Episode 19- Bringing the Light to Darkness: Combatting Human Trafficking Thrugh Faith an Awareness

Bringing Light to Darkness: Combating Human Trafficking through Faith and Awareness
In this impactful episode, Elizabeth Everett hosts the Nashville Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition to shed light on the hidden darkness of human trafficking, grooming, and exploitation. Find out how faith, education, and community efforts are making a difference in rescuing and restoring victims, with powerful testimonies and practical steps for parents, educators, and believers.
Main Topics:
The reality and signs of grooming, trafficking, and exploitation in communities
Personal stories of transformation and the power of faith in healing
Strategies for awareness, prevention, and intervention
The importance of discipleship, community, and spiritual support in recovery
How technology and secrecy are exploited by predators and the tools to recognize red flags
In this episode:
Christina Meadows shares her journey from vulnerability to victory over human trafficking
Monti Herring discusses his background with trauma and how faith transformed his life
The coalition's efforts in education, outreach, and survivor support
Practical tips for parents: monitoring apps, open communication, and recognizing behavioral changes
The urgent need for community unity and spiritual awareness in safeguarding children
Resources & Links:
Nashville Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition (NAHT)
Educate to Recognize Initiative
The Life Recovery Bible
Support or Volunteer with NAHT
Connect with the Speakers:
Christina Meadows - LinkedIn
Monti Herring - Twitter
This episode emphasizes that awareness, faith, and community engagement are vital in standing against human trafficking. Remember, no darkness is too great for the light of Christ. Share these stories and resources to help protect lives and foster hope for survivors.

#podcast #trafficking #hope #sextortion #freedom #redemption #faith #darkenesstolight #NAHT #

Contact Elizabeth Everett:                                                                                               Website: graceinthebreaking.com                                                                          Email: info@graceinthebreaking.com                                                                        Instagram: @graceinthebreaking                                                                                YouTube: @GraceintheBreaking 

Resources & Links:

• Nashville Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition (NAHT)
• Educate to Recognize Program
• The Life Recovery Bible
• King James Version Bible
• Additional Resources for Parents and Educators

Connect with the Coalition:

• NAHT Facebook
• NAHT Instagram

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:13

Hello, family. I hope you're having a wonderful day. I am so excited about today's episode. We are going to bring to light darkness that is right under our noses. Today I have the pleasure of having the Nashville Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition. I have Christino Meadows and Monty Herring on here. And they are not only going to share stories and testimonies, but we're going to talk about God's goodness and bring light to human trafficking, every sexual exploitation that is going against our children and that is right under our noses in the great state of Tennessee. So I want you to like, I want you to share, and I want you to follow. I need this message out there for the glory of God and how redemption is not for the one, it is for the masses because what he does for one, he will do for all in the mighty and holy name of Jesus. I'm Elizabeth Everett, and this is Grace and the Breaking. So I want to introduce Christina and Monty. I want you to understand that both of them, what they do is a complete honor and service to the glory of God. They are going into the darkness and pulling individuals out, giving hope, giving truth back to their lives, and giving them purpose through the generosity of your pockets to fund this. So I need you to have activated ears to hear and activated eyes to see where your call and your part is to become an eye to become a partner with this coalition. So today's episode is one for every parent, every young person, and every person searching for truth needs to hear this. We're talking about grooming, yes, grooming. We're talking about trafficking, exploitation, identity, and deception. And then we're going to talk about the healing and the ultimate power of Jesus to literally step in and pull individuals out of darkness and how he uses his chosen ones who aren't afraid to stand up, to stand in the gap, and to deliver the message of hope. So we're going to start with Miss Christina. And Christina, I want to first thank you so much for agreeing to come on. Thank you for the courage to share your story. And thank you for your commitment to Jesus and to bringing hope that Jesus has given you and to share that with everyone around you. Like what a blessing when I first met you and Monty. And I have been so excited in the moments leading up to this. So I want to ask you how did your story begin in the beginning? Like, where did this pull to bring you into today? How did that start?

