It has been a long week. I found myself overwhelmed this week a few times by the weight of the issue. Some shocking articles crossed my computer like this one talking about the domestic magnitude of the issue and this one about a gang rape that occurred at a high school homecoming dance where over 20 people stood by, watched and did nothing
I have felt heavy and don’t have much to offer or say.
Well, there would be a “war on trafficking” of course. It would be front-page news every day. The talking heads would not shut up about it. There would be “freedom concerts” and “tea parties” demanding action. There would be white-collar riots in the streets. The government would be forced to make the issue its number one priority. Criminal gangs making billions of dollars from the enslavement and exploitation of adult-white males would be hunted down and confronted without excuse or delay. Corporations linked in anyway to the modern-day slave trade would be shut down, their assets confiscated and their owners prosecuted.
Love146 have spent a big chunk of change to get us as a family out to Cambodia and then continue to pay bills to fly me around the region. Is it worth the investment? Sometimes I am concerned that the money could have been spent on something better. I am well aware that the locals understand the context far better than me. Believe me, it sometimes feels very uncomfortable. So what is the added on value me being based in the region?
The last 8 months have been a beautiful steep learning curve for me. My family and I just moved up to work with Love146 about 8 months ago now. I don’t think there has been a moment here where I haven’t learned something. From how to work the Love146 fax & coffee machine to just how deep and dark this issue goes, I have learned so much! Between news articles and films, to lectures and office conversations, I have been so privileged to be here. I am often asked what I have learned during this 8 months. What is the one thing I have learned? I have thought about it a ton and while it might be hard to pull out one thing I think I can…
I have learned the face of this issue here…in my own streets, in my own city, in my nation. In the middle of my learning I have come to realize not only how blind I have been to the issue here, but I have also seen a lack of compassion in myself that is disturbing.
