Sunday, June 5, 2011

We Hold Their Freedom

(WARNING: This post is not for the faint of heart.)

Let me just start by saying be careful what you pray for. A few months back I prayed that God would break my heart over what breaks His and last night, my answer came.

My heart is broken.

I received an email from the blog of Kimberly Smith, a writer and fighter of justice with Makeway Partners. She has dedicated her life to going to the most vulnerable & least protected to end human trafficking through prevention. She posted an update about an attack in Sudan that occurred on Wednesday. I was tempted to skim over the details as I often do when reading blogs but my attention was quickly captured by the magnitude of what had happened.

Honestly, I don’t think I have the emotional strength to rewrite what took place. It’s so traumatizing it doesn’t even seem real. I highly encourage you to visit her post yourself by clicking here, if you dare. (I dare you.) All I can say without bursting into tears is that the Islamic government hired rebels (the LRA) to attack a village in the most horrific way. After killing many, they captured children as the spoils of their victory. Those precious ones will now be child soldiers and sex slaves.

After reading the post I didn’t have immediate emotions. I think I went into a bit of shock. I wondered how on Earth such evil could exist in our lifetime. So many thoughts bombarded my mind. I was overwhelmed with flashbacks of all the injustices that have recently come to my attention from around the world and even within our own U.S.A.--the land of the free and the home of the brave. 

I’ve met a number of young women, here and abroad, who were sold at infancy into slavery by their parents. I wish I had adequate words to describe their hurt to you. They have been raped repeatedly. They have witnessed the murder of girls who have tried to escape. They have had their innocence ripped from them in a way that I pray many of us will never understand. I thank God that each one of the ones I met have been rescued and are living a life of hope and restoration. But there are 27 million more of them who are still bound, being abused and forced to do unimaginable things as you read this post.


Throughout my life I have cried for myself, for my hurt, for my own sorrow in seasons of difficulty. But today, I weep for the child soldiers, for the child sex slaves, for the one's that have lost their lives, for the ones that are waiting to be freed and for the ones that are at risk. 

Though overwhelming, the situation is not completely hopeless. We have an opportunity to stand to our feet and do something. We each have a powerful voice that can make a difference in our world right now. We hold the key to their freedom. My hand is raised. Will you join me? 

Here are two links on how you can help in practical ways:
How can I help? (in response to the attack in Sudan)
How can I help? (fight human trafficking within my own country)

Thank you for taking the time to read this heartfelt post.

-Monique

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3 comments:

  1. Thank you for posting, I placed it on my blog as well.

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  2. thanks for this... much needed wake up call

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  3. Thanks for linking arms and making a difference! xoxo

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