SPEAKER_01 3:20

Well, Elizabeth, thank you so much for having me and Monty on the show. Thank you for representing the kingdom so well and using your platform and your own testimony to bring Jesus, to bring this light and this hope to the darkest areas of our city and of our nation and the nations. And so I'm just really grateful. And I do feel like this is an honor. It really is an honor to have a story that was honed in the furnace of affliction that was refined in such a way that I could be on this podcast with you, sharing, you know, if God could do this in my life and He could He could rescue me, that He can do this for anyone. And so I'm Christina Meadows. I'm the director of Operations Rescue at the Nashville Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition. And I'm also a thriver on staff. And I a thriver is someone who has been impacted by human trafficking, exploitation, is now out on the other side, has gone through the journey of healing and restoration, is at a place where I can now go back into the darkest areas of our city, uh bringing the light and the hope of the gospel to those who are still trapped in trafficking addiction in bondage of sin. The enemy has them in in all kinds of manners, even outside of just trafficking, and not get pulled back in and able to be a warrior in the fight against human trafficking. And for me, my story begins with vulnerabilities. Now, when I was 15 years old, I had already had identity issues. I already had low self-esteem. I had some bullying in school. I felt less than. I was always wanting to be in the cool kids' club or have the good clothes or all the things. And I didn't have that and I didn't have any confidence. And so my parents divorced at 15. And so that rupture, me losing that mail covering, and uh my father, and mother divorced, my father would leave the state, my mother now a single mother, um, taking care of me, working a full-time job, I would begin looking for my value, my worth, and my identity and my friend group. Um, that would be primarily young men, boys in my school. And in order to feel validated, in order to feel like I was seen and heard, I would um spend time with those young men and um they would be watching pornography and they would be seeing sex images and they would want me to do those sexual things with them. And because I wanted them to like me, because I wanted to feel valued and I wanted to be considered, accepted, and cool, I would have sex with those boys and I'd become sexually promiscuous. And I would start sleeping around at 15 years old. And we'd be doing drugs, we'd smoke pot, and we'd be drinking some alcohol, hanging out with the older crowd. And um, you know, what 15-year-old doesn't want to be hanging around the 19-year-olds and the 21-year-olds, the ones that have cars and have access to things. Um, I really felt like I had found my crew and people that really uh understood me and accepted me, and I felt cool. And so it was the older group that was hanging around with the young boys. So these young boys, they were exploiting my vulnerability, exploiting the fact that I didn't have a male covering, wanted me to become the fantasy that they were watching on TV and me willing to do anything to receive accolades, to receive acceptance, to feel valued by them. I would do whatever they wanted me to do and become that fantasy in real life. And then the older kids that were bringing us the drugs and alcohol, they would see that I was vulnerable and susceptible to be exploited and groomed for the sex trafficking industry at 15. And for two years, this couple, a man and a woman, they would bring us drugs, they would build a friendship with me, they would make me feel valued. They would tell me that I didn't need to be hanging around those boys, that they really didn't appreciate me. And I really thought they were my family. And I really thought that they cared about me. And I really thought I was cool now that I had, you know, 21-year-old people who had access to alcohol and drugs, they wanted me around. And um they would slowly try to introduce harder substances. And so from 15 to 17 years old, I would say no to that. You know, I would say no to they would try to hook me up with some people I'm thinking it's dates, or that they would think I would be somebody could be my boyfriend, and I would say no, and I wouldn't say I wouldn't use the harder drugs that they were using. And then one day at 17 years old, I would say yes to that harder substance. And it was at that point that they knew they had me, and I was willing to do whatever it took in order to receive more of that harder substance and to not be excluded from what community and what quote unquote family I now had with them. Wow.

SPEAKER_00 8:12

I appreciate your vulnerability, and so much of your story sounds so similar to mine. And I know that God puts people together for a reason, so there was no coincidences that our paths crossed. I can relate, and I'm sure our listeners can relate to some time in their life that they were seeking validation, and this is where our you know doorways open. This allows pathways to come into our lives and things to attach that we can't sometimes see at the time. So let me ask you this: how long were you involved in the lifestyle and environment before you started having some type of awakening? Not necessarily a revelation, but that's a good question.

