DIANA

Modern day slavery is a social issue. And even one person going through something like this is one too many.

William Wilberforce was able to change the laws regarding slavery. But the thing he did that made a difference - it wasn’t that he changed the laws of slavery, but the mindset about it.  Unfortunately, as much as people try to camouflage it with different words and descriptions, slavery still exists. And the way to fight this is by going back to the roots, to the foundations of this is issue and uproot it.

Some of you may have heard that the root of trafficking is demand, and therefore that is what we need to be focusing on. But what does that mean? How do you fight demand?  Back then, it was the way the world worked. They thought this way of living was normal. Now, we live in a morally bankrupt society where people have forgotten how to behave with one another and the pursuit of instant gratification is leading people down a path where nothing satisfies them anymore. They feel empty and in pursuit of trying to feel something, they are susceptible to believing the lies that actions come without consequences.

So the way to fight demand is the same as with any other addiction: build healthy relationships.

People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care, and that is what we’re trying to do with Nea Zoi, with Dry Bones, with Built on a Rock. We keep our eyes on Jesus and we build healthy relationships. We’re showing people that they matter and it doesn’t matter which country or nation we are from, under the kingdom of God we are all neighbours; much more than that, we are all family. Healthy families are the foundation of healthy nations.

This is the foundation that we need to be laying down.

This is why we’re trying to reach people through these ministries. Because a moment of trauma is a lifetime of recovery. Not only for the victims, but also for the people around them.  So we are raising awareness by illuminating what’s right of the people’s eyes. We are reminding people of God’s love and we are trying not only to help people build a life they don’t need to escape from.

God’s hope is the anchor that keeps us from being shipwrecked. We are all hope givers. And people without hope borrow ours.