Human Trafficking: How to Bring Light into Dark Places

Introduction

So welcome everyone. I am so thankful that you guys are all here and my name is Chelsea, Chelsea Brown. Um I'm originally from Canada, from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and now I live in Minnesota and It's an honor to be here. And for my journey with on Eagles Wings and Warrior Leadership Summit, I started attending when I was 17. I was the second Canadian ever to be on the team in 2001. And so I traveled with the team for over 10 years, and this is, I believe, my 14th or 15th WLS. And so I took a break for about nine years and then came back just a couple days ago.

So I'm very, very thankful to be here. And this is a topic I know it is kind of heavy and it's a tough topic topic, but it's important for us to talk about it because of the rampant growth on our reservations. And so We're gonna just start going through terms. I'm sure some of you know have some knowledge, some of you might have none, some of you might even have experience with some of the stuff we're gonna talk about. And so before we do that, I'm going to just open us up in prayer. Father God, I just thank you so much for today. Thank you, God, for the honor to be here.

And I just pray, God, that you would touch my mouth and that I would say the words that you want me to say. Thank you for each person here and for those coming, God. And we just pray, God, that you would set the captives free in Jesus' name. Amen.

Key Terms

So, um some terms that I will be using. There's sexual exploitation and sex trafficking. So sexual exploitation is probably something that's most common. Something that you're going to come on in. So sexual exploitation is probably most common and what you guys are going to experience or see with a lot of um friends and even family. Sexual exploitation is where there's a transfer or promising of anything. Um so it could be money, drugs, food, shelter, um, higher status in a gang for any type of sexual activity. So where um I'm a youth or I used to be a youth counselor and where I would see it most would be um because we're up in Minnesota, it's cold, and so we do have a higher homeless population, well, you can't sleep outside when it's negative fifty.

You will die. And so we have a lot of um of of this going on. And so the way sexual exploitation looks like is if they if a person can't pay their rent, um then they go to their landlord and their landlord says, oh sure, if you do this sexual favor for me, you can stay for the next month. So that's exploitation Um and so that will happen quite a bit or even I've worked with kids where their family member says, Oh, you have to go over to Uncle Johnny's house and do whatever he says so that we can live in our place and we can have money for rent. And so there's also for money, drugs and things like that.

We call it couch hopping as well. Um we have a high homeless population in Minnesota where they'll do um couch hopping or couch surfing and so to stay at that person's house. They'll say, yep, you can stay at my house as long as you want, but you have to do this with this person to stay here. Now sex trafficking requires a third person. So there's coercion, force, or fraud. So that's a third party. So sex trafficking is where You have somebody who's being sexually exploited, then you have somebody who is the buyer and somebody who's benefiting. So a third party is benefiting.

So this is sex trafficking. A new one that actually I just added coming here is sex tortion. This is something that is rampid in the US. And not only so the way that this is gonna look for sex dorsian is someone's online, a lot of times teenagers. Early twenties, you're online, you meet somebody because a lot of our dating is now online, um, friendships and all that. And so you meet somebody online, you think that it's you know cute Johnny or whatever and then you're messaging back and forth and so the person asks for um you know an explicit picture and so You're exchanging pictures, they're expenses exchanging pictures, you think that's the person you're talking to.

And then the person all of a sudden says, you better send me a thousand dollars or I'm sending every picture video you sent me to your family. to your pastors, to um everyone you know. Because um a lot of this extortion are from even other countries. These people from other countries are actually coming on acting like they are somebody here in Canada, in US. They're messaging, they have fake accounts. But they also have computer technology where they have already done a deep dive. They know where you live. They know where um who your friends are, they know a lot about you.

And this is again important to have these conversations and even look at your own um online presence. And so whatever platform you are a part of, look at okay, if a stranger looked at my Facebook, my Instagram, my Snapchat, what information would they get about me? Look at your pictures. Sometimes people will put pictures like with their high school logo in the back. They're gonna know where you go to high school and boom, now they're sending those sexual pictures to your classmates, to your teachers, to your parents, your um uncle, your aunt, whoever is on your friend list.

And so sextortion um is a huge issue that needs to be addressed. uh internet safety, who you're talking to might not be who you think you're talking to. And unfortunately, I have heard many cases of people that have chosen suicide. instead of reaching for help. And I really, really want you to hear this and for yourself or for your friends, that if you get in a situation where someone is saying Let's say you sent a sexual picture or a video of yourself or you know of a friend that sent that sexual picture or video. If you get in that situation, you need to ask somebody, you need to talk to somebody about this because multiple, multiple, even within the last year, teens have um died by suicide because of the embarrassment, because of the fear that that picture, that video would be sent to somebody very important to them, and many time parents.

And and so I put on there, do not believe Satan's lie. That your life is better off dead than the embarrassment of others seeing what was sent. A parent can work through embarrassment, they will never get over the grief of a dead child And so what can you do about that? So somebody tells you, hey, I sent like your friend comes up to you, I sent my picture to this guy or this girl. I totally thought she was or he was into me What do I do? They said they're gonna um send it to everyone if I don't give them a thousand dollars or send them crypto or send them more videos of myself.

What do you do? And if you guys want to take a picture of This one you can um or any of them but uh what do you do? So you remember that they the person that is trying to extort you, they're the ones to blame. They're committing a crime by asking you to do or send anything sexual about yourself. Get help before deciding to comply with more demands because if you comply with these demands Rarely will a blackmailer stop. You send the thousand dollars if you have it or you send another sexual video and they're not gonna stop there. They're gonna keep on going.

Report the account. Um do not respond to the person take screenshots before blocking their account or before they delete stuff. You know your platforms and how they work. Um and this I actually was just researching more last night because like I said, sextortion is a lot more on the rise right now. Um the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, or NCM, I don't know, NC MEC. It's get help at ncmec. org or 1-800-the lost. So a lot of people think, oh, National Center for Missing or Exploited Children. That doesn't apply to me. It does with sextortion.

This group has the funds to not only um deal with who's ever extorting you or has those pictures of you, they can do reverse searches. They can hunt them down if those accounts are active. And they can do digital searches of your face. So if your pictures or images were sold in um or on pornographic sites or if it was sent on a or put up on a platform, they can help take those down. So there is hope if you get yourself or you know someone who gets in this situation of sex tortion and you've sent an image of yourself or a video of yourself, there's hope and there is help.

