Go Beyond

Like the devil, sex traffickers prowl about “like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). The Psalmist said that the wicked “lurks in a hiding place as a lion in his lair; he lurks to catch the afflicted; he catches the afflicted when he draws him into his net” (Ps. 10:9). Like a lion, these unprincipled individuals use their cunning and power to catch and devour the weak. They drag their catch into their lair where others join them in tearing apart and consuming the innocence of their young victims. The people of Kingsland are committed to the pursuit of justice for the oppressed. We are working toward the day when God will shatter “the teeth of the wicked” (Ps. 3:7). That’s why we support the work of three aftercare homes for women and young girls rescued from sex trafficking in Central America, Africa, and South Asia. And, that’s why we are investing in the work of champions for justice who venture into the dens of lions to rescue the oppressed.

This week I received the story of a young Nepalese girl who was rescued from a lion’s den in South Asia and who now resides in the aftercare home we support there. Her name is Pushpa. She grew up in the family of a subsistence farmer and, like her siblings, started working in the fields at a young age. Because the family needed every child to work in their fields, Pushpa did not have the opportunity to go to school. Pushpa later married a farmer at a young age and left her home. However, as is common in villages in Nepal, her new husband and in-laws were unkind to her and did not take care of her. When Pushpa became pregnant and could no longer work in the fields, her husband left her.

Soon after leaving her father’s home, Pushpa found herself abandoned and pregnant — an easy prey for sex traffickers. Unable to support herself, someone approached her and promised her a good job in a big city in South Asia. Trusting this individual, she accompanied him to the city. However, after she gave birth to her baby, the sex traffickers who had deceived her took her child and forced her into prostitution in another town. They would not allow her to see her baby unless she did what they asked. So, she had no choice but to submit. Pushpa, the young daughter of a poor farmer, found herself trapped in a lion’s den. Several times a day, filthy men forced themselves on her and slowly ripped apart and consumed her remaining innocence and feelings of self-worth.

Pushpa was trapped in a living hell with no way out. Thoughts of her baby daughter sustained her as she was repeatedly raped day after day. And then, the unexpected happened. Some champions of justice stormed the lion’s den and pulled her to safety. Pushpa and her baby found a safe haven at the aftercare home we support. She received medical treatment, counseling, education, and vocational training. Pushpa’s dream is to return to Nepal and take care of her baby and herself. Pushpa and her baby will return home one day because of the champions who entered the lion’s den and rescued her. Please pray for Pushpa and the other girls who reside at the aftercare home we support in South Asia. And please pray for those champions who courageously storm lions’ dens to shatter the teeth of the wicked that they may “terrify no more” (Ps. 10:18).