“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?  And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.  But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.  Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”  ( Matthew 10:29-31)

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb?  Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you.”  (Isaiah 49:15)

 

Unwanted, a burden, another mouth to feed,

Left out, fed up, searching for more,

Lies in your head, you’ll never succeed.

Hollywood glamour, MTV hype,

Grasping for smoke and mirrors,

Or something telling you you’re worth the fight.

Promises whispered in sultry tone,

New shoes, new identity, his sugar girl,

Trading all that is precious for rhinestone.

Bate, hook and line,

The lure lowered down,

Offered by a sheep covered swine.

Sight can only see right now,

To be desired and offered love,

Unaware of plans to become his cash cow.

The treachery so slow and slick,

Showered with attention,

But tomorrow asked to turn trick.

The slippery slope getting slicker still,

The rapes and beatings the start,

Climbing out like going backwards uphill.

Free will to do only as he pleases,

No money, no escape, plenty of fear,

Life stolen, tattered to pieces.

If only someone were to care,

If only the whisper of hearts,

If only there was help from this nightmare.

 

We all have been designed with eternity set in our hearts, to be part of a larger picture, to be swept up in strong arms, known and loved.  Yet somewhere along the way the story gets fuzzy, cloudy or sometimes ripped away.  So many young ladies (and boys too) have become prey to “wolves in sheep’s clothing.”  Not all sex trafficking victims’ stories are as pictured in the poem above, but many times it is the most vulnerable that are lured in.  We as the Body of Christ can be the “someone’s to care.”  We are commanded as believers to love the least of these, to set the captives free. Those who are being sex trafficked are the captives.  So what are we to do, and how do we stop a multi-billion dollar industry?  We become more aware and stop seeing “child prostitutes” and begin to see victims.  We begin to use our influence and educate our communities.  We reach out to the marginalized, speaking life and hope into the least of these, building relationships that can speak true identity.  Those who foster and adopt with the love of Christ can become a new landing place for many.  Working with youth and offering honest hope and relationship can become another landing pad to stopping the vulnerable from sliding into treachery.  We the Body can become advocates against pornography, an insidious way of life, that has taught our boys to become detached and void of empathy for our girls.  We can mentor and come along side our young men and talk about true manhood.  But what about the ones it’s “too late for,” the ones who have been lured in and sold a false narrative only to wake up to the realities of being told they are worth less than nothing?  We can support local organizations that are currently advocating for victims.  We can raise money for safe houses where those that are rescued could go and find help and safety.  We can be on our knee’s praying that sex trafficking is stopped and that our vulnerable youth will know their true worth. We cannot just sit by, but must rise up as the Church in action.

“Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us.”  (2 Corinthians 5:20)

 

Below are some statistics and interesting reads as well as links to places to lend your support.

https://www.coablog.org/home/2017/1/19/now-more-than-ever-we-must-declare-that-there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-child-prostitute

 “Studies estimate that at least 60 percent of victims of child sex trafficking come from the child welfare system, and the majority of them have extensive histories of sexual and physical abuse prior to ever being trafficked. Seventy-eight percent of all prostitution arrests are girls, and 52 percent of all juvenile arrests for prostitution are African-American girls. Instead of being recognized as victims of crime and given the services and support necessary to heal from their trauma, these children are neglected, dismissed, ignored, and—in the worst cases—criminalized.”

http://www.wfmz.com/news/berks/reading-man-charged-with-human-trafficking/301514918

https://cseinstitute.org/new-study-shows-food-insecurity-leads-survival-sex-cse-american-teenagers/

http://humantraffickinghotline.org/training-resources/referral-directory

https://northstarinitiative.org/engage/