Thirty Pieces

Human trafficking. We’ve heard about the problem but few of us see a real human face in this nightmare. Now I have. On my last trip to Singapore I met a woman from Indonesia. A few years ago she lived in Jakarta, was married and had a young child. Her husband left her. Without support she scrambled for work. Along came a “friend,” someone she had known for many years, promising to get her a job as a maid in Singapore. All the arrangements were made and “Jane” (we will use this name because she is at risk with her real name) took the flight to Singapore. The man who met her at the airport took her passport, conveyed her to an apartment and told her that there was no job as a maid. Instead, she would be a sex-worker required to “earn back” all the money he spent for her to get to Singapore. Her quota was 150 men per month. Five a day, every day, doing whatever they wanted. And if she didn’t perform, he would make sure that her son in Jakarta would be harmed. Alone, without a passport, she was essentially a slave. Locked in her room until it was time to “work,” she became a creature of the street, threatened when she didn’t make the quota and afraid to try to escape. No one cared. The police tolerated the enterprise, turning a blind eye to the human trauma. It was just “business.”

Eventually she met one of the members of the church that walks these streets and with great care reached out to one of the women. I am glad to report that “Jane” has been delivered from this prison, although it took some time and caused what psychiatrist Jonathan Shay terms, “moral injury,” as you would imagine. Her son is safe. She is now serving as a teacher in a program called “The Children Under the Bridge.” These are the children of women forced into prostitution, children who are otherwise left to fend for themselves under a bridge in Jakarta. “Jane” has become the mother they no longer have, providing education, safety and food.

Thirty pieces was the price of betrayal a long time ago. Today the betrayal continues. The “friend” has recruited more women with the same scheme. Now I am asking for thirty redeemers. I am asking for thirty of us to provide for “Jane’s” efforts with these children. She needs rent money for herself and her son. She needs educational materials. She needs food to care for these orphans of abuse. She needs thirty of us to give $20 a month (or whatever you can) for the next two years so that she can be a rescuer and redeemer. Now you have a human face of trafficking. Now it is real.

If you want to help, please let me know. I am setting up a separate account just for this project. The money will go through the church that rescued her from the streets. It can’t go directly to her since that puts her life at risk in Jakarta, but all of it will get to her by other means. You can email me or call if you want to help. Thank you.

 

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sandy smail

Yes, I will help her!

Sandy

KimG

Yes, I would line to help. The amount of child pornography in the U.S. is terrible. but at least we.have some resources trying to address the problem. Still one knows we could do more. As adults we get to make our decisions. These children have no choice. If it is bad here, .I can’t even imagine how awful it must be there. For adults and.children.

Gayle Johnson

This opportunity to help is a direct answer to my prayer yesterday. I am grateful you shared this, Skip.

Juvenny & Jeannette Perez

You can count with us, We are more then happy to be a blessing

Juvenny & Jeannette
Shalom

DAN HIETT

Count me in as well. With a happy heart.

Rick Blankenship

Add me as one of the 30.

Kristin

Absolutely! Count me in too.

Jeannie

Count me in!

CW

Breaks my heart , Praying for this. For many more survivor’s and there healing.

laurita hayes

Skip, I am wondering if this church has figured out how to buy these women? There are going market rates, surely. If they have – or could – perhaps we could partner with such an effort there, too.

Laura

Count me in. I wonder how many children are being trafficked?? This kind of evil makes one a little sick to the stomach.

Ester

This is shocking!
Some though, I am told, willingly work as such, a maid by day, but ‘earning extra’ on their off days, on weekends.
It is difficult for the authorities to nail these activities, unless they go to them. I have seen these disgusting scenes
on weekends when I am on holiday there, and locals explain warning us not to go certain places/areas at night.
Most of these maids are from poor countries close by like Indonesia and Philippines.
Count me in as two, please. Thanks Skip.

Ester

Hi Skip, your concern for the welfare of women is outstanding. Perhaps willingly seems harsh, and does not apply to the decent genuinely-seeking- to- survive types, but the fact is, there are those willful ones, truly disgusting types who don’t care for themselves. Many decent good paying jobs available to them, in sales e.g, , but working as maids are often only a cover to get into the country, as maids are in high demand, in a professional society. They want easy, fast money.

Morality.is not their main concern. Their filthy, lazy, irresponsible attitudes are spoiling the country and its reputation.
It is, I fully agree, the corruption in the world.
.

Barbara Wade

Yes. That’s coffee money to a lot of people. Starbucks just raised their prices too.

Isn’t too a preposition?

Correction: And Starbucks just raised their prices. #mentalstreamonline

ZA

Heartbreaking 🙁 . Count me in.

KimG

Sorry let me rephrase and say not all adults especially women. Extremely vulnerable. Skip your words ring true. Willing?

Judi Baldwin

Hi Skip,
I’ll would feel privileged to be one of the 30. You can send me the necessary info to sign up.
But…I’m just wondering if you should remove this post “Thirty Pieces” from your website and deal directly with your readers via private emails?People from all around the world visit your website and you have no control over what they might do with information they read. It could potentially be passed on to someone who would want to harm Jane or the children.
Or… at least remove the photo. Most certainly, SOMEONE is going to recognize the buildings in the background.
Thanks for making the community aware of Jane and inviting us to help.
Judi

Jerry & Joette Baker

Count us in Skip.
Thanks,
Jerry & Joette Baker

Clarisse

I will love to help

Donna R.

Skip,
I will bring this before my children at school this upcoming school year. We will add them to our prayers and our prayer map where we can see the faces we pray for. We will, once again, start a collection for someone in need. The children will decide. We can’t send $20 per month as it takes a full school year’s collection since they, as you know, truly give from their own money and it takes this long to collect some to send. It will be an honor to pray for them! Our children continue to make connections with children around the world in order to lift them up in prayer. This is one of our main purposes that YHWH has given us-raise up intercessors! Thank you for sharing this with us. Shalom!

Pam Riley

Please count me in too! This is an answer to a desire that has been on my heart. Thank you for the opportunity!

John Adam

Count me in too. 🙂

Lesli Moser

I had quickly shot off an email to you about it but realize you may check here first- we would like to help! Even if we are short thirty, we could “count” as two (or three or four) to make up the differences in our deficiency. Just an idea –

Lesli

Linda Smith

I recently received an inheritance and would be honored to use a portion of it for this rescue. Is there a way I can contribute the total amount at once?

George and Penny Kraemer

We are with you too Skip.

Bob Zastrow

I am interested in helping. Thanks for the invitation.

Greg and Trisha Conway

We would love to be a part of this as well!

Caley

I’m in, Skip.

Caley

Ok. Sorry about that.

George

I am in. Possibly more in my family, but I need a week to communicate as some of them are out of town this week. I don’t want my name on this stream which is public. How do I do this privately? So the name required field is fake.

Kate

I am not sure how to get money to you as I am in China and transferring is not easy.
Do you have wechat, I know I can transfer to you that way, please let me know.