help girls in need, Kelly and her girls helped to educate others about the issue of human trafficking.

The day after the Isenberger girls stopped by my office, Carson Potts and his older brother Cooper knocked on my door. Carson handed me his Just Change bank — the red house-shaped “piggy” banks that our families use to collect change to support our aftercare home. Carson’s bank was filled with coins. Kara, his mom, told me that Carson’s grandmother had given him a complete set of state quarters. Instead of keeping them for himself, Carson told his mom that he wanted to give the quarters to help the girls we support in South Asia. Without hesitation, Carson handed me his coin-filled bank. The Potts kids will start over with an empty bank — a reminder of their generosity and the need to continue to think of others.

I am both blessed and convicted by the thoughtful and selfless actions of the Isenberger girls, the Potts boys, and so many other children who do the same thing. Our children are leading the way and demonstrating that they are indeed hope for justice. They are beginning to realize that we are responsible for intentionally acting to help those in need and in danger. And, they are doing it in a Christ-like, selfless, and compassionate way. Let’s follow their lead!

Deception | Because the demand for child sex workers is high, the number of children at Tangail has steadily increased. The children working there were lured away from their homes “through deceitful techniques,” are “forced to do the work against their wills,” and are kept compliant though the use of “brutal torture.” I read a separate report that said a pre-pubescent girl who had been forced to work at Tangail suffered a broken hip when the customer who was raping her violently penetrated her small body.

Corruption | The children who are forced to work as sex slaves at Tangail are registered as adults. Corrupt police officials turn a blind eye to the ages of the children and approve the requisite affidavits in exchange for brides ranging from $150.00 to $200.00 USD per girl. And, the police officials who visit and monitor activity at Tangail “hardly try to know whether a girl has come to this profession willingly or not.”

Observation | Because sex with children is in such high demand at brothels like Tangail, children are a valuable commodity to their captors and are therefore “kept under strict watch all the time.” These children fetch a higher price and are kept in bondage by sardanis (brothel madams) who act with impunity because they are in league with corrupt police officials who are paid to look the other way. Children are completely vulnerable to abuses and have no way of escape.

When the correspondent who wrote the article for The Daily Star contacted the local acting superintendent of police, he was told that the department will investigate the allegations of police corruption and review the affidavits on file. Hopefully this will happen. And hopefully it will result in judicial action against those who have robbed children of their innocence. But, that remains to be seen. Tangail has been around for one and a half centuries and has survived more than one season of scrutiny. And no one really knows the scope of the corruption that has made it possible for 300 children to be repeatedly raped for profit there. It’s unlikely that all of the wicked individuals will be rooted out. But, in spite of this, let’s pray that God will frustrate the plans of the wicked so that the children held captive at Tangail will no longer be forced to do horrible things against their wills.

Today’s issue of the Khaleej Times, Dubai’s English language newspaper, featured a story that caught my attention: “Woman Jailed for Human Trafficking.” I am always happy to see stories like this in print because they help to raise awareness about the issue of human trafficking and because they help to educate people about how traffickers operate. There are common denominators in every story about human trafficking. The 21 year-old victim in today’s story, a Moldavian national, summed it up best. She was lured to work in Dubai by the promise of honest employment. However, once she arrived in Dubai, she was forced into the flesh trade “by coercion, beating and confinement” — the methods most commonly used by sex traffickers to trap and subdue their victims.

Deception | Many of the stories of sex trafficking victims begin with an account of how they were deceived and lured away from their homes by people they trusted. Jesus said that the devil “is a liar and the father of lies” (John8:44). And, those in league with the devil know how to cleverly use lies and deception. Isaiah 32:7 states, “As for the scoundrel—his devices are evil; he plans wicked schemes to ruin the poor with lying words, even when the plea of the needy is right.”

Coercion | Coercion by definition refers to making someone do something by force or intimidation without regard to that individual’s personal will or desire. The young victim told police that the 38 year-old Uzbek woman that lured her to Dubai “forced her to work as a prostitute.” The young woman said, “When she told me I would work as a prostitute I was shocked.” But, trapped and far from home, the young woman saw “no way out.”

Beating | The young victim told police that the Uzbek woman, the brothel madam, “had hit her when she reused to work.” Sex traffickers often beat their victims into submission or threaten to beat and kill their family members if they refuse to service clients. These young women are psychologically and emotionally manipulated and live under constant threat of physical harm.

Confinement | The young Moldavian national reported that she was confined to a room with eight other women, all Moldavians, that had also been lured away from their homes and forced to work as prostitutes. She said that she and the other girls were locked up in an apartment where they serviced clients or were taken to other locations to have sex with clients.

Ironically, the young woman was able to escape because a client gave her the phone number to the police. And, in time, she found a way to call the police who were able to rescue her and place her in the care of the Human Trafficking Section of the police department. The Uzbek madam was arrested, tried, and convicted on charges of human trafficking and was sentenced to five years imprisonment. However it happens, I am always glad when the plans of the wicked are frustrated and they are held accountable for the harm they have caused others. Job 5:12 says that it is God who “frustrates the devices of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success.”

The young Moldavian woman’s escape from her captors is another small victory in the on-going battle for justice. Every victory matters because it represents another captive set free. Psalm 82:3-4 charge us to “Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” May we indeed pray for and work on behalf of those held captive by the wicked until all are free.