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– – – – – – – Joyce Meyer, one of the world’s leading practical Bible teachers and New York Times best-selling author, shares encouragement and advice to help us enjoy our daily lives. With a heart to share Christ and love people, Joyce’s messages help people in all walks of life to grow in their faith, learn to study the Bible, find healing from the wounds of life, get answers to life’s questions and encounter the love of God in a powerful way. #JoyceMeyer#EnjoyingEverydayLife#FindingFreedom
this program has been made possible by
the friends and partners of Joyce Meyer
Ministries I’m Joyce Meyer and I believe
that God can heal you everywhere you
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hurt one in every 100 50 person alive is
considered a victim of human trafficking
today I did have choice because I
believe them that they were going to
hurt my
family do you feel you’re making
progress absolutely I have never been
more excited about the possibilities of
what we can do
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together
if I
can help with my story just for one
person just one it’s for me it’s
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victory Joy me Ministries and our
Outreach armed Hand of Hope have been
invested for many years now in fighting
against human trafficking all over the
world and much of it started right here
in Thessaloniki Greece you see Chris and
Nick Kane had a vision to make a
difference in this huge problem that
many people felt was too big to even
tackle and so we were able to jump along
beside them and say hey let’s see what
we can all do together and it’s been a
privilege now for 15 years and we have
seen incredible things happen now you
may be asking what kind of a difference
can I even making a problem that’s so
big well stay with us I think you’re
going to hear some things that will
Amaze
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you late last night we left our hotel in
central Thessaloniki Greece and drove
less than 15
minutes in just a few blocks the scene
changed from a modern metropolitan area
to one of filthy alleyway is shrouded in
Shadow a truly horrific Place
thessaloniki’s red light district row
after row of cement block buildings and
most had this in common one heavy metal
door a few small Windows covered by iron
bars and neon lights inviting men to
come
inside here in Greece these brothel
operate openly prostitution is legal
however much of what is happening behind
those doors is far from legal behind the
doors are many women who’ve been ens
snared promised a new life a good job
even real love but what they find is
slavery they’re held prisoner by
physical violence Financial constraints
threats to their families and emotional
manipulation I’ve witnessed many such
places around the world Asia Africa
Europe even the United
States and while they vary one constant
is the vacant stare in women’s eyes
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emptiness every time we do this it turns
my stomach but tonight I realized that
touch of nausea well it’s a good
thing there there are some things we can
never grow accustomed to God please
don’t let this ever be just another red
light district my eyes keep going back
to those metal doors it almost doesn’t
seem real from this side as men freely
walk in and out but she’s right there
all that stands between us is that
door but I know Behind the Steel Bar
are broken promises broken bodies and
broken
lives I think of how she must suffer as
man after man after man enters that room
and leaves with another piece of her
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soul it’s a lot to process those doors
that separate
us I have a choice I can remain here on
the outside forget about what I’ve seen
scene and let those doors stand forever
as safe separation or I can face the
ugliness and do
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something the next morning I sit down
with ra ra has lived behind those doors
if you can call it living
ra is not her real name she can’t share
that for safety reasons and because her
family has no idea what she’s been
through as she put it how could a mother
survive knowing her child has
experienced such terrible
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things would you like to tell me a
little bit about your story what brought
you
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here sorry when I was young one of my
schoolmates asked me if I would like to
go to Greece for work in um Hotel just
as uh just clean cleaning lady um I said
of course because it’s big opportunity
so I came here and um in just few
minutes it all changed
because we met other people uh and they
told
to me and one other girl that we must
work for the money for the tickets it
was work in um brel uh we couldn’t say
we couldn’t show
that this is against us this they they
are pushing us to do this they’re
telling you that uh we know where your
if you leave we know where you live in
your country where’s your parents we
know everything about you if you want to
see them alive you must work and it was
uh I couldn’t tell no so they didn’t
think about us that we are human or
something like that we are just like
some kind of robot we must work and
that’s it when I was with those people I
get
pregnant and then when I was 8 weeks
pregnant they U made abortion I wanted
this baby
but I didn’t have
choice because I believe them that they
