Since being home, I’ve really been reflecting on all the things that my eyes were opened to on the race. Human Trafficking is definitely one of the biggest things. A friend of mine (Brownie Points go to Shelli) sent me a text about some ministries beginning our area for girls who have been victims of sex slavery. This isn’t Thailand anymore. This isn’t “over there,” this is in my own backyard. Right here in California is the current US hot spot for sex trafficking.
It’s estimated that between 300,000 and 400,000 girls are being trafficked and sold into sex slavery in the United States… EVERY YEAR. And this is just the minors… the girls under the age of 18. Although it’s mostly under the radar here in the United States, it’s swiftly risen to the third highest form of trafficking, right under drugs and weapons. It’s estimated to rise to 2nd highest within the next few years. It’s just crazy to think this is really happening at home, but it is.
I’m trying to become more educated on what’s going on, myself.
I attended a seminar with New Day for Children Ministries, which is a safe house in the Bay Area that has just been afloat for one year. They have successfully been able to take in their eighth girl this year! There are a few other organizations I hope to learn about here in my area, and I’m still seeking out how God wants me to get involved. The testimonies of these girls are absolutely heartbreaking, discusting, and outrageous. At the seminar, I was greatly reminded that if nothing else, I need to be a voice to what’s going on, to awaken the church to the realities of what we are facing in our own neighborhoods.
We need to be aware of what’s going on around us; and fight for these girls. We need to be in prayer for the pimps and the Johns paying for the services, too.
These are HIS Daughters. OUR Sisters.
These are the stories of several Southern California teenage girls lost to human trafficking. In San Francisco, Oakland and the greater Bay Area, and nationwide, there are literally hundreds of stories of girls just like these. Both of these videos will wake you up to the realities of sex slavery in our backyard.
