Where to start…
Once upon a time in the a land far far away called Missouri there was a young naive girl who lived in her own Christian world. She was about to begin her sophomore year of high school at a totally new school . This school would no longer be censored for her young heart… it was public school (the real world).
Before she journeyed to a totally new world she decided to leave the country and take a trip to Nicaragua. This trip was meant to help expose the girl to what it means to be in poverty.
As she was surrounded by tan people speaking in a foreign language she saw something that would soon become an obsession. Sex trafficking. On her first day with her dad and a missionary they decided to go get some lunch. During that lunch a young girl came up to the men in the group and simply stood there leaning against a pole. Something was up. The way this young 11 year was acting was quiet peculiar. The missionary simply said no to the girl and later gave her some food.
This 11 year old was attempting to sell herself to the white girls father. Looking back the white girl replayed this scene in her head. She would see the native acting like this was completely normal as she awkwardly starred in confusion.
This naive little girl was me.
This was my first experience with girls put into prostitution. From that point on I was hooked. I wanted to do something no matter what it was.
The following year, I had the opportunity to go on a trip to Cambodia with a non for profit organization called Rapha house (This organization exist to assist sex trafficking victims in their recovery and healing process.)
This trip blew my mind. Through out this experience I was able to observe two sides to the life of a victim of sex traffciking.
One side revealed bondage.
Through out my stay I observed girls being sold right before my eyes. I also saw white Americans holding hands with a younger aged girl. This was literally a kick in the gut. The worst part was I felt very paralyzed. I could do nothing to help those girls who were in utter pain. Looking into the girls faces I saw no emotion. They were completely hollow and numb. There was no hope.
On the bright side…
I visited recovering victims at Rapha house. I saw them giggling, running, and playing. This was amazing to see. These girls who were once in bondage were free. They were still in the healing process. However, I was able to observe and interact with girls who knew that the God of the universe called them his child. There was hope.
And this my friends brings me to today. I hope to take trips in the future that will continue to expose me to the hideous crime of prostitution. Currently I participate in some short and long term projects that may involve anything from raising awareness, prevention of sex trafficking, or even interacting with girls who are victims of prostitution.
I invite you to join me on my journey to somehow allow God to show his indescribable love to girls in the sex trafficking trade.