And I just really pray that you hear that and that if you're ever in the situation or you know someone Give them these inform give them this information, this uh phone number and this email so that you can get the help because suicide leaves a lifetime of grief. And I know those pictures would be embarrassing and feel horrible to that somebody would see them if they got out. But again, a person can work through embarrassment, a family member It's a lifetime of grief.

Who Is Most Vulnerable?

So who is most vulnerable to be trafficked? I have a big long list here. And so there's quite a bit of factors. If we look at our reservations, sadly, we hear the statistics all the time. We're the highest for suicide rate, we're the highest for drug abuse, we're the highest for um uh yeah suicide, drug abuse and alcoholism. And sadly too, we the national average for the most part is one in five are sexually abused. or have some sort of sexual thing happen to them. For Native Americans it's one in three. And this isn't just a for girls, this the for men and for boys, that is highly um becoming more and more common.

And so one thing I do want to point out though for this list of being vulnerable or being at risk would be runaways. And so runaways, um, many times on a res, someone runs off and they're like, oh well it's because she's just going to drink or she's going to be with that boyfriend or he's Um he's a drug addict and he's probably just with his dealer. The statistics have shown us that majority of runaways are picked up within 72 hours by a trafficker They look for them. They intentionally look for somebody who is a runaway, a write-off child, somebody that's missing.

And I'm a huge advocate for not just, you know, with the amber alerts and things like that for for kids that we know have been kidnapped, but even for our runaways, even if they're running from a situation that they don't want to be in or they don't agree with their parents or they're upset about something. We need to be looking for our runaways because they're at risk of being trafficked and picked up by a trafficker. And many times the parents don't want to report their kid missing because we're we're kind of hush-hush, keep it in the family and we don't want the police to know that we can't keep our kid under control Well, report it.

You have to report your kid even if they're a runaway. Even if you think they're off doing drugs or doing whatever. You have to report it because if no one's looking for that kid They're going to be picked up within 72 hours, trafficked, and they move them out of state within less than 12 hours.

Recognizing the Signs

So signs of trafficking There's quite a bit up here. Well, I messed it up now. There we go. So signs of trafficking. Um I'll give you an example of somebody. So we had um actually yeah, well you guys look at that list. So um the reason why I'm passionate about this is I went to a training. And um I had been married, I think less than a year, and we went to a training on sex trafficking with a ministry, and They were talking about how bad sex trafficking is and that it happens everywhere. I am from a small town, I think we have 14,000 people. And but we're the center of multiple reservations.

And the reason why these marines, they're marines that train and they go into like other countries and they rescue girls right now. They do it across the US. They're usually highly involved with the Super Bowl. And so they came and they did this six hour training and they said, We're gonna prove to you that you do have a problem in your town. And I'm like We have 14,000 people. Okay, maybe there's like a couple of people that might be um looking for somebody um to to buy or to traffic. I was blown away within a few hours. They had already set up multiple stings.

They had multiple responses to a fake ad that they had posted online within a few hours. And they even had found two places where girls were being trafficked where it was a trailer park area and they knew and they they pointed out who's guarding that trailer court, who's um holding the people captive, the girl yeah they're coming in and out, but they weren't There is people guarding them, people watching them, and to somebody else that's just walking by you think, oh well that's kind of a low income area and you know a few girlfriends live together, like no big deal It was a trafficking ring.

They uncovered it within an hour. And this is in my small little town. And so as I um Went through this training and and they worked with us and there was about a team at first we were four, probably a team of I think six or eight by the end of it. And so for a year and a half we set up Stings. And so what we would do is I would create a fake online ad, um not of myself, but I would um put a a fake ad out and then the uh buyer or somebody Tamarius is laughing at me. Um and so I I would set this ad up and then the the per buyer would respond via text.

So they're thinking they're texting me. They're not, they're texting my husband in a different room with two other guys. And so they set up a meet. And so um when they set up the meet, then my husband and two other guys go out and then they also have um a trail car with uh cameras and so while they're doing that they confront the buyers and so my job was to do digital searches for girls being trafficked or stuck in prostitution. And so myself and two other ladies We were constantly looking um on these ads, trying to find these girls. And many times the um the traffickers will give um the the people being trafficked uh their cell phone um on Saturdays because they're supposed to be working.

So we would work from six PM until one in the morning and we were just calling all of these ads and many times the person um being trafficked or uh prostituted would answer. And so I would just say, Hi, my name is Chelsea and I want you to know that God sees you and He loves you and this isn't His plan for your life. And if you want out, you can call this number. It's a safe number And sometimes you would hear somebody in the back saying, because I one time there was this girl and um she I actually won't share her name, um, her online name, but And so I she said, is this for real?

And I said, yes, it's for real. This, you know, if you want out, tell us, you know, which hotel you're at, we'll come get you. And she said, oh my gosh, I can't believe this. And then all of a sudden I hear Beep like who's that on the phone? And someone's screaming and yelling and swearing at her and then this person picks up and he's like Who is this? And I said, My name's Chelsea and what you're doing is wrong and then click. And then the phone number was disconnected. And so um yeah, it was it was a really challenging time, but there also were stories of Girls that would say, you know, I I want out.

There um there was one who was a college student, she started hanging out with some guys. and um and hanging out with them and she thought, you know, oh we're just going to party, we're going to hang out. And then um she was raped and it was recorded and they basically said to her Uh now you're gonna keep doing these sexual things for my friends and if you don't we're gonna show everybody this video. And so again, kind of that sextortion But she was trafficked and they were making money off it.

Who Are Traffickers?

So traffickers. So when I say traffickers, it's the people that are that third party. A lot of times people think like, you know, the pimp with the hat and the feather, that's you know, that's just not, you know, we're like, oh, watch out for strangers. Do we tell our kids that But we don't tell them that they could be in uniform. We don't tell them they could be in our church because they are. And so traffickers are usually known to the survivor And and the reason why I use survivor is because anyone who has been um raped or molested or trafficked I nobody wants to have victim on their forehead.

