What do Sex, Slavery, and the Super Bowl Have in Common?

The SUPER BOWL IS COMING TO ARLINGTON! I remember bursting with pride on the exciting day in 2007 when the news came out that my hometown was playing host to the granddaddy of all sporting events, the Super Bowl. Finally, the world was going to see what a great town Arlington is!

I began to think about what the Super Bowl would mean for Arlington, and for that matter, all of North Texas. Obviously, it will be an enormous boon to the economy, which we can definitely use. In addition, as the eyes of the world are upon us, they will see that we Texans are not a bunch of ranchers sporting cowboy hats and six-shooters. Most of us don't live on large swaths of land featuring oil wells and tumbleweeds. We don't all drive pick-up trucks and eat barbecue at least once a day. Our town is diverse, friendly, hospitable, and fun. And even though I'm not attending the game, I get excited when I think of all the immense energy that will vibrate through every crevice of the Metroplex when the AFL and NFL champs arrive in town to do battle. Yea!!!

I recently came off my Super-Bowl high about two weeks ago when I was smacked in the face with this unbelievable fact: the Super Bowl (where ever it is held) is sex trafficking's biggest weekend. Now, from what I hear, there are plenty of prostitutes already in Dallas. It boggles the mind that there will be ten thousand or more additional sex workers brought in specifically for the Super Bowl--and many of them will be under-aged children who are forced to work as sex slaves.

I shake my head in horror and disgust when I watch a TV show or read an article about the selling of boys and girls in filthy brothels in places like Cambodia or the Philippines. I tell myself that we in America are far more cultured and refined; sure, there is plenty of sex sold between supposedly willing adults, but the buying and selling of children so they can be raped by the highest bidder is extremely rare. WRONG.

Why all the trafficking of children during a massive sporting event? Apparently, the Super Bowl is ripe for this kind of exploitation for the following reasons: large numbers of male tourists travelling without family, lots of drugs and drinking, and revelers with money to spend. Add to this the fact that 40,000 people come to the Super Bowl host city who don't even have a ticket to the game--they just love the party atmosphere.

According to the Department of Justice, "Children trafficked into prostitution are often found around major sporting events. Since children are often more vulnerable, they are easy to move and in high demand, they make ideal victims to travel to major sporting events." Online sites like backpage.com make it easy to "advertise" children; customers can scroll through page after page of exploited children as though they are choosing a consumable product from a catalog. Many pimps and traffickers will rent homes or apartments near the event to establish a brothel to satisfy the seemingly insatiable demand for sex with underage minors.

I have to admit, when I hear about things like this--the evil underbelly of one of our most cherished cultural and uniquely American events--I want to pretend it does not exist and hope it will go away on its own. I do not want to even consider the unspeakable atrocities perpetrated against innocent ones who are made in God's image the same as my own daughters. But in my heart I know that turning a blind eye is not the answer; only when it is exposed and dismantled will there be healing, restoration, and justice.

But what can be done? Obviously, part of the answer lies with law enforcement. I am glad to see the Texas Attorney General, the FBI, and the Metroplex police forces are taking this issue seriously and training and dispatching extra staffers, analysts, and officers to deal with this problem.

Also, I came across an organization called Love 146 (http://www.love146.org/) who is doing all they can to prevent this type of atrocity from happening at the Super Bowl and to rescue children who are brought to Arlington and surrounding areas for the event. You may be curious how Love 146 got it's name. I read the story behind the name on their website and it is so disturbing to me that I'll omit most of the details and simply say that the number "146" was pinned to a little girl's dress in a Cambodian brothel where an undercover sting operation was taking place.

Both Love146 and Traffick 911 are planning a number of events prior to the Super Bowl. These include a screening of "The Playground" (a movie about child sexual exploitation), a community prayer service, a tailgate party to raise awareness of the issue, fliers posted in high-risk neighborhoods, and billboards posted around the Metroplex. Both groups will continue to be active after the Super Bowl, involved in the restoration of children who have been rescued.

If you live in the DFW area, please consider attending a Prayer and Awareness Event at Irving Bible Church on January 28, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. (http://www.irvingbible.org/).

