A year and a half ago, a small group bible study had the chance to be a part of something epic at Northern Arizona University (NAU) in Flagstaff, Arizona.
It was called Release ’08. A three week campaign in partnership with International Justice Mission to raise awareness about the issue of child sex slavery in Southeast Asia, and the human trafficking issue that walks hand in hand with it. And fundraiser, too.
Early in the semester, God lit a fire underneath the Gabaldon Upperclass Women’s Small Group to get involved with this thing called “Release ’08”. In response, they did exactly that! Coordinating schedules for volunteers, training said volunteers, walking around campus as part of a chain gang, manning proxe stations (fancy way of saying booths), documenting with pictures… they were right in the thick of it with volunteers from other bible studies, campus ministries, and organizations.
The end result? 
- Over $8000 raised (if I am remembering correctly… anyone who knows differently pleace correct me if I am wrong about this), or 8 people being freed from the nightmare of trafficking (according to IJM’s estimate that they average at an investigation and recovery cost of about $1000 per victim).
- A similar event would be staged the next spring, called Release ’09, focusing on the issue of trafficking within the state of Arizona, and more specifically in Flagstaff. The girls in the Gabaldon small group who didn’t graduate or leave NAU in the Spring of 2008 were involved in this as well.
- An awareness of injustices going on around the globe and a desire to be a part of God’s solution to those problems.
I had the joy and privilege of being a part of this small group, helping man a booth, and roaming campus as a member of one of the chain gangs. I remember Amy (one of our fearless small group leaders, far left standing in the group picture above) feeling incredibly burdened and sharing this issue with us… one that became our burden as well – a burden that stays with me to this day.
This is why I am both excited for and concerned about this trip, especially for Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Romania and the Ukraine. According to the stats used for the map above, Thailand, Cambodia, Romania and the Ukraine are all in the top 5 areas for trafficking around the globe (#2, #4, & #5, respectively). Malaysia, as I have learned from a little research, also has significant issues when it comes to human trafficking. This burden is also why I will be dedicating a series of blogs to the issue… looking at each of the countries I’ll be traveling to and how great of a problem it is.
Who knows, maybe this will spark something epic for you too?