So a lot of times we almost degrade people who have been through trauma and we say victim. and signaling that they did something wrong or that they're weak. And I like to use survivor because you survive that and God's going to use that part of your story. So That's why I say survivor. So traffickers are usually known to the survivor. They can be family members, boyfriend, girlfriend, usually trusted adult, or they have authority over the person, pastors The reason why I signed up for this ministry for a year and a half was when I was at this training, they shared there was a girl who was being trafficked because they bring them to church.

Many pimps will actually bring um the the person being trafficked to church so that they can stay face and so that they can not raise flags. So they're in our church and so there was this girl and this is the story from from the training. And so this girl she was at a Catholic church and you know they have the confession boxes, so she went in there And she was like, I'm being trafficked. The guy I'm with is not my boyfriend. He's forcing me to do sexual things. And he said, Oh, um, here come to the back. So she's like, Oh, I'm gonna get free And this is a true story of the people that had rescued her.

And so then she goes back um with the priest and she thinks, finally, like And the the priest turns to her and says, Well, since you don't have money, you can make your tithes by giving me a blow job each week. The priest said that to her. And so she was continued to be trafficked even by someone in our church. In the church.

How Grooming Happens

So grooming youth. And this can be any age. But these are kind of the stages. A lot of this uh so the at the bottom there it says not a number. It's at love146. org. That's another resource. And I'll have a list of resources at the end here. But here I think there's a couple more on there. There we go. Uh-huh. Okay. Um so these are kind of the stages. And so as you're looking at the stages, I have another story of a girl that was in a youth group. And it was a Christian church and even a church that I've attended and I would say it's a Bible believing church.

Good people there. So this girl, she's attending youth group, she's trying to make friends. I think she was sixteen or seventeen This guy all sudden walks in, he's new in town, he's like super cute. She's like, oh my gosh, she's so cute. So they start hanging out. Um, they start dating, then the relationship escalates to becoming sexual and so she is dating him and then all of a sudden one time they're hanging out and they they're driving away from town and he's like, Hey I want you to meet some of my friends And she's like, okay. And so then they come over and he's like, you remember what we did, you know, last night?

And she's like, okay, yeah. Like why are we talking about what we were doing privately in front of your friends? And he said, I want you to do that with this guy And she looks at him like obviously shocked. She's a Christian girl. She's giving herself to this guy that she feels is her boyfriend, that she loves and she cares about And now he's telling her to do that with some guy she's never even met. And she's like, what are you talking about? And he and then he shows her the video that he was recording. Um she didn't know there was a camera in his room the night before.

And he said, and if you don't, I'm gonna send it to the church and I'm gonna show everybody. And so for months this girl was picked up. She'd tell her friends or tell her family, I'm going to stay over at Sally's house for the weekend. And she was brought to We're kind of northern Minnesota and so brought to kind of bigger hubs like Duluth. She was brought to um Fargo, North Dakota. You have a lot of the oil rigs down um in North Dakota, so a lot of Girls and guys are um shipped over there for the whole weekend, trafficked all weekend and brought back.

And so that's what her life was. She was being trafficked every single weekend, going to school. In a Christian home, still attending youth group, and she's being trafficked, and all of a sudden she's cutting more, she's depressed, she's sad. She's doing drugs. Her parents are like, what is going on with you? Like this huge shift for months. Nobody could figure out. Finally she just broke. And she told someone. I think it was actually a friend. And the friend told the parents And she finally got help and she had no idea that on the other side of that, that there was grace and there's hope and there's life.

And traffickers are so good at lying and keeping you silent. And this is the same thing for sexual abuse and for being molested. It is the same thing. Satan works and thrives in the silence. And sometimes truth is very ugly. It's very ugly. There are stuff that have probably happened to people, every person in this room that in your past that's ugly, that you don't like, that you don't want to talk about But when we share ugly truths, then the lights are turned on and the darkness is exposed. It's crucial you talk and you speak whatever ugly truth has happened to you or even what you've done to others so that you can experience freedom through that.

And so as with that story you can see going through the stages, targeting the victim Traffickers don't send, you know, like the big creepy guy into the youth group like, hey, I'm your new friend. No, it was this cute, handsome guy that came in. Um then trust is gained. She thinks she's just in a relationship. Many of us have done that. Then filling a need. You're so pretty. You're you know you're the best and and then isolating. Oh let's just you and I hang out, then sexual contact and then maintaining control Another um story about this one too is um the reason why they don't bring survivors into women's shelters is because traffickers will actually send in women that um they're kind of higher up in the chain in in the in the sex rings and they'll send them in to pretend that they've been in a domestic violence situation but really they go in and they recruit.

because women who have just come out of a domestic violence situation are actually a huge vulnerable um vulner they have a huge vulnerability to be trafficked and so they'll send women into and to to say Oh, I've been, you know, I've been trafficked and which is probably true because once you get to the point where you're recruiting other people or you're trying to traffic other people, you've been through to hell and back. And so but these women will go in these shelters and then convince them, Oh well, you need to meet my boyfriend. Like your man sounds horrible.

Mine pays me. Mine gives me money. Don't you want to make an income? And then they recruit the women out of the women's shelter.

Trafficking in the Church

So trafficking in our church, which I covered. Um yeah, pimps attend church. Uh people are being trafficked. And buyers are in positions of leadership. So okay. And so positions of leadership to be alert and be aware Um the first sting that my husband ran with uh two other men. Uh it was a response. Uh the ad was for an underage girl. We you know, certain terms and things like that of barely legal that you use online. And so my husband went to go confront this guy. And right away, like he obviously knew he was caught. We take pictures uh or we took pictures of The person, their license plate, we have their phone number because they're responding to our ad.

And we have somebody that's the follow vehicle that was taking photos of everything to document. And so my husband went up to him and just said, um, you're here tonight, you're trying to buy an underage female. And he's like, What? No, I'm not. And they showed him the text and he said, You were texting us and This is our town and we're not allowing this to happen here. And so uh w they said we got your picture, we got your license plate, we got your phone number. Um and the guy immediately started crying and talking with him and turns out he is an elder in a church.

