You don't have baggage, you are baggage.

Imagine this.

You find a program that lets you live abroad for very little cost. They let you know that part of this program is that you work while you’re in these areas. You prep yourself for a year long trip, get all of your documents in order, get your contact’s information, and set your flight. You’re excited as the plane lands Heathrow in London. You take a cab to the flat where you’re supposed to meet your contact. You’re welcomed in, set your stuff down. You start chatting with your hosts, share a few drinks. You start to feel groggy & pass out.

You wake up in a much different side of town. A very shady flat where the wallpaper is falling off the wall, you have an old, stained mattress on the floor. You have no idea where you are or where your stuff went. Your “host” informs you that it’s time to start paying back for your trip. You immediately protest to what they have done to you. This man who brought you here beats you and tells you that you’ll do as he says or he’ll kill you, after all he did pay a good amount of money for you. You’re kept in this place for a few weeks, nightly getting beaten & raped. This man brings over other people to do the same thing to you.

One day you see an opportunity to escape. Knocking out your captor and run for it. You run for blocks until you find a police station. Out of breath you try to explain to the officer about what has been happening to you. The officer listens and they take you into the back. After some time the officer asks you for your identification. You think about it and you know it’s with your belongings, wherever they are. They are more interested in your citizen ship, rather than what has happened to you. They label you an illegal immigrant & throw you in jail for being in the country illegally. Your captor finds you and pays your bail and you’re back in their custody.

This is the story of an estimated 2.5 million people. This is what it is like to be a victim of Human Trafficking; some people get tricked into this by promises of moving from a 3^rd world country to a developed country for a better life. Others, normally children or teens, are sold into this by their parents. There are quite a few that are kidnapped and forced into sex trades or manual labor. The majority of people are 18-24, although 1.2 million of its victims are children.

This is normally a rare situation for an American citizen, as there are things that can be done, like going to the US embassy in that country. There are many people who cannot do this, they are normally tracked down by the trafficker and forced back in.

The Adventures in Missions organization has programs that are a safe haven to these people. One of the things I could be doing on the World Race is helping out with this program of counseling and ministering to these victims.

I would ask for your prayers on this trip, but any donations would be helpful. You can donate at the following link:

Click here