I am so excited to tell you more about The Aegis Element! The plans and vision that God has given them are truly amazing. But, before we get in to who The Aegis Element is first I want to make sure you understand the reality of what human trafficking is.
Human trafficking as defined by Trafficking in Persons Protocol and adopted by the United Nations [2006] is, “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of deception, of the abuse of power or of position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.”
Human trafficking is modern day slavery, and today there are 27 million slaves worldwide. There are more slaves today than there ever has been in history. This should be shocking and disgusting to us, it is to me.
The first time I had ever heard of the idea of trafficking was almost 7 years ago, a couple of days before my wedding. One of my dearest friends had come into town from Southern California to be with me on my big day. I can't tell you how much I love and admire her. She had just gotten back into the states from taking a year long mission trip. Part of her time was spend in Bangkok, working with trafficked women. These women were forced into prostitution, some of them had been tricked, some of them had been forced, and some had been lied to enough that they believed they had no other options.
I can tell you that sitting in my apartment late that night hearing horrific stories of how man has taken what God had meant to be so good and turned it into something evil and disgusting. I was about to get married, Daniel and I both saved ourselves for each other. We were going to get to experience this gift God has given to us, and all I could think about were these women and children (young children) being forced into this horrific life. Right there God used my friend to completely brake my heart. I have had a burden ever since.
What is important that we know is that this isn't just happening in Thailand, or remote villages in Africa. It is happening right here in the Untied States, and in Oklahoma. Did you know that there is not one single county in our great state that does not have a trafficking record on file? Not one! My friends this is happening in our cities, towns, neighborhoods, churches, in our own backyard.
The ugly truth of what human trafficking really is, is not an easy pill to swallow. It would be much easier to just forget what we just learned and burry our head in the sand. There are many times I wish I didn't know some of the most heartbreaking stories I had ever heard. I wish that I didn't see my two beautiful daughters and think of all the other daughters who are being abused right now. It sure would be easier. Or, we can take a stand and do something about it. What if we were the generation to stand up and say enough! What if our great great grandchildren could tell their friends "my family was apart of the movement that ended slavery once and for all." What if?
There are a lot of amazing organizations that are taking huge strides to end slavery. A lot of these non-profits are focused on finding the women and children that have been trafficked and rescuing them getting them out of that situation. But there are few non-profits (that I know of) whose whole purpose is rehabilitating victims back into a normal life. I can't begin to imagine the damage that is done to these victims physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The statistics are alarming of the rate of women going back to their pimps or committing suicide. You have to understand that these woman haven't just been abused physically but mentally as well. They have been told that they are worthless and that no one could ever love them, that they will never be able to do anything but use their bodies.
This is where The Aegis Element comes in. Their plans for restoring these broken women are amazing, I've never heard anything like it and I completely believe that they will be making a huge difference in this world. I'd like for them to tell you in their own words what their purpose is:
The Aegis Element is committed to the long-term care and residency of female human trafficking survivors. We strive to have an impact on each survivor’s unique growth and development process and their ability to “belong” in community and thrive in their place in this world. We strive to provide services such as, medical and psychological attention, legal aid, education, personal and spiritual growth, leadership development, and developing entrepreneurial skills to bring healing and restoration to the original purpose of their life before they faced the unexpected atrocity of human trafficking. Our focus is on developing their unique strengths, talents, intellect, soul, and innate desires.
The best way I know how to explain it is that when we think of these victims we think we want them rescued and restored. We want them pulled out of that environment, and put back into ours, a normal life.
When we realized we have gained weight and we know we want to loose it there are two things we know. One is that we know we are over weight, two we know what weight we want to be at. However if we don't make a plan to get from over weight to ideal weight it won't ever happen. It is the same thing with these victims, if all we do is rescue them they will not be able to go back into a normal life. The Aegis Element is going to help these women set their goals of where they want to be and then they are going to go with them every step of the way to achieve those goals. Amazing!
I am so proud to be even a very small part of what they are doing. If you would also like to join with them I know they would love to hear from you. Here is some contact information;
Email:
info@aegiselement.org
Mailing Address:
105 Lynhurst Circle
Hendersonville, TN 37075
Phone Number:
615.584.5811
I know today was a lot longer post than usual, so thanks for sticking with it and reading it til the end. This is something that I have become very passionate about and I could ramble on for quite some time. I ask that you would join me in praying for The Aegis Element and for the 27 million slaves that are here today.
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