will going to hurt my family
even for the worst enemy I wouldn’t give
not even one second of that life with I
which I lived then not even one
second from other side I’m telling thank
God that I’m car came here because I met
I can say my second family the girls
from a21 because they are now my family
they are everything for
me because if not them I know that I w’t
be now here and uh that I can have
normal job and be normal person with
freedom and be for myself and be happy I
never thought about
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that a 21 K Me 2 years I was in them
program and they helped me with the
place where I can sleep food they helped
me with psychologist for 2 years I was
so thankful
because I was broken and when I listen
Joyce SM she say it’s not about how you
start it’s about how you finish because
I
started no good 8:21 and the her the joy
SM videos was help me a lot of this
years it’s been incredible to watch her
journey of healing and restoration and
how from a broken person that was left
on the streets being full with hope and
that journey of restoration has been
really incredible yeah how did she
become connected with a21 in particular
what what was her trafficking story she
was drugged by a person she trusted it
then she was placed in a hotel room
where she was being sexually exploited
we were able to relocate her back to
Bulgaria and so this happened outside of
Bulgaria yes yes it happened in a
European country when I was coming back
from
Bulgaria uh they start help me for 2
years every day somebody work with you
yeah and they this how they did it that
was love and commitment
yeah was it difficult to trust in the
beginning yes I didn’t trust nobody I
didn’t trust myself I didn’t know who I
am somebody did something good to to me
I don’t understand what is done you saw
a lot of terrible things I’m sure this
is such a horrific thing that happens to
people it it’s so difficult to
imagine how a woman overcomes a
situation like this
um because you’ve seen so many come
through this is it possible for her to
to really have healing to to start over
and and have a a new
life it is possible it’s a long process
and that’s why one of the goals of a21
is to to have the holistic approach each
staff is aware of trauma and we also
work with professional uh counselors
that also help in the process we do a
lot of art therapy which really helps
because most of the time survivors don’t
want to talk much and it’s
understandable but when they start doing
crafty things with their hands then all
of a sudden there is a
conversation they open up they share
more and that’s how trust is built you
said before that you didn’t know who you
were yep Who Who Are You Now I’m child
of God
and he’s my father how does knowing that
change your life oh love
change when I talk about him
love I remember how he saved me every
day in the
street how he was so good to me yeah
give me hope and future I can say
now I I can be in the place when I can
give to somebody hope this for what now
I
live how beautiful is that that he gives
you everything that he makes you his
child but he also gives you the
opportunity to help someone else and
this is what it’s all about to help
another person somebody help me now I
can
help you know ra and stanka are really
too bright lights in this world they
have been through so much but God has
helped them in incredible ways and did
you know that you are an important piece
of the puzzle for women like them and
their healing and right now you can help
rescue and restore more women will you
do what you can through your gift today
toward our project girl outreaches you
will be a part of the work we do
together with a21 and many other
outreaches all around the world work
that is bringing people out of the
darkness and into the light of God’s
love and you can be part of their
healing Journey your gift not only helps
to combat human trafficking but you will
offer education fresh water and the
truth of God’s value and love for women
and girls everywhere this is so
important to Joyce it’s so important to
me and I know that it’s important to you
sometimes you just don’t know what to do
to help well where to start is to go to
Joyce Meer .org find out more about our
project girl initiatives and just do
what you can pray and give anything that
you can to truly help we must understand
the tragedy of what is happening we must
meet the women who are devastated by it
and understand the potential impact of
our actions you see we can all make a
difference because God is working to
pull them out of
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Darkness
we’ve been in a whole lot of different
types of red light districts trying to
help women in different countries and
they’re all so very different whether
it’s a very impoverished country or it’s
in the United States we still see the
same look on women’s faces of just
emptiness and hopelessness you think of
how long the journey is to learn who
they really are absolutely you’re
rebuilding that self-image that
selfworth because it’s been absolutely
Torn to Pieces and even rebuilt in a
different way like we actually see a
reconstruction of of how people see
themselves uh it’s very just it’s
demonic and now we’re going to turn into
one of the big busiest streets here now
with with where we will see a lot of
Bruff
and so what happens for most of these
women during the day these brff run 24/7
any day of the week any time of the day
so there’s definitely no rest no time
