First Post...

Well...this is the first post. I'm so original, right? ;)

If you're reading this, it's probably because I have spoken to you at some point about what God has put on my heart concerning sex trafficking in America. So what IS human trafficking? The definition according to the Victims of Trafficking & Violence Protection Act is as follows:

"a.) Sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age; or

b.) the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery."

For the purposes of this blog, we'll mostly be talking about the first part of the definition.

So how does this affect us, in America? You may be surprised to learn that the United States is the number one source & destination country for trafficked women in the entire world; surpassing even China, Thailand, & the Philippines. This means that women are brought from other countries to America for the sole purpose of being sold to men for sex, but it also means that women & girls from our own country are held captive as sex slaves. There are an estimated 100,000-300,000 women & girls in America, right this very moment, that are being forced to have sex with up to 20 different men a day, for money that they will never see. If you need some perspective on that, an NFL football stadium seats about 80,000 people - if we were to fill 3 football stadiums with people, it would be about the same as the number of girls who are literally slaves within our own country right now. The average age that girls enter into this terrible "business" is 12 years old, & they will only live an average of about 7 years upon entering into prostitution. Sex trafficking happens in every city of every state in America, with the largest incidence of slavery being California, Florida, Texas, & New York.

When I first learned that this is actually a reality in our country, & that young girls, CHILDREN, are being forced to live this life against their will, I was shocked & sickened. How can things have gotten this out of control? How can it be that this is happening & NO ONE KNOWS IT?!

I'll be posting alot more statistics & information that I've come across in my research, but I want to share with you what God has spoken to me about what the Church can do to help put a stop to this horrible evil.

One night during my time with the Lord, He showed me Psalm 37:4, which says, "Delight yourself in the Lord & He will give you the desires of your heart." I paused to consider what the desires of my heart actually are; what has the Lord placed on my heart to do in this life? It was then that I heard God whisper to me, "Read the rest of the Psalm."

¹ Do not fret because of evil men
or be envious of those who do wrong;
² for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.

³ Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
⁴ Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:
⁶ He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

⁷ Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.

⁸ Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.
⁹ For evil men will be cut off,
but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.

¹⁰ A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
¹¹ But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy great peace.

¹² The wicked plot against the righteous
and gnash their teeth at them;
¹³ but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he knows their day is coming.

¹⁴ The wicked draw the sword
and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose ways are upright.
¹⁵ But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.

¹⁶ Better the little that the righteous have
than the wealth of many wicked;
¹⁷ for the power of the wicked will be broken,
but the LORD upholds the righteous.

¹⁸ The days of the blameless are known to the LORD,
and their inheritance will endure forever.
¹⁹ In times of disaster they will not wither;
in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.

²⁰ But the wicked will perish:
The LORD’s enemies will be like the beauty of the fields,
they will vanish—vanish like smoke.

²¹ The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous give generously;
²² those the LORD blesses will inherit the land,
but those he curses will be cut off.

²³ If the LORD delights in a man’s way,
he makes his steps firm;
²⁴ though he stumble, he will not fall,
for the LORD upholds him with his hand.

²⁵ I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.
²⁶ They are always generous and lend freely;
their children will be blessed.

²⁷ Turn from evil and do good;
then you will dwell in the land forever.
²⁸ For the LORD loves the just
and will not forsake his faithful ones.

They will be protected forever,
but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off;
²⁹ the righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it forever.

³⁰ The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks what is just.
³¹ The law of his God is in his heart;
his feet do not slip.

³² The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
seeking their very lives;
³³ but the LORD will not leave them in their power
or let them be condemned when brought to trial.

³⁴ Wait for the LORD
and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

³⁵ I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
flourishing like a green tree in its native soil,
³⁶ but he soon passed away and was no more;
though I looked for him, he could not be found.

³⁷ Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
there is a future for the man of peace.
³⁸ But all sinners will be destroyed;
the future of the wicked will be cut off.

³⁹ The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD;
he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
⁴⁰ The LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.

After reading through the entire thing, I asked God what He wanted to show me through it. He said, "Read it again - this is what I'm going to do about human trafficking." I read it again with that in mind, & I was literally stunned. I was SO struck by how many times God promises that the wicked will be cut off. He spoke to me again, "This is My plan. This is what I'm going to do. But I am calling you as my Church to PRAY, & to intercede & fight battles through your prayers. YOU are going to be the vehicle I use to put a stop to this injustice & bring people to Me." My first inclination was to feel...well, insufficient. I mean, we're talking about such a HUGE problem...& I am such a very small person, with no college degree. Upon saying this to God, He responded, "I hold the keys to death & to the grave, & I have placed before you an open door." Well, there's really no arguing with that.

God is calling us as the Church to be aware of this problem & to do something about it. He is going to bring this injustice to an end, & I believe I could see it happen in my lifetime if the church as a whole really catches onto this vision & is committed to praying in obedience to what God has spoken. This problem demands a response. If we are not a part of the solution, we are contributing to the problem.

My dear friend Kate (who most of you know) & I will be posting our research findings & things that God has spoken to us in this blog. We are asking you to join with us in this fight & to pray with us & educate yourselves about this problem. There are several of you that we've spoken to who have wanted to learn more, & upon the suggestion of my friend Pietze, I thought this might be a good place to start.