Modern Slavery

My husband surprised me with tickets to a Tenth Avenue North concert last night.  It was awesome!!  I really like their authenticity and genuine spirit.  They truly make their concerts into a time of worship and put all the spotlight on God rather than themselves.  

Their tour is called "The Light Meets the Dark" and is used to highlight the heinous issue of modern slavery.  I have heard many times about this problem and it has always been a heavy weight in my heart.  But two things were said last night that really hit hard.  They have partnered up with Compassion International, which is a child sponsorship organization.  A Compassion video was shown where 3 adults from other countries spoke about their lives before Compassion intervened and they were sponsored by someone.  One man said that he remembers his mother holding his 10 month old sister as she died of starvation.  I have an almost 10 month old.  Wow.  I don't even want to imagine what it is like to hold your baby as they die of something so simple, yet something you can't provide.  Not only that, but the days and weeks prior to that when they cry out in hunger.  

Then the lead singer of Tenth Avenue North began to talk about slavery and he said he'd always wondered how it actually happens, how a child becomes a slave.  And he began to paint a picture of a common scenario.  A man is working in a field for many hours.  Perhaps a coffee bean field, plucking the beans by hand.  At the end of the day, he brings the pile of beans to his boss and receives $1 for his day of work.  He feels the stress of not being able to provide enough for his family to eat.  Then a stranger comes along and says something like "I have work for your child.  If you let her come with me, I'll pay her $300 a month."  And the man, out of desperation, gives his daughter to the stranger, maybe not having the slightest idea what she will be doing or what will be done to her.  Now, I know that thousands of other children are kidnapped or get into the sex slave industry by more forceful means, but as I sat there and thought about my two babies sleeping peacefully at home, I tried to put myself in that mother or father's shoes and felt heart-wrenching pain.


The singer went on to say that when you sponsor a child through Compassion International, you actually stop that cycle right where it starts.  You literally pluck a child out of a desperate situation in poverty and give them a new start in life.  Instead of a stranger coming to that family's house to offer "work" for a child, a Compassion worker comes and brings wonderful news in the form of food, education, clothing, and most importantly, the Gospel for the child.  What amazing news that must be to a family who wonders how their dollar will feed and clothe their children, let alone give them any education!


He went on to give the typical speech about how it's about the cost of 3 or so lattes a week, but not being a huge coffee drinker (thought I love it, opportunity and cost deter me), that kind of talk never resonates much with me.  What does is realizing that I have and most of the world has not.  It doesn't matter that most of our clothes are second-hand and our TV is old and I have to watch almost every penny I spend.  I have clothes and a TV and pennies to spend.  I spent this morning folding clothes and thanking God that I have clothes to put on, a washing machine to clean them in, a clean floor to fold them on, a warm bed to sleep in, food to eat for breakfast, and many other things.


But even more than God taking care of me on a daily basis with my physical needs, He has taken care of a deep spiritual need that all of us have.  He sent His son Jesus to die on that old rugged cross to take our place.  He literally plucked me out when I was drowning in sin and saved me.  And I thank Him all the time for what He did for me.  He can pluck you out, too, if you just trust Him.  Believe that He died for your sins.  Tell Him that you need Him.  And don't forget to thank Him :)


Our sponsored child is Joan and he lives in Peru.  He's 15 now, which is hard to believe.  He was only 8 or 9 when we began sponsoring him.  It's like watching your own child grow up too fast :)



http://www.compassion.com/