[serialposts]We are thrilled to feature a guest posting from Kathi Macias today. Kathi is the author of Deliver Me From Evil, the first book in the Freedom Series. The series uses fictional stories to expose the truth about modern day slavery and human trafficking, both domestically and internationally.

The term “human trafficking” or “trafficking in persons” (TIP) often draws raised eyebrows and skeptical expressions — until statistics are laid out to show that approximately 27 million people are enslaved today, whether for the purposes of slave labor, prostitution, or involuntary organ “donations.” In a nutshell, human trafficking is modern-day slavery, and it is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world. It is currently tied with the illegal arms industry for the second largest criminal industry in existence, with the drug industry being the only one to edge it out.

Oh, I know. Most people naively believe that human trafficking happens only in faraway countries — Thailand or Cambodia, perhaps. True, it does occur there at a tragic rate. But it also takes place right here in the United States daily, to such an extent that some states are instituting task forces to try and stop it. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot promises that their new task force “will take an aggressive stand against human traffickers, who have turned Texas into a hub for international and domestic forced labor and prostitution rings” (www.humantrafficking.org, “News and Updates,” April 5, 2010).

Another myth about human trafficking is that it only involves adults. Millions of children around the world are crying out in pain and terror over the heartbreaking error of that statement. According to Wikepedia, trafficking in children may come about as an “exploitation of the parents’ extreme poverty. Parents may sell children to traffickers in order to pay off debts or gain income, or they may be deceived concerning the prospects of training and a better life for their children. They may sell their children for labor, sex trafficking, or illegal adoptions.”

Can there be anything that grieves the Father’s heart more than the forced enslaving of people made in His own image — by others bearing that same divine imprint? I believe each time anyone becomes aware of such evil and cries out against it, that cry is spurred by the Father’s own pain. If ever the Church needed to be involved in helping to right a human wrong, it is now. Human trafficking must stop! Each of us who names the Name of Christ must ask the Father what He wants us to do to help make that happen.

In my case, that includes writing about it — every chance I get – including blogs, letters, articles, and a new fiction-based-on-real-life Freedom Trilogy from New Hope Publishers. New Hope and I were just finishing a fiction series on the topic of the Persecuted Church when we began exploring where to go next. The topic of human trafficking came up, and we discovered it was a mutual passion for both the publisher and myself. As a result, book one of the series, Deliver Me From Evil, has just released, with books two and three, Special Delivery and The Deliverer, coming in 2012.

Many readers have written to tell me they were concerned that the topic would make the books too difficult to read. I respond that the series will certainly not be light reading; I also tell them that the research and writing were extremely difficult as well. But the difficulty of the writing or reading doesn’t begin to compare with what those enslaved in human trafficking endure every day.

Will you join me, not only in praying for the release of the captives, but also about how God might want you to get involved? There are many reputable, established ministries already in place to fight this evil, and they would no doubt welcome your participation. Those who are waiting in darkness for someone to come and rescue them will surely thank you. You can also be certain that one day you will hear God say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”