Protecting Women Around the World

I just saw a photograph of a menu.  It listed five items along with the prices.  No big deal, right?

Wrong.  The items listed are as follows: China girl, Hong Kong girl, Malay girl, Philippine girl, Russian girl.  And for a price, you can have one for the night.

Imagine a few things with me:

You are buying a plane ticket to a foreign country so you can steal a child's virginity.

You are a little girl who's been told she needs to go away for a few weeks only to be sold into slavery.

You are the mother of a child who has debts she cannot pay, more children to feed than there is food, and you're told that your precious daughter will be taken very good care of if only you let her go away into the city for awhile.

Moms, we must do something about this.  I've been talking about AIDS and Africa and clean water for awhile now.  And I'm not getting off that soapbox until either I a) die or b) God tells me to quiet down.  But this is just another facet in the Pandora's box that is social justice.

But what can you and I do about this issue, about any issue that seems so far removed?

First of all, pray.  God wants justice for every person, so to pray to this end, well, you already know you're praying in His will.

Secondly, get informed.  Read anything you can.  Search websites.  Pick up a book.  Get information.

Third, realize that the other side of the world is not so far away, as Rich Mullins sang.  For instance, our very own Toledo, Ohio is well known as a hub of human trafficking.  (By the way, the definition of human trafficking is simply this: It involves an act of recruiting, transporting, or receiving a person through a use of force or coercion for the purpose of exploiting them, and every year, thousands of men, women and children fall into the hands of traffickers.)

Next, inform others.  Tell your friends what you're learning.  Figure out a way your church can get involved.

And finally, give.  Any amount helps to bring freedom and aftercare to victims of modern day slavery.  Go to www.ijm.org to find out more.

You wouldn't want anyone taking your child away… you wouldn't want to be in the situation where you felt you had no choice but to let them go. Let's do some good, let's fight some evil… for our kids' sake, and the children of those who can't fight for their own.

September 24, 2009

Ó Elisabeth K. Corcoran, 2009

Elisabeth lives her with husband and children in Illinois.  She is the author of the devotionals, In Search of Calm: Renewal for a Mother's Heart (Xulon), Calm in My Chaos: Encouragement for a Mom's Weary Soul (Kregel), and is excited to announce the fall release of He Is Just That Into You: Stories of a Faithful God who Pursues, Engages, and Has No Fear of Commitment (WinePress).  After ten years of leading Women's Ministry and four years on staff at Christ Community Church - Blackberry Creek Campus over Adult Ministry and Community & International Impact, she is now devoting her time to speaking and writing.  Her passion is to encourage women and the Church, and applying her gifts to eradicating local and global AIDS.  You can learn more about Elisabeth at www.elisabethcorcoran.com or at http://elisabethcorcoran.blogspot.com/, and you can follow her on Twitter at ekcorcoran.