Pretend for a minute...
...pretend you're a mother or father who can't provide for your family.
You see the houses around you that are being built and added on to because those parents made the choice they did. You see the clothes they wear get a little nicer. You see more food on their table than on your own...
So you make a choice.
You take an offer on the table.
Do you choose to look the man in the eyes as he hands you the money?
Do you watch as he carries off your oldest daughter for the weekend?
How do you feel?
Can you look at the picture of her hanging on the wall in your bedroom and not see the innocence and purity that is about to be stripped away?
As she walks off in the distance and gets in the car, the understanding that you may never see her again doesn't hit you. It's only for the weekend, right? Two days and she'll be back home in your arms...
...but it'll be different.
The innocence. The joy. Those things won't be there anymore.
Where there was light radiating from within, it'll be covered by darkness.
One weekend will turn into two..and three...and then more than you can keep count of.
Each night, ten or more men will have their way with her. For the weekend she'll have to endure over thirty men treating her with zero respect. Each one leaving her with a stained kiss on the cheek and a quick, “Thanks”...
A new week starts and a man brings you the money your daughter made. $36. You take it saying this will be the last time. Greed and selfishness takes over. The same man from before notices that you have another daughter.
He offers double for her.
She's only eight you say.
Money isn't an issue, so he triples it.
Despite hesitation, you take it.
As you stare at the money in your hands and he carries your middle daughter off in the distance, you look back and see her stuffed animal laying on the wood floor.
It hits you.
Just like the daughter before, you'll never see her again...
You'll see only the remains of the child who she was.
She'll be forced to grow up faster than others her age. The images and experiences she has will be replayed in her mind for a lifetime.
A year later the man comes back.
He says your oldest daughter has died of disease and that you'll have to pay the rest of the money she was due to bring in.
You've spent everything.
The bill has to be paid.
Your mind races searching for an answer. Nothing comes to mind.
As he gets ready to speak again a baby cries from inside the house.
Moments later, the house is empty.
The man who was in the doorway is driving off in the sun.
Your bill is paid.
And in your hand is $26.
This story above was written by my teammate, brother, and friend Kent Cranford. This month could not be explained any better than how Kent put it. I myself kept trying to start a blog, and would stare at the blank page trying to figure out where to start.. Where to begin..It's incredible what we are a part of here, the mission, the movement. While the story above is pretend for you and I, it is the reality for numerous parents in Thailand and other surrounding nations. Partner with our hearts in praying for the end of human trafficking, and freedom for the many children that are bound.
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