SPEAKER_01 8:58

So for me, you know, at 17, you know, and I would pick up that substance and they knew they had me, and they would introduce me in um to my first um uh trafficker, my first abuser, from 17 to 41, I would be um a victim of the sex trafficking industry and not even know it. I would think that I was just partying, I was having fun, I was now doing for money what I was doing for free. They, of course, were taking a cut of my money. And of course, I was having, you know, I had substances, I had drugs, I had clothes, I had cars. I was really being filled with the things of the world and distracted and so blinded by, you know, the party culture, the hip-hop culture, everything that came along with um sex trafficking and drug trafficking because they go hand in hand. I would become popular. I would feel like people really valued me now that they were giving me money. Before people didn't care about me, but now that they were giving me money and willing to pay for my time that I must really be important. I was driving around in limousines and out on houseboats and meeting with important people. And it really felt I was so blinded by everything of this world. And the enemy had me right where he wanted me. You know, I had wanted to be popular, I had wanted to be seen, I wanted boys to want me. And the enemy really fulfilled all those desires of my very dark and deceitful heart. And in that, and everything I had asked for, the enemy had given me in abundance. And I didn't understand, you know, you talk about an awakening. I didn't know who God was, I didn't know who Jesus was. I didn't know who the Holy Spirit was. I didn't grow up in church. I did a couple of, I went to vacation Bible school a couple of times at a young age, I think maybe twice. And I remember, you know, there was felt people on the, you know, they had these little felt guys like Noah's Ark and the two, the, the giraffes and the things, and the Bible study teacher would talk about Noah's Ark and two by two, Jonah and the and the whale and these stories, but I really didn't understand anything. And because I I didn't grow up in that atmosphere and nobody talked about that, we didn't go to church. So I, if there was a God, he didn't like me. He there, God was for pretty popular, rich people. If there really was a God, I didn't know him and he didn't know me, and I was an outcast and must not be worthy of being known. So I would do everything I needed to do in this life to be my own God, so to speak, and provide everything for myself, and not surely believing that I could surrender to anyone or anything. And, you know, throughout the years of my trafficking, the trauma that I would endure, kidnappings, sexual assault, you know, the drug addiction, withdrawals, the abuse, domestic abuse, you know, going, you know, I had pimps, yes, but I also had quote unquote boyfriends. Some of my traffickers, I believed, were my boyfriends, and we were building an empire together, and we were, you know, saving money, and we were gonna have all this money and stack, you know, stacked paper, and you know, we were gonna have all these things and gonna be rich. And not really understanding the grips of darkness that I was in and not really understanding that I absolutely that I needed a rescue. I didn't understand that. For years I didn't know that I was really even in trouble. I believed that I, this is a lifestyle I chose for myself because of the lifestyle I was in and addiction, and that it was just a consequence for the lifestyle, the party lifestyle that I was leading. And everything that happened to me was a risk you take when you live that life. And I fully accepted all my trauma and everything that it was a choice I made. I didn't understand grooming. I did not understand trauma bonding, I didn't understand brainwashing, and I did not know what sex trafficking was. I didn't believe I was a victim of anything. I believe I asked for this lifestyle. And so after years of being in drug addiction and suffering this trauma and abuse, I would go in and out of detox and residential programs thinking I just had a drug problem. If I could stop using drugs, then my life, after a while, I got tired of having sex with men and I got began growing a hatred for men. I began