I Myself

I turned myself to other things, and I saw the oppressions that are done under the sun, and the tears of the innocent, and they had no comforter; and they were not able to resist their violence, being destitute of help from any.  Ecclesiastes 4:1

In February 2008 I picked up the book “Not for Sale” by David Batstone.  I discovered that 27 million people were living in slavery – and I was forever ruined for an ordinary life.  I didn’t want to be exposed to such a horrible injustice.  I didn’t want to be made uncomfortable.  But by the time I finished the book, I knew that I couldn’t turn my back on the people Dave had written about.  If I did, I would be just as guilty as the men and women enslaving them, because I knew it was happening, and did nothing to stop it.

Fast forward a year.  A year of reading everything about human trafficking I could get my hands on, signing up for e-mail updates from every organization I could find, and doing everything I could on my own to work for justice. An e-mail inquiry to the Not for Sale Campaign came back with the question “Would you like to get more involved?”  Would I?  I was working part-time, volunteering at my church, and going to school for my Bachelor’s.  Most days I felt like I was barely keeping my head above water.  How in the world could I possibly add one more thing to my life?

Rescue the perishing; don’t hesitate to step in and help.  If you say, ‘Hey, that’s none of my business,’ will that get you off the hook?  Someone is watching you closely, you know – Someone not impressed with weak excuses.  Proverbs 24:12

Or . .. How could I not!?  The “justice verses” I’d been finding in my Bible were speaking so clearly to me.  I’d also been following NFS for a year.  The model of smart-activism, of Backyard Abolitionists kept drawing me in.  How in the world could I possibly give up the opportunity to be a part of this movement?  I said yes.  And I never once regretted it.

There’s nothing like seeing a soccer coach get excited about TeamFree2Play, because finally, here is something tangible he can do to help the trafficking victims who’ve broken his heart.  His second grade team went on to raise $500 for Not for Sale during the course of a 6 week season.  A month later he and I were in Peru playing soccer with the Surf Tribe – the very kids we’d joined Free2Play for.  Rewarding doesn’t begin to describe it.

Nothing matches the joy of speaking at a church about the reality of sex trafficking – things I learned from Dave’s book – and finding out later that a teenage girl from a troubled background has made the decision not to become a stripper when she graduates.  For the first time, she understands that this isn’t a path to freedom and escape, but exploitation and slavery.

I’ll never forget the excitement of a mom and her teenage daughters who went school shopping armed with Free2Work and this Department of Labor report.  “We did it!  We didn’t buy a single thing tied to slave labor – and we still got everything we needed!”

Because of Not for Sale, I found the tools to take my passion and my efforts and to multiply them over and over and over again in others.  I found the ability to equip people to fight slavery in their own backyards, in their own unique way.  

The Campaign had opened up so many opportunities for me.  I’ve met with representatives in Washington, D.C. to talk about human trafficking legislation and drawn pictures on a Peruvian beach with girls rescued from sex slavery.  I’ve cheered on Free2Play soccer players at weekly games and introduced people to the deliciousness of Fair Trade chocolate at The Dark Side of Chocolate screenings.  I’ve spoken about modern-day slavery from inside the ring at a MMA cage fight and from the front of a college classroom.   

I’ve loved traveling around my state (and sometimes outside it) to share these twin realities: Slavery Still Exists.  We Can End It.  And now, after 2 years as the Not for Sale: Indiana state director, I’m ready for the next stage in the journey. 

I saw a picture of Gideon in a slideshow.  He’s a little boy who sleeps most his days away – even at school – after nearly drowning while untangling his slave master’s nets.  My long-held hope to someday go to Africa crystallized into the desire to go and hold and love one little boy in Ghana. 

Incredibly, Challenging Heights, the organization that is helping Gideon, has agreed to let me come volunteer with them for a year.  I am overjoyed by this chance to go to the front lines!  I am so excited to learn from the abolitionists in Ghana, to help further the mission of Challenging Heights, to love and get to know the children they are helping, and to experience Ghanaian culture! 

I’m looking forward to sharing all my adventures and experiences with you.  It’s going to be incredible!

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, he has anointed me to tell the good news to the poor.  He has sent me to announce release to the prisoners and recover of sight to the blind, to set oppressed people free.  Luke 4:18