Great New Song for Free

Each week, iTunes posts one free song on their "Discovery Download" page. This week they are featuring a great song by Sara Groves, who I've mentioned recently. The song is called, "When the Saints." It's her response to the continuing problem of slavery.

The song won't be available long, so go to the iTunes store and find the "FREE on iTunes" section at the bottom of the home page and click on Sara's picture.

The entire album will be released next week. I've already ordered my copy.

Sara is one of few Christian singers who can talk about life without being preachy or trite. Even if Christian music isn't your thing, try this song. You won't be sorry.

"Uncoordinated and Inefficient"

"The fact that slavery—in the form of human trafficking—still exists in the 21st century shames us all. Governments, international organizations and civil society are devoting considerable efforts to counter it, but there is still an information deficit about the extent of this tragedy. Only by understanding its depth, breadth and scope can we design policies to fight it. This understanding still eludes us: efforts to counter trafficking have so far been uncoordinated and inefficient. This Report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is our first attempt to close the knowledge gap."

—From the Foreword by Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa Report, UN report on Trafficking in human beings: Global Patterns

A commenter on my previous post directed me to the UN site about human trafficking. It looks as though there is some good information. (Thanks, Tushar!)

Just looking at the introduction to the UN report on global patterns in trafficking, a phrase jumped out: "Efforts to counter trafficking have so far been uncoordinated and inefficient."

Today my prayer is that God will help each person fighting this evil to recognize ways to cooperate with other fighters.

Lord, prevent us from duplicating our efforts, fighting one another, wasting time and resources and ignoring the efforts of other people of good conscience. Open our eyes to new ideas and new allies as we seek to save the oppressed.

Another interesting point in the introduction is that there is an "information deficit." Within our local group, many of us are involved in some type of communications, mostly writing. This is probably not a coincidence ...

Some day, some print will come ...

This week has been busy. And this weekend will be just as busy. But perhaps early next week I will be back with something worth writing about.

In the meantime, did you know that in Google's blog reader application, you can set up a search for blog topics? Right now, I have one set to catch posts on human trafficking. It pulls articles from sources all over the world. They're usually heartbreaking, but it drives home the scope of the problem.

It's Everywhere

Slavery, especially in conjunction with the sex trade, is pretty much everywhere. I already knew this, but then this headline popped up the other day. Plovdiv, Bulgaria is one of the cities I visited on a trip to Bulgaria in college. Life is rough there, and there are plenty of vulnerable, financially desperate young women for traffickers to exploit.

Somehow, it's sadder when the location is familiar to you.

For Those in the Buffalo Area

The University of Buffalo has an exhibit. Wish I still lived in the area so I could check it out. Maybe one of ya'll will go and lemme know what you think? You know who you are ...

And I know how full your calendar is ... but come to think of it, I'll be there before it ends. How does Thanksgiving sound? Or Christmas? : )

Another Voice

Singer Natalie Grant is taking matters into her own hands when it comes to slavery.

Yay, Natalie!

Every person who joins this fight encourages me. I liked Natalie's music before, but I'm gonna have to get my hands on a CD now.

Deliver Us!

This past Sunday, my pastor talked about Moses and the burning bush. His message was definitely meant for me. I won't go into all the details, because that's not what this blog is about. The reason for mentioning it here is because the pastor pointed out that the Israelites, the people God chose to be His people, were in slavery for 350 years. And He allowed it, because He wanted to get their attention, to teach them to rely on Him, and to do something that only He would get credit for.

This may sound dumb, but my roommate and I came home and watched "The Prince of Egypt" (the animated story of Moses and how God freed the Israelites from the Egyptians) to give us more time to think about the pastor's message. As the movie rolled, I actually had a few original thoughts about a story I've known for years.

So much of the Bible deals with oppression and enslaved people. In several instances, it's God's people who are enslaved. When God spoke to Moses from the burning bush, He said that He heard the cries of His people, and now He was asking Moses, the murderer-fugitive, to rescue them.

So no matter how long it seems to be before He acts in these stories, He always acts and He always does something amazing.

It's not any different today.

There Are No Words

I had a Friday evening free and the house to myself, so I decided to watch a movie called "Human Trafficking". There are really no words for what this movie did to me. The brutality of the sex trade and its insidious nature are portrayed so well that it literally made me sick. When the film ended, I was curled up on the couch, crying (which I had been doing for at least 2/3 of the movie). The idea that human beings could do this to other human beings is difficult for me to grasp, but I know it happens. It makes me want to do three things:

1. Vomit. It really is that upsetting. As a woman, all I could think was What if this happened to me or my sister or my friend? And how would you even begin to put your life back together?

2. Go find a place where this happening and bust out all the women. (I know that I am not equipped to do this, but if I ever got a chance ...) Actually, it does make me consider finding out if there are any local groups who reach out to women trapped in prostitution or help them deal with the issues afterward. On the way home from work tonight, I must have passed half a dozen strip joints--so sad.

3. Pray, pray, pray! This is a world wide evil, and we are all kidding ourselves if we think we are smart enough to bring it down ourselves. Only God can stop something this evil. Then there are the victims. How do you ever live a normal life after being exploited like this?! It seems that healing in these situations really comes by miracle only.

For the time being, I think I am done watching any kind of dramas about modern-day slavery. Another one might push me over the edge. If you want to get a feel for the real evil of slavery, especially the sex trade, this movie does that. But be careful; it is explicit and hard to watch.

Things That Make Me Angry

... and then reduce me to tears.

Tonight our local Clapham Circle met to pray, watch a short movie and brainstorm about things that our group could do.

The movie we watched is the sort of thing that fills me with rage and then tears. Even after reading a few books about the sex trade and what happens to women and girls all over the world, I wasn't prepared for how angry a dramatization could make me. The film was called Fields of Mudan If you're interested in this topic at all, find a way to watch this film.

And now for the post I've been trying to write for weeks.

Working as a writer for a Christian organization, I've been sent all over the world. Often, I go to third world countries and meet some of the poorest people in the world. I've been in sweat shops, orphanages, slums, homeless centers and soup kitchens. I've seen defenseless people firsthand. Some are defenseless because they have no opportunity to go to school or find a job. Some are defenseless because their families died or abandoned them. Some are defenseless because of the economic realities of our world that allow corporations to pay people pennies for hours of toil, all in the name of profits. I don't know for sure that I've seen enslaved people, but I probably have, as I have seen hundreds of street children and women doing whatever they could to survive.

After a few years of this, I got tired of doing nothing, of feeling helpless, of feeling guilty for not using my own resources and buying power to do something. But the problem always felt too big for me to make a difference. I've prayed about these situations and given some money, but it never felt like a complete response.

When modern-day slavery came to my attention, I had the same feeling. But I told God that if He showed me what to do, I would act. For months, this was just a thought in my mind. Eventually, I came across people who were also concerned. They were everywhere, even at work! Over the past few months, we've been putting our heads together and some ideas have come to the surface. There are local people for us to support. There are some ventures for us to consider. God is moving to do something and I can't wait to see what comes next.

Still here ...

No, I haven't disappeared. Just went home to spend time with my family for the week. TimeWarner Cable was having some issues in their area, so I wasn't able to get online much.

Welcome to any newcomers! There will be some new material this week, I believe, and maybe even the explanation of why I'm suddenly so passionate about this issue of modern-day slavery.

Thanks for dropping in!