Tonight my church is hosting a speaker from Not for Sale. Don and I will not be attending the talk because we have to get the little boys home and into bed after the church potluck.  However, I am glad our church and sister church is hosting this speaker so more light can be shed on this topic within our community.  My prayer is that people of faith (especially the Christian faith) will take action to end the enslavement and abuse of people across the globe.

This subject is actually near and dear to me. Child trafficking for labor and sex is specifically troubling to me.  It is a subject that has kept me up at night balling my eyes out in intercession for an end to this sinful madness.  It is a subject that has led me to get involved (on a small scale) with International Justice Mission and meet with my local congressman to urge him (well, his representative) to pass through important child sex trafficking legislation.  Please check out some of these sites and consider getting involved in this matter:  Pray for an end.  Pray for boldness to take political action.  For the record, most legislation brought before the U.S. Senate and Congress is bi-partisan, meaning both Democrats and Republicans “support it.”  So far, the amounts of money proposed to be spent by the U.S. government is a drop in the hat compared to the overall budget and not a concern for our government officials.  The reason these laws don’t get passed though is because they are pushed aside by the big dog laws: like health care reform.  These proposed bills get overlooked and then our congressman and senators take a summer break from their work… having no new interventions in place domestically or internationally to combat human trafficking, stop human trafficking, prosecute those who are perpetrators of it, or provide recovery assistance to the victims of it.

Now, I urge you again. Pray for an end to modern day slavery.  Pray to be a part of that end.  Pray to be a tool of healing and redemption for ALL of those involved in it.  Act when the Holy Spirit prompts – there are several organizations  and churches out there like Make Way Partners and Crossroads that can making getting involved relatively easy (logistically, not emotionally).

Don’t just complain about Craigs List on Twitter. That may be bringing about some awareness, but as my hubby pointed out to me, it’s also limiting awareness.  Human trafficking is advertised and perpetuated everywhere:  local yellow pages, on the streets through word of mouth (yes, Ohio has a HUGE trafficking problem).  Don’t just blame the Craigslist folk and think you’ve done your duty.  Don’t just think you’ve got your own cause you’re passionate about, and don’t have time to focus on this one too.  People’s lives are at stake.  It especially angers me to think that our entertainment driven culture  can watch (for leisure) Law & Order Special Victims Unit for an hour or more each week but not spend an hour combating similar REAL crimes through prayer, writing letters, etc.

Christian Women: Our ancestors helped kick African slavery in the butt and we should be actively doing the same to rescue the men, women, and children who are being traded and abused today.  Go to The Oaks tonight at 7:30pm and get more informed. May Satan be bound in chains, not those whom God created!

End Jill’s preaching here