That was their first thing. And that he had a 17-year-old granddaughter, but he was trying to buy a 17-year-old that night. And so we have to have these conversations. And we have to be aware that not even people we think are trustable aren't necessarily trustable. And we have to have that conversation. And we also have to address why is it happening in our church? Why is this going on? And what can we do? Because if we're in the church, which we are, um, it's our problem. And we have to deal with this. And so, why don't survivors leave? I get this a lot because so, like the girl in the youth group Why didn't she just tell somebody?

Why was she trafficked for months and months? Why can't you know, because we think of um somebody who's being trafficked, we think Oh, they're being chained throughout the week and then in the evenings on weekends, then they have to go and they're being sexually um trafficked. We think that's what we think, but they're not. Many, many here in the US. Um are not being held by chains. And it's again that coercion and that force that they're afraid of. And so we have fear So actual threat of abuse, um sexual assault, violence, as well, family, witness examples of other victims, or fear of deportation and criminal prosecution.

So a lot of times a trafficker will say you know, y you're gonna get arrested for for prostitution or um they came here thinking it was a modeling gig and it was not and now they're afraid that they're gonna get deported if they report it Um and then also many times um we know that many people who are being trafficked are murdered because if they do try to escape, they make an example of murdering them or severely abusing them so that they are too afraid to leave or tell anyone, just like that girl. She was she lived at home. But she kept telling to her parents, I'm going to go sleep over at my friend's house for the weekend.

Dependency, so withholding money, identity, isolation from support networks, causing or exploiting pregnancy. So sometimes a trafficker will even allow somebody who's being trafficked to get pregnant so that they hold on to that child and then she has to go meet with X amount of clients before she can even see or buyers before she can even see her kid. And so another um would be psychological factors. Um we've heard of like Stockholm syndrome where uh they they start eventually thinking that this is just how life is And when you've been abused and harmed for, you know, whether it's weeks, months, years, eventually you think this is my life.

Or even if that um trafficker is also starts getting nicer and maybe maybe you get a little bit of the money after a while. And then you think, oh this isn't too bad, at least I'm not being beaten anymore. And so or maybe it's well technically it's not illegal because I'm an adult because some do age then they're oh well I'm an adult and I'm in charge myself but they're not in charge and so or I've done too much to get back to normal and the mind normalizes um situations as a defense mechanism. This is just how life is. This is just how it is. And sadly I have seen even parents traffic their own children.

And they traffic them either de out of desperation or that psychological factor, they were abused, they were harmed, and they think, well, You know, we have needs and somebody offers that parent money or rent and the parent thinks, well, I'm fine, and I went through through this so my child can survive this because at least they'll have me. But they're trafficking their own child.

How We Can Help

How to help survivors. So if you have somebody that's kinda acting a little bit different or you know like even have mentioned like this new boyfriend or new girlfriend that's buying them all this stuff and it's so great and then all of a sudden you're starting to see whether it's the marks or you're starting to see kind of their demeanor change or oh sorry I can't hang out with you. Um so and so is upset if I do or I need to just be with him or her Um these are kind of signs. And so when you're talking with them, ask. Like a lot of times we're afraid to even ask the question.

And so how does that come up? Well you can say I went to WLS They were talking about sex trafficking and um sexual exploitation and even sex tortion. Like, do you really know that, you know, that girl that you're talking online with? um or that guy. Hey, like can I see their picture? And uh just kind of get involved in your friends' lives. Um because then you can have that conversation of has you know that you can say like I explained that Chelsea explained that trafficking isn't just you know somebody locked up or somebody who is extorted online they think it's a boyfriend they think it's a girlfriend and they might use pictures or videos that you've sent against you.

Has anything like that happened in your life? Um, or have you at any point felt Like somebody required you to do something sexual for you to get something like rent or food or drugs or alcohol? And sometimes harm reduction is all they're willing to receive. This one is a hard one for me. I really like to help and um And there's been times where we've met with people and we're like, we c we have a safe house for you, we can get you out, calm. But because of the psychological factors of Well then how will I make money? How will I support me and my kid?

How will um what if they find me? And they chose not to leave. And so the only thing we could do was harm reduction, giving them the phone number, giving them a text that they can call. And I do have the national trafficking line up on there, 888-373-7888. And so maybe even just saving that in your phone. Um saving that phone number just so that you have it. And I think the next page I have more. Let me see if I have more resources. Oh, encourage um Freedom with right information. So another thing, especially in Minnesota, and I I didn't actually research if it's all states or which states have this, but we have safe harbor laws.

So anyone who is under 24, if you can say, um, you know, if because a lot of times, especially when you're dealing with that 18 to 24, they think I'm just gonna get arrested for prostitution That's why they don't share. And so if you have somebody that is being trapped, then it's called Safe Harbor Law. Well, if you're under 24, you cannot be arrested or convicted of a crime. So even if you have um engaged. Um what the law would say is prostitution, but we know is paid rape, um trafficking, uh you will not be um convicted of a crime. If you're over 24, they have specific advocates that can help you and with the legal side of it, but they can also get you out and give you the resources to help start your new life.

The Hope of the Gospel

So the good news, so I won't go through all of these, but if you yeah, want to take a picture, these are just as I was really studying and I said, you know, God, we're Where are you at with this in your in your word? And so the woman at the well, which I love that they already covered that here so we all know. the woman at the well and that Jesus met her where she was at and um and then she became a missionary. And so how awesome is that? If you have had any of this in your life in your past that God can touch those deep places, those hurt places, um, those broken places, and he can use that as a weapon to to kill the enemy and to to bring justice for others and and that you can lead the way of somebody else's healing and you can help somebody um Have hope because the sad truth about trafficking and sexual abuse is that many times death feels like the only option because they don't know the hope of Jesus Christ.

That's not what God wants. And so we have um our identity of Christ is in Christ. We're never too far gone. I I am not shocked or surprised when I hear people's stories and sometimes we think Oh, if they find this about me or this about me, then they're never gonna talk to me, they're not gonna like me, or they'll think that, wow, I'm gross or that I did this, or um But you're never too far gone. Like our our stories, our past are never a surprise to God. Ever. He sees it all. And he still wants us. And there are people in this world that want you just the way that you are and love you just the way that you are.

