The Fight....

My Testimony of what the Lord is doing in my Life….

During the summer of 2010 while working at Camp Pinnacle, I first heard of modern day slavery – Human Trafficking. I was shocked and it was the first time I had encountered this issue. Upon returning to school in the fall, I was then taking a public speaking class. My prayer for that class was that the Lord would grant me boldness in my speeches, that they would be meaningful. I mean really, these students were forced to listen to me speak – it was part of our grade. The Lord allowed me to later that semester go to a speech competition – even more people were hearing. In April of 2011, I attended a Missions Encounter Conference in Albany, Georgia. While at the conference we heard accounts of women and girls who had been caught in modern day slavery – Human Trafficking. Human Trafficking is where a person is sold for services or money. This is an illegal act yet everyday in the state of Georgia 200 girls are sold for sex. The statistics are sad but there is Hope. In 2001 a woman in the state of Georgia saw a need, a HUGE need and that was the need to reach out to victims of the second largest business in the world – the Human Trafficking Network. Mary Francis founded Wellspring Living, to help girls and women who had experienced abuse and advocate against  the illegal sex slave trade – Human Trafficking. While at Mission Encounter in April of 2011 I was able to hear Mary Francis  speak about her experiences and as she shared of the HOPE these girls now received. Although Mary Francis had an amazing story to tell the real story that needed to be told was by a friend, T. T is a woman who had been at Wellspring Living since December of 2010 – receiving therapy, Hope and spiritual renewal for 5 months. T shared her story and it is a story that I have committed to telling. Human Trafficking CAN be stopped. The number one way to fight Human Trafficking is to TALK about it. Sounds so easy, yet it’s a scary subject. So I’m committing to talking about it and seeing more stories like T’s come about.

As I was driving home from Albany that Saturday afternoon, God began calling me to more, to share more and love more. During that drive, God began planting a HUGE plan in my heart – His plan of how I was to share what He was teaching me. Upon arriving home, I didn’t share His vision with anyone for several weeks. During this time I was reading through Exodus in my daily JAM (Jesus and Me) times. Two days after returning home, I read Exodus 34:29 “When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken (met) with the Lord.”  You see this was T, the women that I had met who had been freed. T was radiant because she had encountered the LORD. I call this confirmation number 1 on the journey. About two days after this I had a vivid dream. The dream was that my sister had been caught in Human Trafficking and I was tearing apart the city in a frantic search to find her and set her free. I awoke, obviously disturbed by this dream. But it was then that the Lord said to my heart, “Stephanie, these are your sisters and they need someone to come looking for them.” I call that confirmation number 2 and the last one I needed. I soon contact my pastor and then Well Spring Living. Now, I am seeing God’s plans come to life! Everything that is happening and the testimony that you read is that of HIM. His plans are coming about because they were His in the first place.

Every life changing event begins with a small group of people. Mrs. Sandra Burns and I are that small group and we are asking you to join us on this journey of prevention, and action in the fight against Human Trafficking. We hope to only inspire you to search His Word and ask the Lord how He would have you be a part of the solution. Prayer, Education and action is all it takes to see real change begin to happen. Won’t you be apart of the solution and help end Human Trafficking?

Doing Something,

 Stephanie Deal 

Isaiah 61:1 "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound."

T is a real person, I have deleted her full name to protect her privacy. 

My prayer is that someone would come across and read of the injustice happening. That people would be called to action and that lives would be c hanged!