The song ‘Solution’ by Hillsong United has spoken to me so much before and throughout this trip. Here are some of the lyrics:
while broken nations dream
Man is certainly not the solution to the world’s problems, only Jesus can overcome such evilness. But he has equipped us to be his hands and feet. He doesn’t need us, but he’s chosen to use us. We can sit here and say that the world is too awful and nothing can be alleviated until the Lord returns and then use that as an excuse to do nothing. But I think that breaks our Father’s heart.
The Lord has called us to be his hands, his feet, and a voice for the voiceless, and he’s equipped us to do it! The Holy Spirit is moving and breathing inside of us and has equipped us all to bring about Kingdom changes. We may not be able to impact the whole world, but we can at least do for one person what we wish we could do for everyone.
A couple nights ago in Atlanta I went to the Free to Live tour (www.freetolivetour.com) with the Desperation Band, Meredith Andrews, and Tom Davis. They are traveling around the nation putting on free concerts and educating people about child trafficking and poverty, and encouraging the Church to get involved in what God is doing. The lead singer from Desperation Band said something that stuck with me:
“We’re crying out for a move of God and he’s crying out for a move of man.”
And we don’t have to leave the country, we don’t even have to leave our neighborhoods to do it. That is one thing that has been really cool about this trip was the opportunity to do missions here in the States. It’s so easy to have a ‘missionary mindset’ of intentional ministry when your overseas, but what about when daily life gets busy in your secular job here in America? God has called each of us to a purpose to further his kingdom, and it doesn’t matter where that is.
My team has had the opportunity this month to have meetings with various individuals such as a law professor from GA State, a coordinator for a model rehabilitation and recovery home for women and children victims of prostitution (www.wellspringliving.org), and a former child slave from Ghana (James Kofi Annan: www.freetheslaves.net). Through these meetings I have gained a wealth of knowledge, been discouraged at times, and been incredibly encouraged as well. But one thing that I learned from all is the variety of ways to get involved.
I wanted to share some ideas of ways you can get involved in not only fighting human trafficking, but bringing about kingdom change and bringing heaven to earth:
Sponsor a child: by sponsoring a child through various organizations like Children’s HopeChest, Compassion International, and World Vision, you can not only feed a child but provide education. Keeping a child in school is the most effective trafficking prevention.
Mentor a child: there are SO many organizations to help mentor a local kid. Although kids who are trafficked come from all walks of life, many come from broken families. A loving adult who takes the time to step into their life could be the difference between life and death.
Become a foster parent: I know this is a way bigger commitment then the previously mentioned ideas, but if you’re in a position to do so, have you thought about it? There are so many kids that need safe and loving homes, where they can be encouraged, supported, and come to know the love of Jesus. These kids are at an incredibly high risk for being trafficked whether it’s because they run away or eventually age out of the system without support and guidance.
Buy fair trade: Be willing to pay a little bit more money to ensure your food and other items you buy were not harvested or made by forced laborers. Organizations our teams have worked with such as Freeset, Nightlight International, and Project Rescue produce beautiful shirts, bags, scarves, and jewelry that are employing women and girls who have previously been exploited in the sex trade. There are websites such as betterworldshopper.org that will let you know about the companies you purchase from. If you’re frustrated that your grocery store doesn’t have many fair trade items, do what my mom did: she walked the manager of Publix around her store and explained what fair trade meant and gave her information and suggestions.
Be educated and educate: Organizations such as Not For Sale (notforsalecampaign.org) and so many others have endless resources to educate you and give you the tools to educate others. For example, if there was a push to educate hotel staff, police officers, educators, and others who work directly with children on the risk factors and signs of CSEC (commercial sexual exploitation of children), it would be prevented in many cases and caught much earlier in others. Also, just like the manager my mom encountered at Publix, if more people knew that spending a few more cents on an item could ensure that people were not exploited in its making, I firmly believe many more people would be on board.
Donate: Above I listed many ways you can donate your time, but there are also already so many organizations that are doing incredible things that simply need more funding. One such organization we encountered was the above mentioned Wellspring Living. Wellspring currently has 16 teenage girls who have formerly been forced into prostitution and are now being given holistic care and rehabilitation. Wellspring has been recognized as a model recovery program because of their 80% success rate. But while 16 girls can go through the 9 month program at a time, the juvenile system here in Georgia currently has over 85 girls on a waiting list for the program, many of which are sitting in a jail cell. This is because there are not enough facilities, and not enough funding for the ones that already exist.
I share all this with you because I too am asking the Lord what else I can do. This trip has now made these issues personal for me. When I hear statistics and stories I now have names and faces of people I call friends that have experienced or are still in the midst of the horrors of modern day slavery. They are no longer numbers, but instead individual human beings with stories. My prayer is that this becomes personal for you too. That as the church we will step up and be His hands and be His feet. God is the only solution, but He has given us the privilege of being a part of His work.
“Is not this the the kind of fasting I have chosen: too loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.” -Isaiah 58:6-9