And the story of Hager I love this one because she's a concubine, like she was a slave, and she gets impregnated and so she runs away and God comes to her and he's like, Where are you going? And so she's just, you know, she's she's sad and and she interacts with God and then at the end of it she says, You are the God who sees me. And here is somebody who was basically like a slave and given to Abram, now she's pregnant with with with child and her the person is uh Sarai was actually treating her terrible and she's trying to run away and she thinks that you know like this her child's probably gonna die 'cause she doesn't have food or anything like that and God just says, I have a plan for you too and he did.

And he's the God who sees us. And he sees you. He sees your and that's why when I would call those girls, I have, you know, sometimes I have like three seconds I would say God sees you and he loves you and this isn't his plan for your life. Because God has a design for sex and marriage and how it's supposed to work. And when we follow that design, there is such a beauty in it, and there is such a freedom in it and and Satan loves to lie that if you've gone through any of this stuff, that you're too far gone, you're too used up, you're too Ugly and that is not the truth.

That we were daughters and we are sons of the king And we know like in history if you mess with royalty, like they cut your head off. So our dad, our daddy is the king of the universe, and he loves you and we are his sons and we are his daughters and we need to walk in that. And so um Luke 11 teaches on prayer And the woman who they wanted to stone. So she's straight up caught in adultery, which would be a choice, some would say. But Jesus still did not condemn her. And so whatever you think, oh well I made this choice or I added this person online, this is my fault.

This one's on me. I did this. No. Mm-mm. No. That you are worth Who God says you are. That's where your worth is. And he says you're my child. You're you're mine. You're whole. You are redeemed and that God says that He can restore what the locusts have eaten. It's in the book of Joel. And anything that has been chewed away in your life, God can restore. And so then it says the um then Rahab, she was in the genealogy of Jesus, a prostitute, because she chose Jesus. Okay. Um buyers. So who is pr uh purchasing other humans for commercial sex? Uh sex buyers are which some people would say uh Johns would be another name, um, but buyers.

So people who are purchasing um are predominantly middle aged white married men from across the United States. I or I put Minnesota because that's who I was teaching, but all over. Uh many buyers seek young um adult victims and some are willing to buy sex from a minor. Most uh sex buyers travel during the work day between 60 or 30 and 60 miles to buy sex Some will travel even farther to purchase miners or specific market segments. Buyers also purchase Sex during business trips, bachelor parties, hunting, and fishing trips. Um this is kind of and it's made the news with North Dakota and the oil rigs, and you have a bunch of Men that are working long hours and a lot of downtime as they're staying at these camps.

And so many times there are people being trafficked that are brought into these camps. And so that would be kind of where it's talking about the trips and things like that. A new one I just learned about from my niece. She's here. Vinted. So it's where you can like sell your stuff online like and so sometimes they'll put like new plush toy toy or barely used and it'll say age twenty-four months or 14 and so even vintage um is selling children and people r reply to these ads and there actually it hit the news head l headlines I was looking at it too over the last few days that Um because by because traffickers they'll just go from one site to the other.

When I was helping with the sex trafficking ministry it was backpage. Then they shot that down. Then they um somebody said Craigslist and so they'll just keep moving to whatever platforms and so one that's recent now is um unvinted and and they're in the media and they're denying all allegations of course.

Ending the Demand

When will sex trafficking end? When the demand for commercial sex of any kind ends, if no one is purchasing other humans, this $150 billion industry will collapse. If there's no demand, then it's not gonna happen. So um how can we help getting rid of all legal avenues of sexual exploitation, commercial sex, pornography? Sexual massage parlors, brothels, strip clubs, these are all linked to six sex trafficking. Pimps will parade traffic girls even in strip clubs. And so a lot of times I'll hear from people, oh, I'm so glad that um like we aren't part of any of this.

And then you talk more to them and the sometimes it is the wife that she's fully aware that her husband is looking at pornography. Um you're part of sex trafficking. If there's a demand It's gonna be met. And there's no way for you to know on the other side that if that person is a willing participant or not. But I would argue even if that person isn't being trafficked, they are still have gone through trauma and they're a child of God and God says that anything that you commit outside your body is one thing, but sexual sin is on the inside. And that if somebody is participating in pornography, even if they say they're willing, um That is not true.

They've believed the lie that this is all that their body is worth and that other people are making money off of it. And even if they are making their own, like at strip clubs Some of the women do it legally, it's all legal, and they make money off of it, but they've gotten to the point where they have lost their identity of who they are and who made them And that's not God's plan for our life. And I know there's people like they brag about OnlyFans and you can set the price and Have people pay you to do this and that online and oh well I'm not harming anyone, I'm just taking my top off or I'm just doing this or doing that and it gives me a couple hundred bucks here and there.

You're harming yourself And it's not God's plan for your life. And so um in Minnesota, we just voted apparently to open brothels and or bathhouses. uh just this week. And so we are getting to that point. You know, many of us know the story of Sodom of G and Gomorrah, that it was their oversexualization and their choices that led to God's wrath. And and you know, I can go on and on about stories and you're like, okay, Chelsea, I'm getting sick to my stomach now, and I just ate lunch. Um, it's deep and it's dark and it is sick and it's sad and it is gross.

Um, but we can be part of solving the problem. by getting rid of these legal avenues. Sexual purity in all relationships, even in dating. You're like, what? How does that have anything to do with trafficking? Because the eyes of the flesh are never satisfied. God promises us that. And so if we are engaging outside of God's design, God's plan, the eyes of the flesh are never satisfied. And and then it's a slippery slope where we think, oh, I'm just doing this, like I said, just doing this with my boyfriend or my girlfriend. Nobody's being harmed, and then it's Satan can use that.

Okay, well, if we make a video together and put it online, we can make money. Boom, you're in pornography and you're trafficking yourself. And so getting rid of all forms and and having sexual purity in all of our relationships, keeping that marriage bed pure and sacred. And again, some of you might be like, oh well, too late for me, or great Chelsea, where were you 10 years ago? No one is perfect. We all have our past. Um myself included, of things that I wish I could take back and situations I've put myself in. But the incredible thing about God is when I made the choice And I think I was around 24, maybe 25.

