It seems like it has been forever since a recent blog post has been published. Prenatal appointments, preparing for a move, and transitioning jobs have filled my husband's and I's time . . . if you don't count preparing for our baby girl of course. With the fall season in full swing, I've had to bunker down and piece together marketing campaigns complete with email templates and automations after switching from WordPress to Shopify. It just seems like the checklist can't be completed or stay completed for very long!
With this post, I wanted to give human trafficking frontline news and share how God is allowing nonprofits like The Exodus Road to make an impact on lives of victims of human trafficking.
The Long Haul
We've often heard the saying "life is a marathon, not a sprint" before. It's become cliche and run down (no pun intended) and sits in the far recesses of our minds. For the victims of human trafficking however, this saying is a constant reminder. Their lives are a series of motion, nonfluid and bitter, broken up by segmented sprints. Behind the poster lies of every day life, lay the rescuers to the victims . . . ever watching and hardly sleeping, itching at the chance for a lead. Their lives are intervaled sprints, chasing down traffickers, organizing rescues, and following leads. Their ministry spans the crevices of time, running the long haul, propelled forward by prayer and faith. Your support helps saves lives.
My previous articles below delve into the underworld of the human trafficking ring.
The Price of Freedom
Knowing Freedom
The Fight to Preserve Freedom
Updates from the Frontlines: Part1
Human Trafficking Frontlines News
October 21, 2020
Dear Faith, At The Exodus Road, we are all humbled and grateful for your continued support of this freedom work. Many of you are new to this community of action-minded individuals who, together, are a movement of people creating change and empowering freedom around the globe. We want to say WELCOME. Your investment in fighting human trafficking will leave a legacy. Because of your collective support, undercover work this fall has been successful on the front lines! Children and adults have been freed from slavery and are embarking on a journey of healing and freedom thanks to your generosity. Here are the highlights.
Operation Fallout
Sex trafficking in Thailand is rampant, and with your help, The Exodus Road is making it more dangerous for criminals. In this operation, the traffickers and the girls they held captive were tracked down using tweets that led TER and local authorities right to them. A social media app that so many of us use for the latest news and updates was the tool the traffickers used to sell and exploit these girls. But our operatives are trained to investigate both physical and digital spaces, and they worked with Thai police to rescue these brave survivors. Two teen girls and two young women were rescued; they're now safe and free. Both traffickers were arrested.
Operation Firefly
TER operative investigations found that a seventeen-year-old girl was being sold for sex at a Thai hotel. The hard reality is that the person who acted as the trafficker was another teen girl, just fifteen years old. This unfortunately is something we see often. In a case like this, a child caught in trafficking may be given a choice by their captor — to keep being trafficked or to traffick others. Can you imagine what would be like to be faced with that choice? Rescues like this not only free survivors, but disrupt trafficking networks like this. Because you equipped our Search + Rescue team with resources to support local Thai police, this teen is now free, and her trafficker has been stopped.
Operation Blue Bird
TER operatives in Thailand spotted suspicious tweets from a female trafficker. She was selling girls and women online for about $45 USD each. Our undercover investigations confirmed trafficking — and two women were rescued in the mission!And the children? While they were not found during the police operation, TER operatives and authorities will not stop looking for them. If traffickers suspect trouble with the law, it is not uncommon for them to hide children and not sell them. And that is why we are so grateful to you for sustaining this Search + Rescue work. Your giving means our operatives can continue to follow up on this case. Their trafficker was arrested, is facing justice, and is no longer selling the vulnerable online. We are celebrating because these women’s stories will be different because of you.
