27

On this day (February 1) in 1865 Abraham Lincoln signed a resolution that would become the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution. In case you've forgotten, that amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude (except for punishment of a crime) in the United States. 

It's been 150 years since slavery was ended in the U.S. and slavery is actually now illegal in every single country in the world. Yet, slavery, different types with different names, still exists.

Now I may grumble about my job, as most working adults are prone to do from time to time, but I got to choose my career and I get to choose whether I will show up to work each day. No one threatens me with torture, pain, or death to do something I don't want to do. I'm lucky enough to get paid to do something I enjoy. Far too often I take that immense blessing for granted. 

More than 27,000,000 people are not so lucky. In case you didn't count the zeroes...that's more than 27 MILLION people are still controlled, trapped, and forced to do jobs against their will, without pay. Here are a few startling statistics (found on the END IT website):

• Slavery is the 2nd largest global organized crime and generates $150.2 billion a year...which is more than the revenues of Amazon, Google, and eBay COMBINED.
• Slavery exists in 167 countries around the globe.
• Nearly 1 in 5 victims of slavery is a child. The average age of a teen that enters the sex trade in the US is 12-14 years old. 
• An estimated 199,000 incidents of sexual exploitation of minors occur each year in the United States. That's one incident every three minutes.

In a few short weeks, I will be 27 years old. As someone pointed out 27 years old is only 13 years away from 40, so there's that. Now, I'm not really one that feels as though my life will be over at 30, 40, or 50. I don't think I'm old. However, I am too old to bury my head in the sand and pretend like everything in the world is hunky dory, because...it's not. As nice as it sounds to live in a little bubble and not think about the world being the brutal place that it is, I can't. 

I don't have children of my own, but for several years now I've worked at churches where parents kindly share their kids with me a few times a week. They're not mine biologically, but I still love them fiercely. I love that they're innocent and bright-eyed and full of wonder and excitement. I can't prevent them from eventually discovering that the world can be a dark place, but I'm sure going to try to make it a little better. I hope that when they're 13 years away from 40, the world will be a bit brighter...and that there will not be 27 million slaves in the world. 

I recently moved and after 5 months of unpacking boxes, I realized I don't need a single, solitary thing. I have a lot of stuff. So, this year for my 27th birthday, I'd like to invite you to join me in doing something about the more than 27 million slaves. END IT has started a new campaign, 27 X 7. I have made a team (which you can join here). The goal is to recruit at least 27 family members, friends, and co-workers to join me and donate $7 (you can certainly donate more). After you donate, the hope is that you'll form a team of your own and invite your family, friends, and co-workers to join you as a freedom fighter. Then, we all get to watch the ripple effects. 

$7 is lunch at a fast food restaurant or a fancy coffee. Most of us can find a way to give $7. In some ways this is a birthday thing for me, it's a well-timed campaign considering 27 and all, but I don't want you to give because of me or in honor of my birth. I appreciate that you love me, I do. However, give because you want to make the world a better place. Give because slavery is wrong and you want it to end. Give because all people deserve to be celebrated and loved and cared for and more than 27 million people aren't. I'm old enough to know that the world can be a cruel place, but not so jaded that I don't have hope and believe that we can make it better. Join me in shining a light in a dark world. 


**If you're not familiar with the END IT, it's a coalition of organizations that are committed to fighting for freedom. These organizations, like International Justice Mission, the A21 Campaign, World Vision, and others, are doing work to bring awareness, prevention, rescue, and restoration. Each of the organizations in the coalition is focused on a different step in the journey.