And I just said, God, I want purity in all my relationships. And he restored that in me. And for two and a half years. I was literally living in the desert. Um But there's a Bible verse in and it talks about in Hosea where he says that Um God will lead you into the desert and that He will become your husband. And I was like, God literally did that for two and a half years. And so um yeah that you can have that restored purity and you can have um a oneness with him and you can have a wholeness and he restored everything in me so that when my husband uh showed up at my door.

I we had actually previously dated. We dated two and a half years or yeah, two and a half years. I dumped him because I was like, I'm gonna go be a missionary in Arizona. And he's like, oh yeah, I'll do that in three to five years. And I said, bye. And so I dumped him and he if he was here, we'd sometimes do this talk together. He's at home Um but yeah he's like we don't talk about the dark ages and because I dumped him three times. And so um I dumped him and I went to Arizona and I was like Really getting to know, you know, just being on fire for God and being I was a missionary with um Ron Hutchcraft Ministries here on on the Hopi Reservation for three and a half years.

And so Yeah, I I met you there. And um and so during that time God just brought this time of purity and restoration so that I had not talked to Chad for over a year. I hadn't seen him in over two years. And he I was praying and praying and then I went to um I went to this church to speak about the work that God was doing with our youth And I did not know. Um, they had called me and they said, you know, what are your prayer requests? So I was thinking, oh, this, you know, like women's group. I said, well, I it would be really nice if God would bring me my husband.

You know, and I so I thought, you know, a couple of little church ladies are gonna be praying for Tils to get a husband 'cause, you know, I haven't hugged anyone in like two and a half years. And so So then I go there, I talk, and they're like, oh stand over here. So I come out and I'm standing by my picture and I look and it says prayer request, husband. And it was to the whole church, and it was a big church, okay, and so I'm standing there feeling so embarrassed. My picture My only prayer request is husband. And like there was another missionary and they had way cooler things on their prayer list.

It was not for husband. And so I'm sitting there embarrassed and I was like, I just need to get out of here and feeling stupid and then this guy comes up to me and he was he was a married guy and he just said, Chelsea, your husband's coming soon. God woke me up in the middle of the night and told me that and I was like, Oh my gosh, this guy's crazy. And so I like left. Well it knock no joke, less than a couple weeks later, I get this knock on the door. I'm dressed as Catwoman because it's Halloween. And I went to a look like your dog contest and so my my dog was dressed as Batman.

I'm dressed as Catwoman. And and so I won, beat everybody on Hopi. We had the best look alike, me and my dog. And so the door knocks. I open the door and it's my ex Chad Brown. And I'm like, what? And the second I opened that door, I'm not kidding. It was like this moment, like this handsome, tall 6'2 man And he's standing there and the moment I opened that door, I knew God said, This is your husband. And like here, like Like I said, like and I I'm on the sidetrack now, but um but it pertains to sexual purity. No matter what your past was, no matter what even you're going right now, you can make the decision That from today on I'm gonna honor God with my body.

First, if somebody's abusing that body, speak the ugly truth. You have to speak it. You have to say it. You have to address it And then we can allow God to heal the mess, heal the ugly parts of us, and purify us so that we can be that pure bride, that pure groom. and to to have that godly marriage. And my niece is here, like I said, and I do not have a perfect marriage. I'm a strong willed lady. Um but my husband is an incredible man that he can handle my crazy. And God I pray for God to handle my crazy like God does it and so is my husband. And so um there's restoration in that and we can all be part of doing our part of having sexual purity in all relationships.

Resources

So here's another page of resources. Man, I'm doing great. I thought I was gonna go. So um not a number. It's just a great they have a lot of resources of not because some in some countries there are the tattoo, you know, barcode or the number that you're given. Tim Tebow is a big advocate Um yeah, where they're like they tattoo and even in our area there are certain tattoos. They'll even do a t uh a certain um object that's a face tattoo. And so whenever I see girls that have this one tattoo I know that they're being trafficked. Um and when they get even if they get out, you unless they use a laser remover.

Um and so there are so non-number is a great way um resource to talk to your kids. Men as peacemakers Um again addressing the pornography issue, you can be part of that. Don't buy it project, National Human Trafficking Hotline, so there's that number again. They also have um the you can text help to 2333733 and so um Polaris Project, Fight the New Drug, Conquer series again, dressing addressing that. Um and then I I add the missing and murdered indigenous women in USA so that we're just aware. They a lot of times every day they're posting Um men and women, boys and girls that are missing, that are runaways.

I like to just be on there and kind of check because maybe you will run into that runaway and you can help be part of of their They're um yeah, being rescued. And so um I actually was like going to the bathroom in St. Louis and this was hanging up in the bathroom and so I was like I gotta take a picture of that So we are finally addressing the issue at airports, um, in bathrooms, and so that text where I said you could text, it's it's like long. I didn't know this. I learned this when I came and flew in on Monday. It stands for be free. So if you can't remember that what's that text number?

Um and you can text them. Like we're talking, hey, I think my friend's being trafficked. What should I do? Um hey somebody I was at a party and somebody took some pictures of me or um inappropriate pictures as me or I engaged um in I chose something sexually explicit and I didn't know they were filming. You can text this hot hut hotline. It's all confidential. It's all free. So if you can't remember all of these digits, you just be free. And then if you look, you know, like on your phone and spell be free It's 233-733. Um Trafficking Resource Center.

org is another one. And so here's some more just Bible verses as I was studying. Matthew 5, 8. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 1 Timothy 4. 12. Let no one despise you for your youth. But Set the believer or set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and purity. A lot of times we'll hear, well, I'm too young to make a difference or nobody's gonna listen to me No, like that's why we have the book of Timothy is that don't let anyone look down on you because you're young. Um and then there's some other ones.

God's Justice and Restoration

I just want to see oh yeah, okay, perfect. Um because I did go to God with this and I just said, you know, we have pornography that is just annihilating our marriages, our relationships, even our idea of what pure, healthy, amazing sex is. That's being warped. The m the average exposure to pornography is between six and nine for boys um and for girls around eleven. And so we're not off you know the hook on this one. So when I say pornography, it's not just men. Problem it is there are many um female that have pornography addiction as well or even engaging with boyfriends.

um or girlfriends and thinking that this is going to help us connect and bond, but it's the farthest from the truth. And so as I was kind of going through this and I was like, you know, God, where are you on this? Where are you on justice? Because sadly, our justice system doesn't prosecute the way that it should when these issues are brought up. And I just said, you know, like where are you God on this? And I was reminded that Jesus himself said that if a man even looks lustfully at a woman, he's committed adultery with her in his own heart. And I was like, wow, like Even Jesus, who was a full man walking on earth, um without sin, addressed the issue that pornography does not, it's not a harmless or a victimless thing.

