There are those who think slavery is pretty much a thing of the past. Not so.In a video: 'Top Ten Facts About the "S" Word,' we're told:
- Slaves are still forced to work without pay and under threat of violence, unable to simply walk away.
- There are 27 million slaves in the world today.
- There are over 14,000 slaves trafficked into the United States every year.
- Slaves work in almost any place you can imagine -- fields, homes, businesses, brothels ...
- The modern day slave trade is called 'human trafficking.'
- The cost of an average 'slave' today is $90.
- We could end slavery within the next 25 years.
'There are those who think slavery is pretty much a thing of the past.'
It's a problem all over the world in 2014. We can be thankful for organizations like Project Rescue, Exploit No More, The Tamar Center-YWAM Thailand, The Exodus Road, The Polaris Project, The Salvation Army and The A21 Campaign, all who help bring awareness, help and hope to those in labor and sexual slavery.
Join us in Kenosha for Hope Run Kenosha on Saturday morning, June 6th, to raise awareness in our own area of Southeast Wisconsin. For more info, see 'Hope Run Kenosha: Stop the Traffick' on Facebook or at this link: https://www.facebook.com/events/547805041994184/
And be blessed.
7 comments:
My brother, who lives in AZ, has gone to Fiji on three occasions on mission thru his church. They are working to combat human trafficking, as well. They have a place quite similar to the Tamar Center.
I remember when you and others went to Thailand and you ministered to the men who frequented the girls prostituting. I know you said that the men were looking for love and some measure of comfort, but I very much believe it is a baser feeling they seek. Men tend to process sexuality in a physical sense. I think that they are looking for the thrill and physical aspects more than love. It is hard to imagine that they are hurting. Maybe I'm wrong, but I doubt it.
As a victim of sexual abuse as a small child, I tend to mistrust a certain type of man. I imagine these men would fall into that category.
ANON:
I don't know if you're a man or a woman, but if you're a woman I can tell you that men are looking for love and acceptance and meaning and significance. Their hurt manifests itself differently than a woman's, but there is no doubt they are hurting and empty. As I spoke with these men firsthand and face-to-face, I found out that sex is their satisfaction. It is not their drive for the sake of it.
It's not that I don't trust YOU and what you discovered, but I know how the man that abused me was. He was a predator of children. I was six. I believe that the vast majority of men are terrific, but there are some men that are 'low-lifes'. It's just my take on that subject.
Maybe men who frequent prostitutes are different, but you cannot deny that the majority of these girls are under-aged.
I can't change my feelings. I know Jesus said to forgive, but I can't say that I can.
I've never tried to deny that many of the girls are under-aged. The men who frequent them are criminals, perverted, 'low-lifes' and filled with lust. They are also men created in God's image, loved by Him, someone for whom Christ died and people who have holes in their own hearts that only He can fill. These are things we had to come to terms with before we ever went on to the street to reach out to them. Funny thing is, feelings can be changed. That's the work of God in our lives.
It's very hard to imagine that they are created in God's image. I know I have to live with the fact that I never told my parents until I was an adult...he threatened me. I know without a doubt that he molested other children. I have to live with that. If I had been brave, maybe I could have stopped him.
What I would give, as an adult woman, to see him face-to-face. Forgiveness has no part in it. God would have to help me.
Yes, God would have to help you, but thankfully, that's what God does. I agree that it is difficult to see people such as this 'made in God's image' as we are, but when what we believe differs from what God says, we must believe what HE said, not what we think. I admit it's sometimes hard. If we want to talk about 'evil,' then we must come face-to-face that 'evil' runs thru the center of you and me, not random bad people out there in the world. God is good.
Yes, God is wonderful! He has walked with me and helped when I didn't deserve it. His mercy is surprising to me sometimes.
I have this suspicion that the neighbor that molested me was once a young child and maybe he was molested, as well. The thing is, what makes one person abhor the thought...like me. And others carry out the sentence they were handed.
I cannot imagine you as evil in any way. For that matter, I don't see myself as evil. Sinner, for sure, but I don't set out to hurt people.
I know you have had some difficult things happen in your childhood. Did it take you some time to forgive? You are a much better person than I. I imagine you have found it in your heart to forgive.
It's not as if I am burning with hatred, but I am angry. I am also angry because I feel certain that I wasn't the only one. I feel as if I was strong enough to get thru it. If I could actually keep it a secret at such a young age, then I dealt with it as best I could. After a long time went by I saw no reason to tell my parents. It would just upset them.
I imagine no young child thinks they would like to be, fill in the blank, but somewhere along the way a switch is flipped. I often wonder what it is that makes it happen. They are wired differently than the majority of us. And yet, God loves them just as much as me...
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