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The producer of
the program was a lovely young woman, and I enjoyed working with her,
introducing her to the women and girls at our shelter, helping her
interview them and hear their stories. But I could tell that as the
days of filming went by, she became more and more frustrated with me. I
really couldn"t understand why -and then one afternoon, she couldn"t
hold her feelings in any longer. "Lauran, you smile too much, you"re
too joyful", she blurted out. "I know that when you hear the stories
from the abused women and children, you must cry a lot, and be
depressed. I know that all the years of working with these sad issues
must make you an angry person, and the emotions must keep you awake at
night. These are the things that I want you to say on the camera."
She was
projecting her own feelings on to me, as she heard the girl's stories.
But she didn"t know the Reason that we can have Joy and Peace in the
midst of the saddest of sad situations. Her expression of frustration
gave me an opening to share with her just why I wasn"t a sad and
depressed person - most of the time. Yes, of course, I did shed buckets
of tears with the girls, many times, when their sadness of remembering
when they were sold and raped and betrayed became overwhelming. Yes, of
course, there were many moments when I cried out to God "I can"t do
enough to save them all!", and I felt helpless and hopeless.
But through
these most heart-wrenching of moments, when my staff and I were crying
out to God, God's voice would speak quietly to us, and let us know that
His Love was surrounding us, and that we did not need to be afraid. We
didn"t need to be afraid of either the past - or of the future. We
didn"t have to be in control of what happens now - or next. We were
only responsible to fulfill the Call that He had for us in this moment
and listen carefully to His voice. We just had to Trust that Jesus
would be faithful - to Help, Heal and provide Hope. And He did.
The cameras
began to role again, filming this secular documentary about human
trafficking and child prostitution, and I looked into them. And I said
that it was because God had Called me to this ministry that I was able
to continue for years - and not be continually depressed. It was, after
all, God's work. It was often messy, and chaotic, and unpredictable.
But what was most important was remembering God's unconditional Love
for me and each one of everyone's messy lives - and then watching God
do God's work. In amazing ways.
I would have been one of those depressed, anxious and hopeless people
the TV producer thought I should be - or felt that she would be -
unless I could give up my need for control and let God do God's work.
Burn-out would have taken its toll and I would have quit - had I not
been able to "cast my cares on Jesus" - to literally put the tears and
sadness and pain at the foot of His cross and trust Him for healing and
restoration. What a gift He's given us!
Sisters, if you
- or any of your friends have felt even a whisper of a call to minister
with people in prostitution or victims of human trafficking, would you
please consider joining me so that we can pray and learn together about
this Call? Or if you know people who are involved in ministry with
victims of human trafficking/prostitution would you introduce them to
this article and encourage them to join us? There are 3 opportunities
coming up:
September
30-October , 2010 Chisinau, Moldova "Escape 2010", sponsored by
"Beginning of Life", Moldova and the "International Christian Alliance
on Prostitution/Europe" (ICAP/Europe). You can find more information
at: www.icapglobal.org and click on "Events".
November 25-28, 2010, Vienna, Austria European Baptist Federation (EBF)
Anti-Trafficking Working Group Networking Conference. If you’ve EVER
wanted to know more about how to get involved in the context of your
local Baptist church or Union, you need to come to this conference!
Contact Rev. Sven-Gunnar Liden
or
myself for
information.
May 22-27, 2011
Green Lake Conference Center, Wisconsin USA. This conference brings
together those who have been called into ministry with people in
prostitution and victims of human trafficking from all over the world.
It is the Best place to learn and network with those from many contexts
who are deeply involved with sharing God's Love with abused and
exploited women, men and children. www.icapglobal.org Click on
"Events". The theme of this conference is: JOY!"
If you have
questions about any
of these conferences,
contact me:
Blessings to you on this
exciting journey with our Loving God!
Lauran.
Rev. Lauran Bethell serves as Global Consultant, helping Christians to
minister in Christ’s name to victims of human trafficking and
prostitution. She is a missionary with International Ministries ABC/USA, and is based
in The Netherlands.
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