There is a victim. And it's the person watching it and and the people that recorded that And so sometimes we think, oh, it's private. And um I've I've met with uh many wives too where they're like, well what my husband does, that's his thing. And I'm like, no, you have to address it because you're one with that person. And it says that if he's even looked, that he's committing adultery and you're married to somebody who's an adulterer. And and then I was like, what, you know, and what what do we what about the traffickers, those that are um, you know, people who rape and molest and You know, people who don't repent because they're there w many times when we were running these stings and confronting these men, um There was one time where I was like the camera person, the follow-up car because we didn't have enough guys.

And so I was in the I'm supposed to take the pictures and in my mind I thought, you know, like Oh, it's gonna be these like gross men that just love sex. Like that's you know my naiveness. And as I'm sitting in this car I'm getting ready to take this picture and I'm watching my husband confront the the person I was trying to be a buyer and immediately I didn't see a smug look. I didn't see Um like somebody that was happy in what they were doing, I saw shame. I saw pain. And as I'm taking these pictures and I'm looking at this guy that is caught trying to buy an underage girl I realized we don't wake up trying to buy sex from a human or online or the chats or anything like that.

We don't it's a slippery slope. It takes one look of pornography and then try, you know, like and this is where our children, because it might just start Heterosexual porn, then it moves because the eyes of the flesh are never satisfied, then it's orgies, then it's bestiality, or it's certain like I talked about certain types of pornography, Asian porn, this, that. And the slippery slope and then you're still not getting that high, you're still not getting that intensity. Because with your sexuality, you are either going to go after intimacy which is God's way intimacy with your um husband, your wife, a oneness.

You get intimacy or you you use sexuality for intensity, going after it, using it as a high, using it as a drug And it will never be satisfied. God promises that in his word. The eyes of the flesh are never satisfied. So if you think, oh, I would porn's fine, but I would never take it off into online or I would never move it to buying sex. Every single man that my husband and the group caught and faced every single one of them had shame on their face. Every single one of them did not wake up that day thinking, I want to go and buy an underage person.

But because of their addiction had taken and eaten their life so much that they then it wasn't getting them high enough. The screen wasn't working, the online chats weren't working, then they started buying online And there was a brokenness and a shame. And I realized that so many times, because you'll see people that um You'll see people that they'll post like where a sex offender is, which we should know, you know, where people are and so they have to register and people will be like, oh kill them, hang them, and you just see all the comments But have we ever, and I know that this is hard, especially if somebody has gone through this, but have we ever thought of that person, that buyer, that if they found Jesus and if they repented of their sin, that think of all Like the demand that would go down just by one person.

Because it's never just one porn video you watch over and over again. They're cl you can Four or five hours you could click on probably over a thousand images, thousand different people, thousand victims, survivors, if they're out. And and I just went before God and and I was talking to him about it and God showed me this image that of that slope and then he said what represents purity as children And pornography for children and sexual abuse and trafficked victims, the average used to be like 14, 16. Now we're talking like three to six year olds being trafficked, being commercial sex and bought because the eyes of the flesh are never satisfied.

And so our then when I went to the the book of Revelation Because I was like, where are you in this God? Like where's the justice? Because I'm kind of a fighter. I'm a little feisty. And, you know, like I'm like, I want to cut the head off of the snake, you know? Like I don't want I don't want just this little thing. I want to deal with the issue and hit the heart of it. And and God showed me this for justice. Revelation 2, starting in verse 20. And oh yes, I do have time. I'm gonna read all of it. So Revelation 2, 20, starting there. But I have this against you that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.

I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sick bed, and those who commit adultery with her, I will throw into the great tribulation, unless they repent of her works. And I will strike her and so I'm gonna stop right there. Um this is if you want to know what happens to people who are trafficking, people who are buying People who are trapped, even I would say, in addictions with this stuff. This is the ending if you don't have Christ. This is the ending if you don't repent and turn back.

Is that God is a just God and He will defend you and He will fight for you. If you have been through this, if you know someone who's been through this, if you are a survivor, God is not just letting this happen to you He is not okay with this. And he has written it in his word in Revelation that there will be payment for every sin that was done against you. Because somebody who has harmed you, harmed us, that they will either repent of it and feel the full wrath and feel that the weight of their sins. Because when we come to Jesus, if we've done wrong, we want to make it right.

We we come before God and we say, I'm sorry, this is everything I've done. And for somebody that has been through pornography, through trafficking, through buying That if you repent, then you're gonna feel the weight of it. And you're and ultimately you pay for it there, and then Jesus takes it on the cross. But if they don't turn back It says, Behold, I will throw her onto a sick bed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into the great tribulation, unless they repent of her words. And I will strike her children dead. So this is verse twenty-three.

I will strike her children dead, and all the churches will know that I am he who searches the mind and the heart. And I will give to each of you according to your works, but to the rest of you in Tai Tayata, well, I'm terrible at that. Okay. Who do not hold this teaching Who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say. I do not lay on you any other burden. Only hold fast what you have until I come. The one who Conquers and who keeps my works until the end to him, I will give authority over nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron.

And when earthen pots are broken into pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my father, and I will give him the morning star. He who has ears, let him hear what the Spirit says. So what I just read, where it says, for you Who do not hold the teachings, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say. Do are to you, I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. Hold fast what you have until I come. And so this is like a picture of for those of us who um repent from any of this stuff, or those of us who keep away from it, that God says that hold on to him and that he gives us authority over nations.

Our nations, our reservations and reserves, Our people are dying, they're broken, they're hopeless because we don't have authority on our reses, because we're tripped up with the things in our mind and the things in our hearts And when you get your mind and your heart right before the Lord, he's going to give you, it says like the iron scepter. That's iron's not broken easily And that you're going to have the authority over the nations, over our reservations, that we're going to see change and freedom. It's not just a private issue that you're doing on your phone or in your bedroom or your bathroom or alone When you give up this stuff and you allow God to have his design for sex, for marriage, and go after intimacy with him and intimacy with your spouse or waiting.

for that, then you're not chasing after intensity and and losing out. And that's where we win this battle.

