The Mommy Map is mostly about parenting and marriage, but if you’re going to join me on this journey then you will also have to wander down the path with me as I wrestle with the unjust things of the world. I daily wrestle with the staggering statistics of the defenseless. Things like there being 147 million orphans in the world. There are people who don’t even know where their next meal will come from and yet I have a pantry brimming with food. Some lack fresh, clean water to drink and yet I get fussy when I have to drink tap water vs filtered water. And there’s sex trafficking…all of it bothers me greatly, but this one just gets my goat (Did I just say, “gets my goat?”) the most.
Over the past few years, God has been trickling info about sex trafficking to me. He knew I couldn’t take more than that because sex trafficking is personal, but yet now it seems the fire hose has opened up and I am constantly inundated with more information than I know what to do with. Sometimes I am so overwhelmed I just weep. Sometimes I just want to curl up in the fetal position because of the pain I feel for what is happening to these girls. Eastern Europe is especially close to our hearts. The Driver and I desire to return to Eastern Europe and have prayed about how God would use us to help those who cannot help themselves, but yet we both feel that we are to wait. Wait for what we do not know, but until we know what we are waiting for, we will use our voices to open peoples eyes to what goes on–not just in other countries, but even here in America. We will not be a part of keeping it secret because we might offend someone. We will work to expose the secret and educate others. Most importantly of all, we will be on our knees praying for the defenseless and against those who would seek to do them harm. Read the following statistics, let it sink in and join me in prayer.
1.2 million children are trafficked every year; this is in addition to the millions already held captive by trafficking
Every 2 minutes a child is being prepared for sexual exploitation
The average victim is forced to have sex up to 40 times a day
The average age of a trafficked victim is 14 years old
Sex trafficking is an engine of the global AIDS epidemic
By 2010 Sex Trafficking will be the number one crime worldwide
As I read these statistics, I was challenged to set an alarm to go off every 2 minutes so that I could truly see what it means that “every 2 minutes a child is being prepared for sexual exploitation.” Yikes! It was disturbing as I putzed around my kitchen, hearing that timer go off so frequently. I dare you to do the same and to pray every time your timer goes off. The defenseless need you.
*These statistics were found at http://www.sheispriceless.com/.
Heart wrenching…praying!