Operation Resolute
A criminal network that was recruiting, torturing, and selling adolescent girls in one of the most dangerous areas of a *country in Latin America has been stopped. A fifteen-year-old girl was brutally tortured for sharing information about dealings within the brothel with one of its clients. What’s worse, the brothel owner recorded the abuse of this teen and shared it with the other girls in captivity as a threat if they ever dared to speak out. You empowered the Search + Rescue teams to go undercover, communicate with the victim who was tortured, collected evidence, and support police in this mission to take down this human trafficking network. The case was delayed for several months due to COVID-19 restrictions, and the traffickers moved the girls to other parts of the country. But our police partners did not give up. Finally, a significant operation took place. Four traffickers were arrested — two men who were in charge of recruiting teen girls and torturing them, a male brothel owner, and a female trafficker who collaborated with these men in selling the girls. The search continues for the girls who are being trafficked, but the business of human trafficking has now become dangerous for criminals in this part of Latin America.Thank you for standing with us, for empowering our Search + Rescue teams, and for lending your voice and influence in the fight against human trafficking. Together, Your TER Team
October 13, 2020
Dear Faith, You’ve empowered JUSTICE. A criminal network has just been confronted and stopped — four traffickers were just arrested in Latin America! These traffickers were selling and torturing young survivors of sex slavery, but today, you have helped take them out of business.
*Photo is representational. The Story Behind the Mission. About a year ago, TER operatives were contacted by local police with a request for help in investigations into a criminal network that was recruiting, torturing, and selling adolescent girls in one of the most dangerous areas of this particular country. A fifteen-year-old girl was brutally tortured for sharing information about dealings within the brothel with one of its clients. What’s worse, the brothel owner recorded the abuse of this teen and shared it with the other girls in captivity as a threat if they ever dared to speak out. Can you imagine anyone, let alone a child, enduring this kind of horrific torture and repeated abuse? As a testimony to the human spirit, and at great risk to herself, one of those girls boldly escaped and contacted the local police. She told them that “she and her friends were being threatened and treated cruelly to keep them quiet about their condition.” And that’s where YOU come in. Local police reached out to TER nationals asking for help in investigating the criminal network, the brothel, and the girls. YOU empowered the Search + Rescue teams of The Exodus Road with resources to go undercover, communicate with the victim who was tortured, collect evidence, and support police in this mission to take down this human trafficking network. COVID-19 struck, and the case was delayed as a result of government regulations. Traffickers moved the girls to other parts of the country. But our police partners did not give up. Finally, a significant operation took place. Four people were just arrested — a year after the original tip — two men who were in charge of recruiting teen girls and torturing them, a male brothel owner, and a female trafficker who collaborated with these men in selling the girls. The search continues for the girls who are being trafficked, but the business of human trafficking has now become dangerous for criminals in this part of Latin America. Thanks for standing with us in this fight, friends.
Merchandise available!
Stop by the Blissful Faith stores and grab your merch! The Be The Light campaign shirt is selling for $22 and face masks are selling for $13! NEW PRODUCTS HAVE BEEN ADDED! By making a purchase, you’ll be providing a voice to the victims of human trafficking and assisting nonprofit organizations in providing rescue operations, aid, and recovery programs of survivors. Make your mark today!
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Lending a Hand
Human Trafficking is Today’s Slavery
The numbers of the victims of human trafficking and the stories behind the numbers are why Blissful Faith is partnering with nonprofit organizations to help fund rescues and recovery programs for those entrapped in bondage. Each number is a person. You can be the one to help make a difference by purchasing a shirt (coming soon to the blog in a few weeks) or by ordering a downloadable product currently in the store, in which proceeds will go to nonprofits that seek to give a voice to the voiceless. See more on human trafficking from my previous articles below:
The Price of Freedom
Knowing Freedom
The Fight to Preserve Freedom
Updates from the Frontlines: Part1
Blissful Faith started as a lifestyle and branched into a blog to help others hear about Jesus Christ and how they too can develop a blissful faith through knowing God. This blog’s purpose is to be an evangelical outreach to further the kingdom of Christ. Furthering the kingdom means stretching outside of the comfort zone, comprehending and working towards meeting the needs of others. Putting faith to action keeps it from becoming stagnant.
Blissful Faith Merchandise
The Blissful Faith Merchandise store helps both this blog to grow and to meet the needs of others. About 8-10% of the proceeds will go to The Exodus Road and Agape International Missions to help combat human trafficking. The funds will help assist in rescue operations, providing shelter, and recovery programs to those in bondage.
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