I just spent the first part of my morning watching documentaries that involved human trafficking and sex slavery- what a way to spend my Monday morning correct?
As I embark on this journey with the World Race, my first three stops will be Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. In Thailand alone, nearly 2 million women and little girls, just like our sisters, our nieces, and our own children, are sold into sex slavery. Human trafficking is so prominent in these areas that over the course of the last 20 years, it has become a tourist attraction where men from around the world visit in order to rape and mutilate these innocent girls, “to get their fix” as one man stated. I watched these documentaries with my hands over my mouth the entire time, fighting the sick feeling that moved from my stomach to the top of my throat. I am not unaware of the brutality that still exists in our world today, but I am not exposed to that reality every single day, and thus, it can become forgotten. It does not deserve to be forgotten.
I do not want to sugar coat what is happening around the world. I do not want to make light of the tragedy that these poor women and children experience daily. To become objects, to lose their identity, to lose all self-respect for oneself because they never knew what it meant to be loved and valued. There are little girls between the ages of 6-10 being sold for sex up to 10 times a day. These little girls are being raped and left to fight for their lives because the force pressed upon them, their bodies could not sustain. That thought alone should make us want to rise up and do something.
This journey for me is not about being comfortable….because I cannot for one second, think of these women and children finding comfort in what they have to experience- every single day. So why do I deserves to be comfortable along the way.
I am a believer in God, with all of my heart, and for that reason (1 John 2: 6) tells us that “those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.” This is how we know we are living in Him. Saying we love God is easy when it doesn’t cost us anything more than weekly attendance at a church service. But the real test of our love for God is how we treat the people he created. We cannot truly love God while neglecting to love those who are created in His image. One of my greatest gifts the Lord has bestowed upon me is the ability to Love. And if we believe in having a greater purpose in life than “we know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion- how can God’s love be in that person?” (1 John 3: 16-17). This life is not about you or me. This life is meant to be spent serving others. Could you imagine a world where everyone was concerned about the well-being of another- that kind of love would be unshakeable?
With that being said….Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam….you will be a challenge for me. You will peel back the layers that make me comfortable, you will likely weaken my heart and soul – bearing in mind what these women and children experience. However, in the process I trust that the word of God will leave a mark, as it has already done, and continues to do so. I trust in the number of lives that will be saved because of the word of God- surmounting and prevailing against the evil that resides within those compounds, that resides within those warlords.
So this I ask of you- if you BELIEVE in what I am doing, if you BELIEVE that this is wrong, if you BELIEVE that these women and little girls deserve a chance to know what freedom and love looks like- I ask you to support me. Let me take on these emotional and mental burdens, these daily struggles, these worldly challenges. Send me to live for 3 months in a place where comfort for a woman and a child is unimaginable. Let me be your feet that bring good news, that save.
– Cindi Wilson
