Fishnet Stockings and Thanksgiving

Photo credit to Adam Croh, "Walking on the Snow"

I didn't see that she was crying.

It was the ripped fishnet stockings that grabbed my attention. The stumbling young girl in a black mini skirt navigated the slippery snowy sidewalk in heels. A large grapefruit-sized hole bared her right thigh to the freezing morning air.

It was odd to see anyone out this early on quiet city streets, much less beside two sprawling college campuses at seven am on Saturday.

She pulled her thin black sweater tight around her, swiping at her eyes. Then I saw the tears, the red face, and the tall messy bed-hair in back. Wearing no winter jacket and slipping on the icy sidewalk in her heels, she moaned a bit, and then wiped angrily at her face again.

A young girl with signs of possible violence and distress on a freezing winter morning? Something wasn't right.

I hurriedly pulled my car into a side alley, and approached her cautiously, gingerly, not wishing to scare her.

"Hey, are you okay? Do you need help?" I asked gently, speaking from several yards away in an effort to give her space.

"No, I'm fine," she muttered angrily.

"You don't look okay," I stated softly, respectfully. "Do you need help? Want a ride anywhere? Do you need to talk to the police?"

"No, I'm fine. It's not far. I'm just going over there," she pointed across a sports field to some buildings and walked on, clearly avoiding conversation.

Worried for her, I stood there helplessly as she strode across the street, and down the sidewalk out of sight. The cold air bit into me until I pulled out my keys and headed back to the car.

My heart and body shaking, I drove away, praying and aching for this mysterious young woman in ripped fishnet stockings.

Not every woman in distress is as obvious. Some of them mask it behind dull eyes, heavy make up, and tight t-shirts. Anti-human trafficking organizations report that more than 1.2 million children are trafficked each year, and that American rest areas, gas stations, and truck stops bristle with the forced prostitution.

You and me? We can help in surprisingly easy ways. 

This week, as you pack up your families and pies, please take a minute to click print, will you? With your printer and some black ink, you can help fight human trafficking.

Over the river, and through the woods? Print out some posters with the helpful anonymous tip-line and stop in a few road-side rest areas and gas stations, will you? Slipping into the bathroom stalls, tape up posters on as many bathroom doors as you can. 

Fishnet stockings, Thanksgiving green bean casseroles, and these chances to be a hero and save some underage teens (like this man did!). Rescue them? Give them a reason to be thankful too.

Want to read more about this? Check out: (or just click print with me?)
- "Calls in the Dark"
- "Cookies, Milkshakes and Hero Truck Drivers"
- "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas"
- "Turkey Travelers: Heroes in Disguise"
- "How to Save a Girl Over Breakfast"
- "Of Brothels and Cameras" 

Thank you, friends. I am so thankful for you, for these chances to get to know you through your blogs or comments, or to have you peek into my heart, and for us to get to chase after God together. Happy Thanksgiving from me to you.

How to Save a Girl Over Breakfast

Eight hundred forks and knives clank ceramic plates in attempted quiet. Over scrambled eggs and pastries we meet police detectives, city council members, and prostitutes who were trafficked as minors. 

We hear stories from

• a Frogtown St. Paul girl who is propositioned on her way to and from school each day, waiting for the bus.

• A Woodbury suburban girl who longed to feel pretty, met a man who told her she was and loaned her money, and then asked her for favors to his friends. "I loved him," she stated softly, looking down.

• An inner city teen who was given the impossible choice: be the gang prostitute or we’ll rape your mom and kill your little brother. She silently complied for a year until her baby brother begged her to stop, guessing, “[Something’s wrong.] You’re dying. When you die, we all die.” That gave her the courage and determination to stand up against her attackers, come what may.

• A curvaceous blonde woman who said, “I didn’t think of myself as a victim. I thought I was the one in charge for a while…”  

Breaking Free is but one organization fighting to rescue women and children from coerced sexual slavery. Breaking Free is run by women who have escaped and survived “the life,” and they are passionate about helping other women and children have a way out. Unique in that they offer transitional and permanent housing during their programs (that include counseling and job skills), Breaking Free is in high demand throughout the nation, often getting calls from New York to California asking for room in their program.

The FBI lists Minnesota as one of thirteen states that has a high recruitment of minors, and Minneapolis-St. Paul is listed in the top ten American cities for human trafficking. The average age of entry for prostitution is between 12-14 years old. 

While Minnesota is just my state, human trafficking and the sex trade is rampant, and growing at a ferocious rate. Find your state and other info here.

To read more, see Calls in the Dark and and the exciting, hopeful story in Cookies, Milk Shakes and Hero Truck Drivers and a super easy way to help today!

For an easy way to help right now, and on the Thanksgiving drive to Grandma’s house, see Turkey Travelers: Heroes in Disguise and click print when prompted!

Join me, friend, in fighting this. There are so many easy ways to rescue women and children. Learn more. What have you heard about human trafficking in your area?  

Linking with Emily and Shanda.

Cookies, Milkshakes and Hero Truck Drivers

Hello friends,

A hot crumbly chocolate chip cookie smolders beside me on the desk, waiting to be cooled enough to pop into my mouth. Quiet jazz music plays in the background and the dryer hums. 

Our house had a showing last night so we cleaned feverishly, loaded up random laundry baskets into the cars, and drove away for an hour or two of errands while potential buyers walked through our home. We ended the evening with colorful ice cream cones at Burger King. The scene was so inncocuous, yet I know that all fast food runs haven't ended so well. 

Did you catch news footage a year or so ago of the two cousins who were kidnapped on their way to get milkshakes at Wendy's? Fourteen year old Carol and fifteen year old Kimberly were walking to Wendy's on Main Street in Toledo, Ohio when a white Lincoln Continental car idled up beside them. Thinking the couple inside were a friend's parents, the cousins hopped into the vehicle. They ended up being kidnapped by a prostitution ring, and forced into working truck stops. Eventually they were rescued.

Barry Richards, Executive Vice President of Travel Centers of America heard Kendis Paris, national director of Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT), speak and saw TAT's 28 minute video. Richards was especially impacted by the cousins' story and now makes the TAT film part of required training for all his employees. 

Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT)'s 28 min video is compelling but not explicit or overwhelming. Please feel free to watch it now, and pass it onto others. It isn't raw or too hard to watch-- in fact, it brings me hope! 

Today's Tangible Ways to Fight Human Trafficking

• Watch and share the TAT video above. 
• Print out free, easy posters to place in gas station bathrooms, rest areas, and truck stops that raise awareness, and give a phone number to call.
• Print out easy wallet cards to give out to trucker friends, or leave in gas stations and truckstops, that list an anonymous toll-free number to call with any suspicious behavior. My friend Kimberly Rae reports on her site that one man made one call that ended up rescuing ten minors, and stopping a thirteen state trafficking ring. Just one call! We can all help.

Book Give-away: Win an autographed copy of Kimberly Rae's book "Stolen Woman..." Winners will be announced at the end of the series, in a few days. Each action enters your name anew.

• Leave a comment here on my site
• Pray with me here (on the comments) for strength, resources and energy for the people to fight this, or
• Share this on your facebook page by clicking the "fb" button below (and let me know you did), or print out any of the posters or wallet cards above. Let's raise awareness!