I have been working in the realm of anti-human traffiking for well over a year now. It is not anything like what I would have thought it would look like or be like. Media and movies play up this image and idea of these extreme and rare cases as the norm. More often then not what is trapping these women is the lies about thier worth and thier purpose on this earth. It is not a simple solution to just "get them out". Usually they are supporting thier kids, thier parents, and probably other family members as well. Just the other week we talked to a women who is working on the street because of her daughters medical bills, while talking to us she broke down and showed us not only her mother heart, but also the shame she feels because she knows the Lord and is so ashamed that He knows that she is on the streets doing this work. The issue has so many more layers and so much more pain then the simple solution of Liam Neeson running in guns blazing.
In the midst of the heart breaking things we see and hear every day, there are moments of beauty beyond anything I have before witnessed. The other week a group came into one of the ministries I serve and we had a time of worship. As we sang the song "You Make me Brave", I look over to the entrance of the room to see one of the women, not willing to come into the room so sitting against the doorjam, with her eyes closed singing the words along with us. This beautiful woman is on her way to a new life and it isn't anything we have been able to do, it is Christ through us and in her that are making her brave enough to heal, forgive, and take the steps. This song has taken on a new and so much more beautiful meaning to me, While all the little (and big) issues seem complicated to our human minds, that is why we trust God and not ourselves to do the true work of freedom and healing.
It might not always be as clean and perfect as we want (see first story), but our job is to simply follow God's leading and trust Him to open the doors and do the heart work that we could never do ourselves.