In these
last few weeks, the Holy Spirit led me to listen to the teachings of Christine
Caine. I had never heard of her before, and really can’t remember exactly how I
came to be watching and listening to her speak in conferences and churches
through the wonders of YouTube. All I can say is this woman is authentic. For
her, being a Christian means being salt and light in the world, being a doer of
the word, and not a hearer only, being a faithful ambassador to bring the love
and compassion of Jesus to a dying and hurting world. She walks the talk, and
she challenges us to do so as well.
A few
years ago she saw a poster in an airport in Greece on human trafficking. At
that time, she was like most of us; she didn’t know too much about it. She asked
a friend in Greece about it: Is it really a problem? She was shocked to learn just
how big a problem it is throughout the world. Here is what she discovered:
·
Roughly 27 million women, men, and children worldwide are victims of human
trafficking
·
The International Labor Organization estimates that women and girls account
for 55% of forced labor victims and 98% of sex trafficking victims
·
Once formally put to work, human trafficking victims can be force to
service from 40 to 110 customers in one day
·
Tragically, only 1-2% of victims are rescued
The more I
learned, the more I wanted to know if we have a human trafficking problem in this
country, and I learned that we do. The FBI uses calls to the National Human
Trafficking Resource Center tip line to measure the size and location of the
problem.
Brace
yourself if you live in Texas: For the year 2013, Texas ranked second only to California in the
number of calls. If you live in Houston, brace yourself again. Among U.S. cities thought to have the
most victims of human trafficking, Houston ranks #1.
This is horrifying! How is it possible in this day and age
that there are more slaves worldwide than at any other point in history? How is
it possible that only California is considered to have more human trafficking
problems than Texas? And how is it possible that Houston, Texas, our own little
corner of the world, is considered to have the most victims of human
trafficking in the United States?
What does this say about the condition of
the Christian church in this country? In this state? In this city?
The United States of America used to be
considered a Christian nation, meaning not that everyone was a Christian, but that Judeo-Christian
principles and values were dominant. I said “used to be” because today many consider the U.S. the third most pagan country in the world. God is openly mocked, and Christianity and Christians
are under attack as never before in this country.
We need to wake up!
The
church in America has become insular. Rather than going out into the world to be the church, we have been satisfied to
go to church and minister to one
another. Rather than taking our light into the darkness, we have taken it
into the church building and shared it with one another. Rather than embracing
our responsibility to be salt in the world, we have chosen to hoard it to
ourselves lest it be offensive to someone else, making it useless. We have made
the church irrelevant, and now we are seeing the results.
I
literally feel sick to my stomach, thinking about how blind, unaware, and
uncaring I have been; for I, too, have been asleep. It isn’t enough to shed a tear or two, to sympathize, or even empathize
with the hurting, suffering, and captives of the world. When Jesus looked
at the broken, lame, hungry, sick, afflicted, addicted, blind, deaf,
broken-hearted, and captives of sin, He didn’t say, “Oh, those poor, pitiful
people. Bless their hearts. I feel so sorry for them. It’s just terrible,” and
move on. Moved with compassion He stopped, meeting them where they were,
healing, forgiving, and setting them free. What
the Lord demands of us is what He has given to us: compassion.
Christine
Caine says, “Compassion
isn’t compassion, until you do something about it,” and she responded to the prompting of the
Holy Spirit to do something about the human trafficking problem. She and her
husband established The A21 Campaign (Abolishing injustice
in the 21st century) to advance freedom globally through
·
Prevention – educating, providing resources,
increasing awareness about the problem of human trafficking
·
Protection – provide a safe place for survivors to
recover, helping them transition from crisis to stability and freedom, equip
them with skills and resources
·
Prosecution – a legal team which works to advance laws
and governmental policies that stand against human trafficking, provide legal
counsel, represent victims in criminal proceedings
·
Partnerships – A21 partners with law enforcement,
service providers, community members, organizations and government agencies to
provide a comprehensive front against trafficking
27,000,000 million men, women, and children
worldwide are slaves, forced into prostitution and manual labor with no hope of
escape.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says that more than 100,000 minors are trafficked in the U.S. each year.Texas is second only to California, and Houston is number one among all the cities in the U.S. for human trafficking activity.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says that more than 100,000 minors are trafficked in the U.S. each year.Texas is second only to California, and Houston is number one among all the cities in the U.S. for human trafficking activity.
If the Holy Spirit stirs your heart as He has stirred mine, I encourage you to go to the A21 website for further information and ways you can help.
This link will take you to the A21 website: www.TheA21Campaign.org
Another good site: http://www.polarisproject.org/human-trafficking/sex-trafficking-in-the-us
If you are
in the Houston, Texas, area and would like to do something, I would love to
hear from you. Perhaps we can do something together!
“For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you
gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed
clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison
and you came to visit me.” Matthew 25:34-36, NIV
“…Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers
and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40, NI
THOUGHTS FOR REFLECTION
·
Was I aware that millions of children, teens,
women and men are being forced into prostitution, pornography and/or slave
labor?
·
Was I aware of how big a problem it is in my own
country? My own state? My own city?
·
Does this information have any relevance in my
life?
o
Would I feel differently if it were my daughter,
sister, or wife who was forced to be a sex slave?
o
Would I feel differently if it were my son,
brother, or husband who was forced into being a slave in labor camps?
·
Is there anything I can do to help? Do I want to do anything to help? If so, how
do I begin?
Call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center
1-888-373-7888 or text BeFree (233733)
to report sex trafficking, forced labor, or to get help
God bless you and Happy July 4th!
Syandra
