Anti-Trafficking Conference

I had the privilege of attending a Human Trafficking Conference last week organized by the Central Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force.  With almost two hundred others in attendance, representatives from anti human trafficking organizations, and dynamic speakers it was a day very well spent.

The first two speakers were Erin Kulpa, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the West District of VA and Detective Bill Woolf from the Fairfax County Police Department.  They shared the stage in the morning taking turns discussing issues such as; common myths about trafficking, U.S. trafficking cases, who is vulnerable to be trafficked, who the traffickers are, and working with victims.  Both of these speakers brought years of experience working in this field and backed up their facts with real life stories.  I think one of the most powerful came from Det. Woolf.  He is involved with a new trafficking awareness program in the school system in Northern V.A. for 6th-12th graders.  At the end of the program he came into the school and did a presentation.  When he had finished speaking four different girls came up and told him that they were currently being trafficked.  Most victims do not self identify so the fact that these girls were not only able to see their situation for what it was but also seek help is huge.  We definitely need these programs in more of our schools!

The morning speakers did a wonderful job presenting but the third speaker, Tajuan MaCarty, definitely stole the show.  I wish it were possible to describe her fire, passion and most of all the realness with which she spoke.  Let me share some of her story with you (as best I can remember it).  Born into an abusive home Tajuan was raped at age 12 by neighborhood teens.  After that traumatic incident she began to run away and was trafficked several times.  By age 15 she was trapped full time in the sex industry.  She spent years in the industry leaving more than once only to return again and again.  She has been sold in every state in the U.S. (except for Hawaii and Alaska), and also in Canada and Mexico.  That is unfathomable to me, but I am afraid her story is more the norm than the exception.  She shared only brief stories of the abuse she suffered at the hands of pimps, customers, and police officers.  Speaking from personal experience and now 4 years of helping rescue other women Tajuan made several things very clear.  

-“Drugs are not the problem, they are a symptom of the problem.”  
-Our culture sexualizes everything and that is what perpetrates the problem.  
and…
-The bottom line is that we are all born with a Jesus shaped hole in our heart and until that is filled appropriately nothing will ever change.  

Her ministry, The WellHouse, is still helping victims but Tajuan  now devotes herself to speaking.  Every single place she has shared there has been someone who has been trafficked or who knows someone who has been trafficked.  After hearing her speak I had a better understanding of the enormity of this problem in the U.S. but somehow also more hope for the fight.  She told us “If you make a difference in one person’s life you’ve succeeded,” and that loving people is what really makes the difference. 

Thank you to everyone who made it possible for me to attend this conference!  I hope the snippets I have shared not only make you more aware but give you ideas of ways you can make a difference.    

- Tabitha
        

redemption - a work of God

“He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for Himself a special people eager to do good works.”  Titus 2:14

“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and converted us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”  Colossians 1:13-14

I’m not sure the true nature of salvation often really sinks in to those of us who have spent all of our life “in the church”.  In saving you and me God didn’t take mostly good people with nice intentions and help us a little along our way.  Nor did He take our works which had gotten us pretty far and span the rest of the way with the cross.  God encountered lawless, evil to the core beings, bound by darkness and radically redeemed, cleansed, delivered and converted us.

In pondering this picture it reminds me strongly of what I see women in prostitution needing.  These are words and phrases we pray for them… but how often do we believe they are truly possible?  Perhaps if we better understood our own salvation we wouldn’t be so quick to doubt.  As humans separated from God the gulf is no wider for one person than for another.  It is no more challenging for God to save a prostitute than to save self-righteous sinner.

Even more encouraging is to see that this is God’s heart!  Saving people from the black mire of sin and completely transforming them was first and only HIS plan - not ours.  We don’t have to wrestle with Him to convince Him to engage in this project, He invented it!  When I gaze at God through the scriptures I can’t help but think He delights in saving these women.  So let’s be encouraged and not doubt either God’s willingness or His power.      

a real story

This is an amazing story about a "normal" family helping a real trafficking victim - it is simple, potent and beautiful - I encouraged you to check it out!  

http://emilymeganphotography.com/2015/09/01/two-weeks-a-trafficking-victim/

where we are loosing the war

Trafficking doesn’t begin when a child is kidnapped, or when a girl is sold.  Trafficking doesn’t begin with traffickers and pimps and johns.

Trafficking begins long before that. 

Everything starts in the family - or the breakdown of the family

every child who was trafficked due to neglectful parents

every teen girl who went looking for love in the wrong places

every boy who got hooked on drugs and now sells girls for his next fix

every young woman who was raped

every young man who was taught porn was ok

every trafficker who was once just someone’s baby

every individual entered this world as a helpless infant - and more than likely their parents were too preoccupied or too selfish to protect them from the evil of the world and to teach them about the evil inside of them

when the Church

has ceased to speak meaningfully on issues of the family, growing up, engaging   the culture while staying free of it’s evil, purity and sexuality

does not confront evil among it’s own - porn, sexual impurity,etc. 

does not teach that Jesus can free from addictions

does not agree that Jesus can completely heal and restore

does not nurture families, children, the orphans and the lonely

does not provide support for the abused

does not hold culture and government to a higher standard

does not fight evil

does not rescue the enslaved  

then we fail

Education

teaches children to honor and applaud sexual perversions 

teaches children their sexuality is an animal instinct not a gift from God

teaches young people there is no meaning to life or higher power

teaches young adults that sexuality is meant to be “free”

teaches college students perverted ways to view sex and calls them enlightened 

Culture 

sexualizes children from a young age through clothing, toys, tv, music, pop stars,

teaches young people incorrect views of sexuality and encourages promiscuity 

does it’s best to destroy the value of human life

tells adults at every turn that they are not good enough without a partner, will not be happy outside of an ungodly sex life, and that any and every kind of sexual evil is not only ok and normal but good 

We aren’t just loosing the battle against trafficking at the level of rescue and rehabilitation - we are loosing the battle in our homes, in our churches in our schools, and in our culture.

Trafficking doesn’t begin when a child is kidnapped, or when a girl is sold.  Trafficking doesn’t begin with traffickers and pimps and johns.

Trafficking begins long before that. 

If we are going to be effective in this war we need to start fighting the battles closest to home.

At Youth Explosion!

This past weekend we were given the opportunity to represent “The tREehouse Project” and raise awareness of Human Trafficking at an event called Youth Explosion.  Having had less than a week to prepare it was incredible to see how the Lord worked everything together so wonderfully.  In just five days’ time we became official, complete with email address, business card, brochure, and drama team!  Isn’t our Lord good?!

Youth Explosion, held in a beautiful valley in Elk Creek, VA, was well attended by many of the Church youth groups in the area.  We were graciously allowed to set up a booth to distribute literature on Human Trafficking and given a time allotment on stage.  Before Tabitha came up to speak our newly formed drama team preformed a drama depicting the horrors of Human Trafficking.  It was with wonder and amazement that I watched as teens who were previously disinterested in what was happening on stage were drawn in as the music started and the drama unfolded.  No one told them what they were watching, yet they were captivated.  For those of you who haven’t seen this drama, it aptly depicts how people are trafficked and what that means for the victims.  It is intense.  When Tabitha got up to speak there was a silence almost haunting, she held the audience.  

That night several hundred teens were made aware of the seriousness of Human Trafficking.  Not one can say that they don’t know.  What they do with that information is their responsibility.  It is our sincerest prayer that all who heard what was said went home resolved to make a difference.  Why does it matter?  I think Tabitha said it best: “Because people matter, God created people, He loves them and they are precious.”

~ Rebecca