Really, I think the absolute most powerful weapon against the horrors of child trafficking is prayer. Prayer can be done anywhere and anytime--prompts like a billboard or TV commercial advertising the Super Bowl can remind us to offer up a prayer for any young victim whose health and life is at stake as she is being prepped to be trafficked and abused during the Super Bowl.

A few prayer thoughts that came to my mind:

1) pray for a spotlight to be shined on this type of evil--making brutalization that thrives on secrecy more difficult.

"This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil." John 3:19

pray for freedom from those held in bondage

[Jesus said] "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has send me to proclaim freedom of the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed." Luke 4:18

3) pray that justice will be manifested in the lives of the pimps, the customers, and the victims.

"It is not good to be partial to the wicked or deprive the innocent of justice." Prov. 17:5

4) pray that these precious children will come to understand God's love for them.

[Jesus said] "Let the little children come unto me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." Mark 10:13

5) pray that a canopy of angels surround the Metroplex during the Super Bowl and that the forces of evil will be brought to ruin and destruction.

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Eph. 6:12

For more information, see http://www.love146.org/ or http://www.traffick811.org/.

If you happen to encounter anyone you think could be a victim or to report suspicious behavior, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-3737-888.

Whining in the land of plenty

"I DO NOT want to make another shopping trip! I hate this--it's not fair! Whaaaaaaaaa!!!" Whining is not attractive, especially when it is me (not my kids) who are whining. Allow me to explain. I do not like taking my girls (ages 4 and 6) grocery shopping with me, especially for big trips. From the looks I get, I suspect that the other customers in the store and our cashier aren't too fond of it, either.

During the school year, I can usually schedule my time so that I can go to the store by myself, but during the summer, my girls often go with me.

Before we are in the store, the girls are arguing about who gets to sit in which kid's seat in the cart. Soon, there is a chorus of "Gimmie this! Gimmie that!" ringing in my ears. I am always amazed at the "wingspan" of Mika and Macy as they stretch both arms out to grab items they want off the shelves with uncanny precision. Then one child touches the other without permission, and there is a shouting match and a call for me to referee. By the time we make our way to the car, I have told each of them to "be quiet!" "sit down!" "put that back!" "stop hitting your sister!" and "YOU'RE EMBARRASSING ME!" approximately 1000 times.

In the past, as a prelude to an upcoming shopping trip, I would begin to complain about taking a shopping trip with my daughters, who ought to know how to act better by now, but due to some defective parenting on my part, don't.

Then I read this quote in Ron Sider's "Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger:"

"Sometimes I think, 'If I die I won't have to see my children suffering as they are.' Sometimes I even think of killing myself. So often I see them crying, hungry, and there I am, without a cent to buy them some bread. I think, 'My God, I can't face it! I'll end my life. I don't want to look anymore!" --Iracema de Silva, resident of a slum in Brazil

I was shaken by the realization that there are literally hundreds of millions of mothers in the world who are watching their children starve who would joyfully walk many miles in their bare feet with all eight of their children in tow if they could find a store that had something, anything, for them to eat.

And I complain about the inconvenience of driving my two little ones to Wal-Mart and enduring a little sibling rivalry and condescending looks from other shoppers while I stuff my cart full of food?

So, I am done whining about taking my kids grocery shopping with me. I am also done complaining because the store is out of an ingredient for a recipe I want to prepare for that evening. So what, I have to cook something else or stop at another store with my kids?

I promise to no longer complain about the "high cost of food." Our basket is overflowing with all the food our bodies need plus many extras as well--Fritos, Tinkerbell fruit snacks, and Blue Bell Mocha Almond Fudge ice cream. And it is a privilege to have enough money to pay for ALL of it.

The point of reflecting on quotes like the one above from the anguished mother in Brazil is not to make me feel guilty, but to cause me to feel grateful.

So if you happen to see me and my girls in the grocery store and I look like I'm about to lose it, please remind me to have a heart of gratitude for the remarkable blessing of buying groceries for my family each week.