for healing no time for anything the
other thing is that there can only be
one woman working per address what we
are hearing from the victims that are
being rescued to that there are many
bedrooms in these places the way that
it’s functioning is almost like a
carousel these rooms are being filled
many rooms and the woman literally goes
from one room to the next room where the
next guy is ready to to the next room
where the next guy is ready so when we
hear about some of these women being
abused and forced to have sex with 20 40
50
60 men a night oh my goodness even from
a logistical standpoint that is that is
how that is
facilitated and the amount of women that
you have to have to fill all of these
places must be astounding it is and it’s
a whole system we’ve often had victims
who were rescued and they were moved all
over the seity and they have no clue
where they were the whole time um we’ve
seen this happen as well like in their
process of being broken into this the
the trafficker will bring in people
dressed like law enforcement and and
they will try to trick them to to trust
them to open up so complete emotional
manipulation complete so you’re removing
every sense of selfworth every sense of
trust in Authority every sense of trust
in other people you cannot even fathom
the mindset and the physical trauma
these poor people are going through uh
it’s absolutely heartbreaking this many
of them will talk about how they have
learned to kind of sewn out and not be
present in their mind but just kind of
switch off and they don’t know how long
they’ve been there or how long they’ve
been working for so what is the most
successful route that you find for women
to come out of a place like
this yeah often it is when they are
arrested or they get put in a Detention
Center because they don’t have legal
permission to be in the country or
something like that something where
they’re removed from the environment but
where we can interact with them to make
them realize hey you did not choose this
you were actually taken advantage of
they exploited you and but that’s a
journey yeah yeah and it can be a long
one do you feel you’re making progress
absolutely I I have never been more
excited about the future and the
possibilities of what we can do together
we’ve worked here now for 15 years and
we’ve seen an
incredible um partnership with law
enforcement partnership with the
government at the highest level um where
we are training law enforcement in the
police academy where we are working with
labor inspectors where we are working to
improve legislation and laws in the
country where what an accomplishment I
mean that that in itself is so important
and really amazing yeah that God’s
opening those kind of doors yeah for 12
years now we have operated the national
human trafficking Hotline in Greece is
this not just a hotline where victims
can call and find help they can do that
but it is a resource line for the
general public they can call and report
what they’ve seen law enforcement they
call us they’re like we have someone
here we think they might be a victim
what should we do so they’re coming to
us for that assistance and help and we
can actually collaborate very closely
like that to actually see a case brought
through you had some um amazing results
not long ago with a a large rescue at a
hotel tell me about that we received an
email from a lady who managed to escape
by herself and she left the country and
she stated that there is a hotel in
Athens where there are located many
girls who have been traffi we sent this
information to the police and as a
result 15 uh women from Latin America
were rescued when when you hear a story
like this sex trafficking at a
well-known Hotel it could give you that
feeling of wow this is this is just
everywhere it’s too big to fight it is
too big indeed um but we focus on the
one person that will be rescued and we
focus to this one girl who will be
willing to change her life I don’t think
I have words to express how it feels
like um seeing people gain their freedom
back um it is a sense of relief that
something has changed at that point but
at the same time we do have a sense of
responsibility H and we are trying our
best the team is trying our best to um
show them genine love and care when we
do see a victim find Freedom it’s a big
deal when we wi in a court case and see
traffickers um find Justice for their
crimes that’s a victory and and we need
to uh remember all those moments along
the way that’s so important down to a
Survivor finding a job or starting a
family having a child or finishing an
education whatever it is we got to focus
on these things when we were here not
too many years ago we came to um a
shelter and you still have that
available for people who need it but now
the Freedom Center is kind of the the
next logical evolution of of a better
way to make something available where
the people feel their own Freedom it’s
all about making them feel at home right
we found that the shelter model works
really well in those emergency
situations those very early moment of
just coming out of human trafficking
um where you come out of a very extreme
situation there may be need for medical
care and perhaps that there’s an
investigation going on where trafficker
is still uh free and roaming and and so
there’s a security element to that as
well and so we needed to find another
model um to have the longevity of our
care the Freedom Center is all about
empowerment is about utilizing the
services of the community um so we are
