Beginning My Journey as an Exodus Road Blogger

It had been on the periphery of what I knew for a long time. It was out there in numbers, images, themes from movies and television shows. Human trafficking isn’t something you can miss. In the fall of 2011, a friend invited me to attend a Forum on Human Trafficking presented by the Justice and Mercy Foundation that deeply touched a chord inside me. It gave me great information, good resources, and so much inspiration, but didn't necessarily provide the "what next" that I was looking for.

My History
Nearly ten months later, I answered an ad for a volunteer position with a small non-profit called Light the Dark. Two young women who had been through the Social Leadership Academy at Movement121 were working to create a campaign against Human Trafficking by uniting some of the world's most significant organizations fighting human trafficking into one voice. In an unprecedented effort, thirty three organizations from six continents pledged to unite resources, people, and voices. For better or for worse, at the same time they were building, so was another organization. One month before we were scheduled to launch, our team received an email that over the course of recent meetings, our executive team discovered that the End It movement team had also been collaborating on a similar project and they were launching in February 2012. Light the Dark graciously stepped down to put their support fully behind the End It movement, while also moving ahead with another phase of their plan, Phoster Candles. It was a great experience and I had received a taste of what could be done, but I didn’t see a specific path in front of me to pursue this calling.

And then that fall I discovered the (in)courage site. I have to laugh as I write this, simply because I say that so very much. But in all honesty, discovering (in)courage, Allume, and all the connected sites – that was a serious game-changer and life-changer for me. It brought me into a community of like-minded, spirit-led, Nutella-loving, pray-hard-and-love-you-harder writers whose voices and friendships mean so much to me. Even though I’ve yet to meet any of them face to face. It introduced me to the larger world of intentional blogging, where using the talents that God has blessed you with has a purpose. And it brought me into the sphere of The Exodus Road. 

Their History
The Exodus Road is just over two years old, and as a coalition, has directly supported the rescue of 189 victims of human trafficking since July 2012. As a network of surveillance teams and individuals, committed to fight trafficking, one legal court case at a time, their first goal is rescue. To see more specifics about what they've been able to do, you can read Laura Parker’s post: What Has Your Money Accomplished? Their second goal is increasing awareness and raising funds to support the investigative and rescue teams.

Photo Credit: Exodus Road

This is where the blogging team comes in. The Exodus Road has been assembling a team of quality bloggers who are choosing to use their online voices to consistently put the issues of modern day slavery in front of their respective audiences. They believe that everyone has a valid voice in this fight to free the oppressed, and they are building a coalition of engaged writers who believe it, too. Exodus Road bloggers are given stories and inside information from the field of counter-trafficking monthly via newsletter. Using those tools, they then tell their readers powerful stories, based on true accounts from the front lines.

Where We're Going Together
This is where I come in. Several weeks ago, I applied to be an Exodus Road blogger and have been accepted onto the team. I’m looking forward to a chance to share the stories of the incredibly brave investigative teams in the field, and of the women and children whose lives are being changed because of what they’re doing. I hope you’ll take a moment to connect with them on their website, on their Facebook page, or on Twitter. Each small investment can lead to something larger.

There are 27 million slaves in our modern world today.
That number is huge.
That number is terrifying.
That number is daunting.

But the only way to make it less frightening is to begin. And the Exodus Road has begun. They are rescuing. They are changing lives and making a difference – one person at a time.

Please take a moment and watch this video here,
from the founder of The Exodus Road