Voices in my Head

We all have them… some more severe than others.

They are the voices of our influencers. Our close family and friends, and of the saints both gone and still with us. Those who have encouraged us to do more, to be better, and even though sometimes they have failed their voices continue to push us so that we won’t. Answering the call of these voices have pushed me to become who I am today. Added to their ranks are the voices of the world’s victims.

I firmly believe God has called us to be a catalyst for change. To see the atrocities of this world and scream out NO.

I was accepted into NightLight as their fall intern. Twice a week I will be traveling to Los Angeles to either do administrative work for them or participate in their outreach events. As such I was asked to go to a conference where I could learn more about sex-trafficking and it was both intense and heartbreaking. The first day dealt with identifying victims of trafficking, the second with assessing the needs, and the third with creating a program that met those needs and discovering our part in meeting them.

The majority of the women in prostitution are in it because they have either been trafficked or in some way coerced. Women who have been kidnapped, raped, or threatened with the murder of loved ones if they do not comply. I saw a documentary where 86% of the prostituted women would leave this life behind if they could. It is a modern day form of slavery. Women and children are bought and sold for the benefit of others.

Sex trafficking is not just found in prostitution, but online pornography as well. This is what the part of our outreach will be based on. We will not only be educating people on how to identify sex-trafficking, but helping put a stop to it by educating people. One act of prostitution defiles a person as a one-time event that can potentially be repeated. Online pornography defiles a person not only as a one-time event that can be repeated, but that single event will continue in files and in the minds of people who have seen it. It is a continual victimization.

Prostitution and pornography defiles a person because it strips them of their God-Given dignity and makes them less than human. It makes them into an object. We cannot destroy a human, but we can an object. Furthermore, when a person views pornography it opens the doors to wanting more. Soft porn can lead to wanting to view something more adventurous and eventually to engaging a prostitute. In today’s church one in every two men have or are struggling with pornography. One in every four Pastors does too. So there is a huge sense of urgency here. Prostitution is all about supply and demand. The greater the demand, the more people are trafficked. But if the demand is decreased or all together stopped, trafficking will end.

Looking at my generation, I am seeing a stirring in the waters. People are rising up and speaking out. Some would call it a fad, but I see it as something more. If those who are working will stay committed, change can occur. Where our parents called for Civil Reform, we are crying out for Global Reform and I firmly believe this can be obtained.


Some Helpful Websites:

http://www.faastinternational.org/

http://www.stopthetraffik.org/default.aspx

http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/trafficking


Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the 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 you 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 I am.
Isaiah 58:6-9