Several years ago if you would have asked me what the term trafficking meant I would have responded, "I'm not sure, the act of making traffic?"
By the time I graduated college in 2010 I had heard of trafficking - diamond minds in Africa, sweat shops in China, and brothels in Thailand. What I didn't know was how much bigger and more worldwide the industry was.
In 2012, I embarked on a journey that would change my life forever. I moved to a remote Amazon city in Peru - Iquitos. I had been there twice before for missions trips and it was the city my sister was adopted from, but I had no idea what the city had become and how great the need I would find there.
During my stay I was exposed to a culture surrounded by drugs. The church had opened a Safe House for ex-drug addicted men. These men lived on the streets and have done every bad thing a sheltered girl like myself could never have imagined. It was incredible to see how God was changing these men - breaking the chains of addiction in Jesus' name. His grace truly is enough.
The news of the salvations and healings spread and the house kept growing. A young woman named Jessica, a prostitute for over 10 years, sought out refuge from the church - but unfortunately they only had a home for men, leaving no where for her to stay. Months later the missionaries found out she was in the hospital dying from AIDS, at age 29. They brought her into their home where she received Jesus and stayed until her last day.
Before her death Jessica expressed her love for her friends by saying that someone needs to save them by sharing Jesus with them. She dreamed of a house for women and children - believing that if she had been give the opportunity a few years earlier then she might not be dying.
Prostitution is not a choice profession. Many of the women were put into it by their families around the age of 8 or 9. They were trafficked. After coming back to the States I learned that Iquitos is the number one hub for child sex trafficking in Peru and the number one child tourism location on the Amazon River.
Upon a return trip to Peru this past January I learned that Iquitos has bars where they sell children with their beverages, they have 1 sol camps set up for 'in & out' business, they keep children locked up during the day in dark rooms - most on drugs, and they are sending them all over Peru and Brazil almost daily.
In an article I read they explained the extreme poverty of Iquitos is because they cannot export goods and tade easily because they do not have roads out of the city, so they have discovered one 'good' that can be reused and reused and reused and even exported.
The demand for children and young women is growing everyday, with Brazil becoming the lead in the sex-trade industry this past year.
Jesus tells us that when we love one another through giving shelter, clothing, food, water, and the gospel we are loving Him.
The women and children victims of this tragic industry need shelter, clothing, food, water and the gospel. Please partner with us on this project. Let awareness become responsibility - I challenge you to stand up for change - stand up for Jesus.
Check out: abundantlifeforperu.com and check out Captured by a Dream.
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