um becoming aggressive and violent because I was so angry and didn't know who I was anymore. Not that I knew how who I was to begin with, but I couldn't even look in the mirror. And when I did, I would, you know, spit at myself. I would talk negative things about who I was when I saw myself in the mirror. And I was just disgusted with myself. And I would think I just needed to stop doing drugs, and that would be a solution to my problem. But it was really a heart condition. It was an identity issue. And I it truly didn't know who I was or whose I was. And I would go in these treatment facilities and come out and go right back. Why do I keep going back? And then I'd get right back with the men and then I'd take charges and commit crimes for these men. I would be a quote unquote ride or die woman for them. And I would love them so much and be so loyal to them that anything that came our way, I would take the heat for. And I would sacrifice my body and lay my body down for them. And then one day I was headed to prison and I had taken a charge for my trafficker and the court system and said yet I would have now have a felony on my record and I'd be going to the Tennessee prison for women. It was then at this point that everything was so out of control and I was terrified because I was now going somewhere that I had no paradigm for. I had just seen on TV and didn't really understand that I would reach out to God for the first time. I was like, you know, man, you know, people are talking about God, they're talking about Jesus, they're talking about the Holy Spirit and, you know, this Trinity. And I'm like, you know, whatever drugs they were on, they had the good stuff. This was, you know, I wanted that. How can there be three and one? You guys are super high. But when I'm on my way to prison, I was like, I need this. Whatever this is, I need someone to help me. This is so big and so massive, and I don't know what I'm gonna do. I would get a hold of a King James Version Bible. Um, I don't know if you've ever tried to read the King James Version Bible, but for my first King James, it was like reading Latin. And I was like, wow, if this is what I have to read in order to know God, well, then I was out, you know. But I did begin to see evidence of something bigger than myself at work during this season. I would end up in prison. I would manipulate my way there. I would still hustle, I'd be involved in sexual immorality behind uh behind those walls. I would still be doing drugs, I'd still be hustling and doing things against that would land me in what you call solitary confinement. I would be very violent. I would have such anger and such rage inside that it anyone who came my way or any type of disrespect that, you know, I carried that anger from the streets over into prison and I would take anyone out in front of me. And so eventually, um, the warden at the Tennessee prison or at Memphis, I would be at the Mark Latrell Correctional Center at this time. The warden would say that I was a danger. I was a threat to the security of the institution. I was a threat to the staff, to the inmates, that there wasn't a program for me. The only solution for me was to go back to Nashville TPW, um, now called Deborah K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center, but at that time it was called the Tennessee Prison for Women, on administrative segregation, solitary confinement, and um where I'd be locked down 23 in one. Um, that I was so dangerous I wouldn't be allowed to be out in population. And during that eight months' time, God began working on me. I would get a hold of um a uh series called the Left Behind Series. Uh, you familiar with the left behind series? So the left behind series is kind of a fictional representation of revelation. What would happen if, you know, Jesus is coming back? You know, you would have what is it called when the people disappear? What's that thing called? Rapture. Rapture. Yeah, the rapture. So you would have a rapture that people would get left behind, and now they'd be in this seven-year tribulation, have three and a half years. And I was reading this fictional series, and I was like, well, if this is anything close to what God's the scripture talks about, I didn't want to be left behind.

