Counting down the minutes to freedom
In the last four months as an Exit Strategist with Rescue America I learned that I have the amazing privilege of working with some of the bravest and most resilient Survivors and I am so honored to be such a small part of their story. Every time I get a call my heart jumps at the opportunity to join a Survivor in their moment of freedom.
I recently was able to be a part of a heart-pounding exit, and the Survivor blew me away with her bravery. We received a hotline call around 1 AM and she was calling from a hotel, in an area that I was very familiar with. It didn’t take me long to realize that she was very carefully crafting her side of the phone call and I knew at once what was happening. Her trafficker was in the same room as she was.
She very carefully communicated through both text and phone conversation the details of her situation and we put a plan into place. She knew that when I called her back, her bed at a safe shelter was secure and it was time for her to make an escape.
“So how can we safely get you out of this room?” I asked her. She had already come up with a plan. “I am packing all my things and he thinks I’m going to the laundry room to do clothes....” she quickly clarified through text. I secured a bed at a partner shelter and quickly called her back. I told her the details of where and how she would be traveling to the shelter and everything that would entail.
“You good?”
“Yeah let’s do this”
I arranged transportation while we stayed on the phone
“Ok, your ride is 7 minutes away...”
We stuck together on the phone as I could her that she started packing and zipping up her bags”
“5 minutes”
She didn’t respond, but I knew she was there because I heard her gather her courage and pause to take a deep long breath
“Hang in there I’m with you, I’m so proud of you”
I silently prayed for the Lord to physically send His angels to surround and protect her as I knew she would begin to walk out of the hotel and towards the lobby
“4 minutes away”
She mumbled something to her trafficker and I heard the hotel door click.
“Okay I’m out, I’m walking down the hall,” she said shakily.
“You’ve got this, your ride is 2 minutes away.” I had already notified the driver to pull up to the lobby area and I told her again the make, model and color of the vehicle she would be getting into.
She walked out of that hotel lobby that night and into her new life of freedom, and did it with such confidence and sheer determination. Once in the vehicle, we stayed on the phone, and she spoke more freely, sharing the details of her experiences being trafficked for all these years.
It is so humbling to be invited into their stories. Each one of the Survivors I’ve come to know have very different experiences and unique trauma related to the suffering that they have endured at the hands of their traffickers. And yet each one, in spite of the incessant manipulation, exploitation, violence and continued threats these women raise their voices to proclaim, NO MORE!
Wow! I am Praising God today and everyday for each opportunity of Restoration in HIS name!
We know that John 1:5 says that the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has NOT overcome it! As we faithfully continue to shine the light of Jesus into these dark places we know that we have the ultimate victory! The darkness CANNOT overcome the light of Christ!
