I recently just returned from a pre-release screening tour up the West Coast for the anti-human trafficking documentary Nefarious, Merchant of Souls. To give a brief explanation, Nefariousis a full-length feature film that gives a comprehensive and raw introduction to the global sex trade. It was filmed on four different continents and nineteen countries by Exodus Cry, an international nonprofit organization here in Kansas City that is founded on intercession and philanthropic work. Two months ago, our team of five young missionaries packed up our lives into suitcases and hit the road for our first of over thirty screenings throughout Arizona, California, Oregon, and Washington. Our hearts were fluttering with expectation for what the Lord would do in the journey ahead of us and our eyes were hungry to see His justice. Earlier this year, I had spent a month in Africa working with abused women, the poor, and the sick—but this terrain would be completely different. This was my home and my people: America.
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The issue of slavery is still rampant in our own backyards and I couldn’t even believe it myself when first hearing about it. It should be of no surprise that children and orphans are one of the most directly involved victims; some of the root issues include abuse, perversion, and abandonment in the homes. This is a fact that Nefariousstrongly addresses and the reality of it was gaining on us quickly as we drove nearer to our first screening. If one in three women have been sexually/physically abused as a child, and one in four men, then our future audiences of thousands were, without a doubt, going to have ones who could directly relate to the documentary.
Before I go on, I want to emphasize that when carrying this burden for justice and human trafficking, it is inevitable that the beauty of the Spirit of adoption shines with full force. It was a pretty sweet and encouraging moment for me to hear this awesome clip while on tour, featuring two leaders in the prayer and justice movement. If you haven’t already heard, our own Randy Bohlender has been holding a radio show, named The Spirit of Adoption Show, on AM 730 WTNT The Truth. The audio clip is one of the episodes where Randy interviews Benjamin Nolot, the filmmaker of Nefarious and founder of Exodus Cry. Their discussion pulls together the fact that to be pro-life is to be pro-child and pro-human life on everylevel, that it doesn’t exclude the dark realms of human trafficking.
One uncomfortable thought I want to bring to the table is: many of the orphaned and abused children of ten to thirty years ago have become the exploited victims and perpetrators of today. But what if they had been shown the true Spirit of adoption before that dreadful cross-over? What if the targeted orphans and abused where taken first by the protective love of Christian homes?Human trafficking would have to stop dead in its tracks because the main commodity for it’s $32 billion industry would no longer be for sale. Researches and advocates related to this issue have come to the general consensus that human trafficking is simply the exploitation of vulnerability. Traffickers don’t always have to scour dark alleys to find and kidnap an unsuspecting person into their van. Desperate people can be easily pawned into ‘the game’ by sleazy manipulators who show a counterfeit sense of adoption and safety.
Our screening tour was named the Incurable Fanatics Tour modeled after Wiliam Wilberforce’s famous proclamation, “If to be feelingly alive to the sufferings of my people is to be a fanatic, then I am one of the most incurable fanatics to be at large.” He was a man of radical prayer, financial giving, and awareness who successfully led the abolition movement of slavery in his day. I believe that even now God is scanning the innumerable injustices of the earth and is searching for ones who will be modern-day Wilberforces, it’s the Psalm 14:2 reality. A more comical illustration that comes to mind is of the child game-books Where’s Waldo? In the books there are pages filled with an overwhelming amount of silly characters amassed together and in all the hubbub you must find that one little guy, with the striped get-up and a smirk on his face, who’s been looking straight at you the whole time. How many of us will the Lord find looking at Him in the middle of it all? To how many of us, whether it’s an individual, a family, or a community will He say, “Aha! I’ve won!” Not in a children’s game of puzzles, but over the horrific schemes of the enemy against the children.
To learn more about Exodus Cry and the documentary Nefarious, Merchant of Souls visit www.ExodusCry.com or www.NefariousDocumentary.com
By Michelle
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