Questions and Discussion

I just appreciate you guys so much for coming. I know this is heavy and hard, and I'm excited and the hope of where it says multicultural and tribal heaven. that in Revelation 7. 19 it talks about how he says, after this I looked and behold a great multitude that no one could number from every nation. from all tribes and people and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.

And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. And they fell on their faces before the throne and worship God, saying, Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom, and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God for ever and ever. Amen. And that's what we're going to see one day. So thank you. Any questions, or you can come talk to me after. All right. Yep, yep. Thank you. So her comment was that We it's been too silent for too long on our reservation and I think we're all aware of that.

Yes, that but yes, that voice is finally being heard that we need to talk about this. Do you want to come up here and say it or if you feel comfortable or I can Yeah, I know I don't want you screaming. I guess I don't need this super loud because I'm kinda loud. Here you go. So we have a testimony. We have a little tiny home church. It's not a organized 501 C three at all, but God changed our life and we've been um there in Kyle, South Dakota on the Pine Ridge Reservation for um 11 years now, just volunteering our time to do church and Bible study and minister, disciple our native young people.

And a lot of the homeless, a lot of the drug-addicted people attend our church. So we're grateful for that because those are the people that God Jesus wants. He wants them. And then we've been praying there's this complex, elderly complex, that um was in our community. Elders don't live there. It was all young people and there was sex trafficking going on there. And um everybody knew about it. The police did nothing. The people did nothing. The parents did nothing. We prayed God do something. And he burned it down. The whole thing, nobody, no lives were lost, but that whole apartment complex was burned to the ground.

So we praise him. But we know that those people went somewhere. So we're we're asking God now rescue them. Thank you. Anything else or any questions or comments So I just want to say like uh as Tom said, like it doesn't it's it starts with like being at the kids. So like being at the like I I guess I'm I'll tell you that it starts to be there is real. It starts to breathe for like really Awesome. So Adrian's saying if you I thank you 'cause yeah, my My husband's at home. I'm I didn't even share, so I'm a mom of six. So my husband's at home with our five kiddos.

Um so yes, if you are struggling with that and you're male and you wanna talk with Adrian about that um pornography or anything, he he'll be here, he'll stick around. I'll stick around um for for any ladies that have questions and that it is that exposure is happening young and young. We know like I said that pornography exposure is between ages six and nine I actually have my one of my sons um in the back there. He's nine years old. And he has his Christian headphones on right now. I said you can watch Whatever you want for his, you know, his uh little kid's YouTube while I'm in here so he can't even hear me.

But um and so uh yeah, so between six and nine and I have three boys. And so um my husband and I are very um intentional about talking about pornography, but also guarding, guarding their their eyes, their ears, what's on their phones, um whether it's phone guards or things like that. and having those conversations. There's um a great books out there. One's called Good Picture, Bad Picture. It's a Bible study for moms um to go through with your sons and it from like a fem even a female perspective. And so I've been doing one with my ten year old.

each night. Um or well it's usually like once a week where it's talking about like our thinking brain and our um and how that works and then our active brain and and so um just kind of to have those conversations. We do have evals so if you didn't get one if you can put your hand up um Ty and Tara are gonna hand those out. Any other um comments you can just stand up or yep. Um half years or so like the other passage that one has to and that we're on it. Yeah. Just like two weeks ago, like now like when they had uh they arrested three people, um both landlords.

had the had the cover of the kids and then they're passed well because they couldn't be court and so that was where that moment and people raise the kid and then if someone kind of picked up on that and recorded it and it got looked into and that we didn't know someone got to Yeah, so sh her um what she her comment was was that to be aware um because it isn't just you know, the sketchy guy on the corner that's tricking our kids and our our youth and our adults that even people in leadership. And as well as parents trafficking their own kids. So just being aware of your situation.

If you see something, say something. Um my my daughter, she's eight, and I'm very um protective of her and and so she wanted to go over to a friend's house for a play date and I'm like, man, like she's eight, I should probably let her out of my hovercraft that I have around her. And so she wanted to go over to her friends and they're great people. We know them. They're family friends. I know the parents. And so I was like, well, you know, okay, I I'll drop you off for three, four hours But what are some things that we need to do? She's like, I know mom.

And she's eight years old. She's like eight going on, fifteen. But she's like, and so she goes I know. Lock the door when you go in the bathroom. Don't ever go to the bathroom if somebody's there. Tell you if the mom or the dad or anyone makes me uncomfortable. And I was like, oh my gosh, like you do hear me. And so I was really thankful that my eight year old like, I know mom. And so just having those conversations or even if we're at like a sports event and it's a single bathroom, I'll go in and I'll look. And there was somebody I was sharing, um something I didn't cover as well and um that can happen with this is Especially actually in the Phoenix area.

Um one of the one of the people that I worked with, they had this happen often is that you'll go into a bathroom stall and you think it's uh a single one, so you just walk in, you know, and then there's someone behind the door, um, usually a couple of people. They'll have somebody filming and then two people that will rape the person. going into the bathroom and then they take off and then they they sell that footage for pornography online. And so um Yeah, it happens all over, but that's so just be aware in going into bathrooms, checking, um, and and making sure that that we're safe.

Closing Prayer

Father God, I just thank you so much for everyone here. Thank you, God, that you're a good God, that you're a pure God, that you're a loving God, and that no matter how dark this world is, God That darkness is as light to you, that you see it all, God. And so we pray for those that are being trapped, trafficked, forced, and coerced, God, that you would bring freedom. That everyone would see, God, that if they are survivors of this, Lord, that you have a testimony of a story and God, that you have healing ready. and waiting. And we pray, God, that you would open our eyes in Jesus' name, that you would bring those divine appointments to help those around us.

And thank you for resources like the be free text number. And God, we just pray today for everyone here that they would have a blessed day. And be with the everyone as they go home. In Jesus' name, be with my family too, back home. In Jesus' name, amen.