Just look into the eyes.
She is my “poster child”. I sat right next to her and will never forget her eyes.
“The nameless and the faceless” is no longer nameless nor faceless.
Those sweet little boys and girls who are sold by their parents for money. I wonder how many parents know where their little ones are going. They are promised jobs in the city. Jobs that will provide money to send home to the family. But, for many, that job involves ‘forced prostitution’ or the ‘sex trade’.
In the morning when I get up, I think of them. When I brush my teeth, I think of them. When I eat dinner, I think of them. When I go to bed and wake up during the night, I think of them. They are no longer “nameless and faceless”. Their faces and stories are etched on my heart and mind.
Today alone we saw over 1000 lives that – because of the circumstance they were born into – could easily find themselves with a price tag around their neck.
I praise the Lord that they are here (at the boarding school) receiving an education. I want to say “Thank you” to the King.
We had the amazing opportunity to share the gospel at this school. I would approximate around 1,200 students – ages 6-18 filled the gymnasium. The school is free; paid for by the King. Lodging, 3 meals a day, toiletries, school clothes, books – all free!
The kids come from poor families, many in which one or both of the parents are dead. Five different hilltribes are represented. These are the very kids that are prime subjects of the sex trade. Poor. Ignorant to city life. Subject to manipulation…
I admit that not everyone is affected by human trafficking. Many kids grow up in loving families with promising futures. Like many of the kids in the school – I know some will graduate with honors and have amazing futures. Praise the Lord for the incredible opportunity to not only to receive a free education, but a path that leads to a promising future!
But my heart is breaking for those whom are robbed of a childhood. Robbed of their innocence. Robbed by the enemy…
As humans living in a fallen world, I know that we cannot even begin to scratch the surface of our Maker. But I can wrestle with Him…for He IS real! That is the good news. HE IS REAL. He sees. He hears. He feels. He loves. He is sovereign in all and through all. He wants to rescue and deliver his people; just as he reached out and saved the Isrealites from their heavy burden of slavery…I know that he will rescue his little ones!
‘He said, “You can be sure that I am watching over you and have seen what is happening to you in Egypt. I promise to rescue you from the oppression of the Egyptians. I will lead you to the land now occupied by the Canaanites, Hittites Amorites, Perizzites, Hevites, and Jebusites – a land flowing with mild and honey.”‘ Exodus 3:16b-17
And I still wrestle with Him. He could take down the sex trade with one sweep of his hand…He could rescue them from their oppression. I don’t doubt His power and authority, I just want to see him do it. Not to see a miracle, but to see ‘the captives set free’….
Faith is believing in things unseen. The end to this atrocity is definitely unseen. Lord, increase my faith. Increase my ability to love. My ability to see and to trust that ‘You are who You say You are’ and that ‘You will do what You say You will do’…
Free their beautiful little faces!
