Mercy for the Modern Day Slaves

On Friday nights, Ann can be found walking around Santa Ana, aiding sexually exploited women and trafficking victims. Amidst the rows of customers in cars lining the street, Ann and the Human Trafficking Ministry of Saddleback Church — dedicated to eradicating human trafficking locally — offer food, toiletries, personal items, and prayer for the many women there who are trapped in a way of life they never imagined or ever wanted.

“Each girl that we come in contact with, you look at them and you see their face and they’re so precious and you just fall in love with them,” Ann said. Ann recognizes the pain and hurt in their eyes because she’s seen that same look in the eyes of her own daughter, who years ago was targeted & exploited, a victim of something similar to human trafficking.

When Ann’s daughter disappeared, Ann cried every night, wondering if her daughter was even still alive. One night, Ann prayed and trusted God with her daughter’s life because she knew that only he could protect her. She would listen to sermons by Pastor Rick all day at work and pray for her daughter’s safety. “I think that listening to God’s Word all day, every day gave me the strength that God has it and it’s going to be okay,” Ann said. The couple hired a team of private investigators to rescue their daughter; after a long wait, they finally got her back. “All the little miracles God did throughout our whole time is what saved her,” Ann said.

They learned that even though their daughter wasn’t being sex trafficked, she was still being severely victimized by this man. He forced her to do tough manual labor and he took all her wages to spend on himself.

After that ordeal, Ann and Howie knew they wanted to help other victims. “We thought there have to be other parents who are going through what we went through. We had the resources, what if they don’t have the resources? They don’t have the money to do what we did so that’s why we got involved,” Ann said.

Facing this trial sparked a passion in Ann and Howie to help other trafficking victims. They joined Saddleback’s Human Trafficking Ministry, which provides emergency after care to aid girls through shelter, clothes, and food in the crucial days following an escape, a survivor support group (co-led by Jo), and assistance for finding long term care. Its primary mission is helping trafficked victims escape captivity and enter into a personal relationship with Jesus. A large part of their work is the Friday night outreach, lead by co-leaders Ernie & Liz, where the team shows the victims the love of Jesus. And should a victim decide to leave the life, a team is trained & prepared to help with the exit.

“The girls are now recognizing the team and they’re running up to the women and they’re giving them hugs, saying ‘oh you’re here, you’re the church people.’ So they don’t feel judged because that’s not our goal. Our goal is to let them know we’re here if they need to get out so we can help them,” Ann said.

 The volunteers have already built some solid, meaningful relationships with several of the women and are committed to continue staying in touch with them. Kim Blank, who is part of the core team with Ann and Howie, said she feels God working through everything they do out on the streets. “I have not spoken to one woman [volunteer] who has been scared after her very first night. I can feel God when we’re out there. We know he’s there with us protecting us,” Kim said.

So far the team, in collaboration with law enforcement and advocacy groups, has helped eleven women escape and get into a safe environment. Two different Saddleback families house women for emergency after care. Many of the survivors leave the street without anything but the clothes on their back. Sandy, one of the ministry co-leaders, helps them get access to new or slightly used clothes, food, and medical/dental care. “There’s a whole team of us that surround each rescued girl and she’s never left alone for her protection,” Ann said.

Recently, the ministry began collaborating with the PEACE Center to expand their reach and get more resources to help the women in their care. According to A21, a nonprofit organization with the goal of abolishing modern day slavery in the 21st century, only one to two percent of all human trafficking victims are ever rescued. The victims forced into manual labor and the sex industry span race, location, age, and gender. Ann and the Saddleback Human Trafficking Ministry team hope to change that through the work they do on the ground right in Orange County. Ultimately though, it is about helping the individual women and showing them God’s love. “If we change one heart, it’s worth it,” Kim said.

“We don’t see the healing in what we do. Yeah it makes a difference, but the healing really comes from God. It comes from knowing that Jesus is there and knowing that he loves them. No one’s judging,” Ann said. “That’s not who God is. He’s not a mean God, He’s a God of love. For them to have a father that’s a positive role model, which our God is, makes a huge difference.”

The ministry is also involved in spreading awareness & prevention of the Human Trafficking issue in the community. This is co-led by Kathie. They are working to bring this information to our kids & their parents. They also collaborate and teach other churches on how to start an Anti-Human Trafficking ministry, as part of the overall PEACE PLAN of Saddleback Church.

Howie said that through everything that’s happened, especially in light of his daughter’s difficult journey, he sees the truth of Pastor Rick’s teaching that God never wastes a hurt. “We don’t do anything unless God shows us the way because he’ll put people in front of you, he’ll put situations in front of you and then you’ll know,” Howie said. “We use what we went through to help others and when God calls, we say yes. We just say yes.”

The Human Trafficking Ministry is just one of our 500+ ministries that show mercy to those in need.  Click HERE to learn more about the Human Trafficking Ministry.