When I was in Cambodia, I was able to meet a young girl who represented everything good in this world (her picture is below.)
Joy, hope, happiness, purity and life. Even though she has suffered much and is an orphan, she has a spark that is unmistakable.
In Phnom Penh, the capital city, I witnessed many girls in their late teens who were on the opposite end of the spectrum. They were victims of sexual exploitation and trafficking.
The contrast couldn’t be more extreme.
I came to realize the young girl I met was the face of what a girl should be. She is the face of a girl safe and secure. The other faces were the face of what girls should not be. The face of exploitation and fear.
My good friend Beth Fischer made an amazing video representing this dichotomy, which I was able to show in my talk for the Justice Conference.
It is a haunting video – one that distills it all down in a simple way. It is the picture I have in my mind of why justice matters. It is the picture I have in my mind that makes sitting in the Starbucks drive-thru, my trips to Barnes and Noble and my watching the Mentalist on TV every Thursday night seem so small.
There are a lot of things going on in my life and in the life of Antioch related to anti-trafficking… it is my hope and prayer they would develop and grow in amazing ways. Unlike Starbucks and the Mentalist, these things mean something.
I’d love for you to see Beth’s video. Click here to watch it on her Vimeo channel.
