Psalm 37: Carina Saunders.

I'm writing tonight with a very heavy heart.

This past October, in Bethany, Oklahoma, there was a body discovered stuffed into a duffel bag behind a Homeland grocery store. Within the first few days, police were unsure whether or not the deceased was male or female, as the body had been dismembered. Five days later, she was identified as 19-year-old Carina Saunders, & she had been reported missing on September 28. Her body was believed to have been disposed of at least 2 days prior. So many details of this case are still blurry & unclear, but what IS certain is that Carina Saunders was the victim of a sex trafficking ring. Another girl (who remains anonymous) came forward to police stating that she had been kidnapped by these people as well, & that she actually witnessed the torture & murder of Carina, & that she was told, "This is what happens to people who don't cooperate." Several people have been arrested as "persons of interest" in the case, & one man believed to be involved is still in custody under drug charges. At this point in time, the timeline of events is still being pieced together, & while it's unclear how Carina became involved with this sex trafficking ring, it does seem that she was chosen at random to be made an example of.

I grew up in Oklahoma. Bethany isn't a big city. We always joke in Oklahoma that there are two cities - OKC & Tulsa - & the rest is farmland. It isn't that far from the truth. It's the heart of the "Bible Belt," & it seems like everyone you meet is a friend.

I wish I could say that it's shocking to me that this happened to a girl in small-town Oklahoma, but sadly, nothing really surprises me anymore. Even so, it absolutely devastates me that a beautiful young girl with a whole life ahead of her fell victim to human trafficking in the worst of ways. How can people have become SO cruel that they are actually able to torture & dismember a young girl...for the sake of selling sex?

When I hear of cases like these, it makes me wonder how I can make a difference. I am just one person, & the fact that there is such evil out there discourages me alot, if I'm being honest. But then I remember that even the smallest light can penetrate the darkest of night. And I feel empowered to go out & to fight; to fight for Carina, that justice may be served for her, & to fight for the others who could just as easily wind up like her.

We can't forget that Carina isn't a minority. Maybe there are many girls who have been victims of trafficking that haven't been brutally murdered in the way that she was, but we have to remember that many of these girls DON'T make it out alive. Many die of AIDS or other sexually transmitted diseases they contract while they "work"; others involuntarily overdose on drugs; others are killed trying to escape. The point is that so many never live to tell their story.

I am so sad for Carina, & to think of what her last few weeks of life must have been like makes me feel physically sick.

But we can do something.

We can pray, & we can intercede on behalf of those who can't speak for themselves. WE are the light of the world; a city on a hilltop cannot be hidden. God has spoken to the Church across the globe about this matter, & He's certainly given me His heart for it. So today, in the last few hours of Human Trafficking Awareness Day, please take some time to pray - for the victims, & for the families of girls like Carina, that they would know peace that surpasses all understanding.