SPEAKER_00 17:45

Right.

SPEAKER_01 17:45

So God began working on me at that time, and I was like, I don't want to take a mark of a beast. And of course, I'm not, I don't know, it's fictional. I don't know, you know, at this time, I don't know anything about scripture, and I don't know anything about God, but I know that I don't want to be left behind. I don't want to suffer, and I want God to see me. And I be God began calming down that rage and that anger in prison and that violent tendency. I would get out of prison. I would do my time on maximum security, finish out my sentence, um, end up getting out, and I would go right back. I'd get out of prison, be sober about two months, and be right back into drugs and trafficking again and back into that cycle. And um what I can tell you is I would know at that time that I had a call on my life. I wouldn't be able to put words to it because I didn't understand it, but I know that I was not the same person coming out of prison that went into prison. And um, yes, I was doing drugs, selling drugs, and back into the sex trafficking industry. I would get back with my trafficker I took that charge for. Um, I would later end up marrying him, believing he loved me and that we were going to start a new life together, but yet still doing the same thing, still doing prostitution, still selling drugs, no longer violent, no longer angry out there taking people out and robbing people because I really lived a gangster lifestyle. We would rob you, we would, you know, do home invasions, we would do all these things in the past. That changed when I came out of prison and no longer doing those things. God was working on me, and I knew the way I was living my life was wrong. I would go to jail, I'd end up going back and forth into county jail again, and I'd find myself one time in county jail, and I'd get in trouble inside county jail again, and I'd get put on a 10-day lockdown. And uh me, I don't just go to jail. I just I get locked down. I go to the jail inside the jail, solitary confinement again. And this time I would get a lit new living translation Bible and a book. Uh they'd give me two books. I get a styrofoam cup and they lock me in this thing for 23 and one in this cell again. And I'm like, okay, I finished this regular fictional book, and I'm like, okay, I've got this new living translation Bible, the um life recovery Bible, and I'm like praying over it because I don't know that I have a different translation. I think it's the King James Version. I didn't know. I'm so illiterate that I have in when it comes to spirituality, to religion, and to scripture, that I don't know there's different types of scripture. There's different versions of scriptures. I open, pray over this book. I literally play it, pray over it. I'm holding it and I say, okay, God, please let me be able to read this book. I've got 10 days locked in this cell with this book. God, please let me be able to read what's inside of it. I open the book at John. Somewhere along the lines, I hear that what I should have done before was read the book of John. So I start out in the book of John and bam, the scales fell off. I have a radical conversion. I read John, Matthew, Mark, Luke, I read Acts, Romans. I go all the way through the New Testament. I'm like, oh my God, look at this man, Jesus. This guy, Jesus, he is amazing. And I go all the way back to the Old Testament and then I read the Old Testament, and it's like everybody in Scripture are misfits. They're gangsters. They go harder than I ever went. They are doing so much more than I've ever done. And God has redeemed them. And he, you know, and he did it through Jesus. And that before the before the foundation of the world, God said, I'm going to create a people, but they're going to rebel against me. And Jesus said, That's cool. Create them anyways, Pops, because I'm going to pay the price to redeem them back. I'm going to buy them back. So go ahead and create them. And then the Holy Spirit says, okay, I'm going to make my home inside them so that when and I'm going to apply the work of Christ to them. So God, when you look on them, you will see the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus on them. You, when you look at them, you will see your son Jesus because I have now made my home in them. And I'm like, that is wild. That is crazy. And I was like, okay, so you mean to Tell me that I've been laying my life and my body down for men since the time I was 15 years old. But there is a man who knew me before the foundation of the world, before I was ever created, that he laid his body and his life down for me to the point of death, that he would be whipped, he would be flogged, he would be crucified on a cross because he knew me, wanted me to be created before, before I was ever created, and he would die before I was ever created for me. He's the original ride or die. He's the one true ride or die. This is the epitome of someone who has now taken my charges. I was like, oh, wait a second. He took my charges and he gave me his righteousness. That's wild to me. And then scripture unpacking Abraham, this sinner, this guy who was worshiping false idols and his wife, and God would call them out and promise to them that they would have a son and that generations, his people would come from them. Now Abraham would then rebel against God, take a slave woman, you know, his wife would give her a slave, he would have sex, have a baby. He's essentially just telling God, you're not moving fast enough. You know, it's like flipping a bird to God saying you're not moving fast enough. Well, I did that, but and God honored the promise to Abraham. David, this is a man after God's own heart. He's slaying giants, yet, you know, he sleeps with, you know, another man's wife. And then he kills the guy. And, you know, he gets her pregnant. This is like a Maury Povich Jerry Springer moment, you know. And you mean to tell me he got and then God honored the promise to David after he did all that? Then Rahab, the prostitute, who stepped out on faith. Here she is as a prostitute. She's trapping in the walls of Jericho, working for the king. She's trapping, she's taking care of her family, she's got flax, she's got money, she's got clown. Yeah, she's gonna throw it all away because she heard about this God of Israel and that they were coming, and she was gonna jump ship and be, and God was gonna honor that and graft her into the lineage of Jesus and change her name from Rahab, the prostitute in the Old Testament, to Rahab, the mother of Boaz in the New Testament. And if God could do that for her, what more could he do for me? Amen. I mean, my scales fell off. I'm writing scripture all around my the walls in that jail cell. And, you know, this radical conversion of really understanding who God was, who my identity was. You know, Paul was running around killing Christians. I had never killed anyone. And if God could do this for them and God could use them, he could use me. And how was he going to use me in this next season of my life? And it was crazy and it was radical, but there I knew that God had a call on my life and now I have the spirit at life in me. But there ain't nothing worse. What can you imagine is worse for business for a prostitute? What's the worst thing that could happen to a prostitute? Death. Death. Okay, if she's not dead, what's the next worst thing that could happen to her? She could be born for business. She could be born again because now I'm out there, born again, out there trying to negotiate a price with men for sex. And the whole time I'm talking about Jesus. I'm talking about scripture. You know, every time I'm getting high, every time I'm getting higher, I'm negotiating a price for sex. I'm telling men about Jesus and how he has a call on our life and how we need to repent and that this is sexual immorality. Well, the men quit calling, the dope dealers quit trying to quit serving me doaf. I'm not able to do that anymore because the spirit at work in me was killing the flesh. It was. It was pretty amazing. And that's kind of where my awakening happened in the midst of my trafficking. I did go back to trafficking. I did end up going back into those circles and doing those things, but now born again.