partnering with with legal services with
schools with with counselors with
dentists with with all the different
services that are that are needed to
actually help people
forward let’s talk about how the Freedom
Center Works um this is a place that
represents exactly what the name says
they can come and go as they like get
what they need and always know that the
doors are open to them and and this is a
little bit different model for you yes
the Freedom Center um is designed to be
um the heart of the model um for the
survivors um we want it to be a location
of safety and a place where they can
learn dream always with the goal of
becoming independent they can choose to
be taught about finances budgeting Greek
lessons are an essential that survivors
ask for or even nutrition and meal
planning and then there’s other programs
that are more focused on understanding
what trauma is how it affects your body
basic skills to combat um the effects of
trauma we don’t have a plan that we
create and set it out before them but we
sit down with them and say okay um look
this is what we can do which way would
you like to go so you’re restoring
choices and dignity to them again that
seems very important yeah tell me about
the change you begin to see as time goes
on um that’s that’s the most beautiful
part um seeing the change in eye contact
UM is the first thing you know um in the
beginning early days they avoid eye
contact when that starts to change when
interactions become
a lot more friendly but also when uh you
can see when she has um relaxed enough
to be able to share a little bit um
about what’s going on inside of her
rather than the um the facts
only do you remember the first day that
you came here yeah what was that like um
I couldn’t opened up I didn’t want to
tell them what I feel how I feel it was
like when I was working they didn’t let
me speak for myself they spoke for me
now I have voice I can say them uh what
I think what what what I feel that this
is most important what’s important for
you to say today sometimes I like to go
outside and just scream I’m free and I
can
feel when Radia first came in here did
you work with her from the very
beginning yes when I met here
I I could see the pain uh in her eyes
but at the same time I could see a woman
that she really need needed support and
um she’s a strong heart how did you
nurture those things in her um the
strength and and the potential that you
could see in her that she could no
longer see in herself after all the
situation that she had been through she
had forgotten her value um uh what she’s
capable of and when uh the Survivor H
realizes that uh we uh really want to
give love and care I think this is the
key in the start she was just I could
say my
doctor now she’s more than a friend from
the day one beside me she showed showed
you unconditional love
yes I didn’t believe her at first not a
word but still she is helping me if I’m
not okay if if if I just have doubts
about my work about my personal life she
will going to push me in the way she
knows how to push me and this is the
most important now that she’s been
through the program you’ve had a lot of
time with her she’s had a lot of time to
get away from the situation that she was
in what things do you see in her now
it’s really amazing how far she she has
come and H how many things she has
achieved um she has a job in fashion
designing uh she loves it and she’s uh
really um she’s amazing in that yes she
has a talent and every time she’s trying
to do better and better and I’m really
proud of her the girls told me you are
strong you can do it you can you you was
in that horrible state of your life then
you survived now look how far you get
you are very brave I’m trying if I
can help with my story just for one
person just one it’s for me it’s victory
because if just one person will going to
think oh my God this is happening it it
was will help so many people I hope so
undoubtedly I hope
so you know I’ve had the honor to sit
down with women like ra all over the
world when they share their stories it’s
really a gift it means so much and what
keeps us going is knowing that even in
such terrible situations we can make a
difference you see this is so important
to Joyce because of the experience that
she had in her childhood the sexual
abuse that she endured and the healing
that God has brought her it’s important
to me because I can just imagine my
daughters or my granddaughter in a
situation like this the question is what
makes it important to you you need to
put a face to this you need to think why
it matters because these women deserve
for you to reach out and help
them we want all women to know that they
have value that you have value and that
you can do something important one thing
you can do is to join us today your gift
toward our project girl initiative
through Joyce Meer Hand of Hope is going
to make such a difference it will help
in situations like this working with a21
all over the world and in many other
places it will also provide fresh clean
water education all those things that
are so important in the lives of women
and girls today so we just want you to
know that you have value that we
appreciate and love you and that you can
make a
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difference we hope you enjoyed today’s
program for more information visit Joyce
meyer.org
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this program has been made possible by
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Ministries