Face to face with modern slavery

Recently at Cottonwood we had a day of focus on human trafficking. After a pot-luck luncheon, a young woman, Katy Bentley, shared an experience that she had when she went on a mission trip while in college. Katy gave me permission to share her story here. So, in her own words, according to the notes I took, here is her story.

"A few years ago, I went to Indonesia for the summer on a mission trip. My job was to work in an English resource center. Another girl, Sue spent time meeting the girls who worked in the brothels in the city. I asked Sue if I could go with her one day. We went to the red light district, many blocks of brothels, and continued to a house where Sue had made friends with the woman who ran the brothel.
Sue and I went weekly to visit with the girls who worked there. We talked about girl stuff. The girls would touch us, stroke our hair. I realized that was the only human touch they had that was not abusive, and these girls were hungry for that kind of touch. I was amazed at how easy it was to be friends with these girls.
One day, Sue asked the girls if we could pray for each one of them. We intended to pray together in the gathering room, but the girls wanted us to go to each of their rooms and pray. Going into their rooms made me realize how much like me they were. These were real people with interests. Some of the rooms had pictures of the girl’s children. One woman, who was 19, had three children back in her village. Her husband was out of work and they did not have money to feed their children. Her Uncle had told her that he could get her a job in the city. When she got to the city, her uncle sold her to a brothel for $30. As appalling as this was, the young woman said it was really OK, because she was able to send a little money home each month so that her children had food. The system is set up so that the women are paid for the work, but they have to pay for their room and their food, and anything else they have. They are charged more than they make, so that they are in debt from the first day they are there, and never will be able to pay their bills.
I wanted so badly to help these girls. I had some money, and I could get more money from my parents and from my church. I could buy some of these girls and set them free. Sue told me that I could not do that, it wasn’t that easy. There would just be more girls bought and put into the brothel. I realized that these girls may not be rescued, but God could set them free. . Jesus came to set the captives free, not only from physical slavery, but also from the bondage of the soul whether they are freed, or not, God’s love must be sufficient. God’s love can meet their needs. His love is sufficient."

We do want to do whatever we can to fight slavery in every form. We also realize that whatever the circumstances of a persons life, they must hear about God's love for them. God's love truly can sustain them and bring healing and freedom in the soul.