I Was Sold
A Sex Trafficking Testimony
“I was sold.”
She said it in a rush of narrative describing how she ended up in the Shelter across the room from me. She said it so fast that I didn’t catch it at first. Then those three words grabbed the heel of my attention and stopped my train of thought dead in its tracks.
I’m hearing a woman tell me she was a slave, not a prostitute, but a slave. Held against her will. Slave, not in the past, but in the present. She had been a captive and she was right in front of me.
Sex trafficking is happening all around us but the shame and terror of it all often keeps such stories silent and hidden.
But she told me her story and it led through chapter after chapter of sorrow and suffering for herself and children caused by other people’s sin and her own.
But in her horror story God began to speak and act. I heard Him speak gently to me, in a whisper she said: “Give me everything and I will give you everything.”
These whispers of promise turned her heart and mind towards God. She escaped, got help through a hospital and made her way to the Shelter. She's listening and she’s seeking. She attended our church recently and now was sharing her story with me.
Small steps of trust and vulnerability in a world that has victimized and violated her to such a degree that I was humbled and honored that she’d trust me with any piece of her personal Greek tragedy.
I shared with her the line of scripture from James 4:8 that echoed her God whispering experience: “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you…”. I explained how she was entering a relationship with God and if she heard His voice then surely Jesus had claimed her as His own sheep.
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” - Jesus (John 10:27-28)
I encouraged her to keep listening and following.
This morning in my daily Bible reading plan in the Book of Common Prayer this passage of scripture resonated deeply with me:
Psalms 10:2, 8-15 “The wicked arrogantly hunt down the poor. Let them be caught in the evil they plan for others. They lurk in ambush in the villages, waiting to murder innocent people. They are always searching for helpless victims. Like lions crouched in hiding, they wait to pounce on the helpless. Like hunters they capture the helpless and drag them away in nets. Their helpless victims are crushed; they fall beneath the strength of the wicked. The wicked think, “God isn’t watching us! He has closed his eyes and won’t even see what we do!” Arise, O Lord! Punish the wicked, O God! Do not ignore the helpless! Why do the wicked get away with despising God? They think, “God will never call us to account.” But you see the trouble and grief they cause. You take note of it and punish them. The helpless put their trust in you. You defend the orphans. Break the arms of these wicked, evil people! Go after them until the last one is destroyed.”
Pray these verses with me for those trapped in the horrors of sex-trafficking in our communities.
Pray for the Rescuers.
Pray for the Traffickers to be brought to justice and salvation.
Pray for our leaders to respond with meaningful policies, punishments and protections.
Reach out to a local ministry that is combating these evils if you're compelled to take action.
https://www.jonahproject.org
https://helpingcaptives.org
Pray for my new friend, who isn’t a slave anymore.