SPEAKER_00 25:56

Well, I love the fact that, you know, so many times no one realizes the agape love. And to have that revelation of agape love, like it's above and beyond anything else that we can even, we we can't even as humans wrap our tiny little human brains to comprehend how much love he has for us, what he did to suffer for us, and how he uses each single moment. And we're hard headed and his grace and his patience. So I do want to just kind of circle back, like things slowly escalated for you. We talked about as your teenage years. But I would like to know, like, in the midst of that, can you share with listeners, was there a level level of isolation and shame what you had gotten to a certain point that you think kind of held you further in a prison, which of course is a lie of the enemy. But I want to bring I know so many cases women are afraid to step out because they're walking around with a shame, grief, condemnation, which which Jesus never called us to carry. And in your case, you know, he kept putting you in solitary confinement. Why? Because that was how he could literally get you still, where you could only listen to him. And what is so amazing is that he loves us enough to keep correcting us to get us to that point because I've been there, I've watched my son, like I'm listening to you talk, and I'm like, I see all the familiarities that he's using to get to people that are so hard-headed. Like, listen, I'll be the first to admit, I was pig headed. You gotta, you had to beat me over the floor to get me to listen. So I love, I love that you shared that. But yeah, did you feel like there was a point to which you kind of thought like you felt there was a point that switched, like that 17, 18 when you really got into this that you didn't even realize it, but if you look back that you can share as like a wake-up point to well, again, where it felt like you had done too much, maybe to be redeemed in anything. Did you ever feel like that? Or was that something that didn't didn't quite come across your mind or your heart until later on?

SPEAKER_01 28:04

No, absolutely. There was a point where I accepted the identity of a junkie, a felon, and a prostitute. And not only did I accept that identity, but I was gonna be the best junkie, the best prostitute, and the best felon out there. And I fully the enemy had me in such bondage that I actually built an empire around those identities. That when people would call me, I would be the best prostitute in there with the making the highest money, that I would be the best hustler, the best drug dealer, the best person to plot out and commit crimes. Like I fully embraced that in that identity of the world and what the systems and that lifestyle would call me. And um, and I was gonna be the best. And I built an empire. You know, my retirement plan was a sugar daddy and the plug. The man who could give me all the drugs for the the lowest prices are for free, and then the man that was gonna pay all my bills so I can now live this lavish lifestyle in sin and debauchery and sexual immorality and idolatry. So I took that radical conversion to break off that because I embraced that identity. So when I was in that jail cell, I knew I was being crushed by the weight of my sin, but I didn't have a paradigm or words for what was happening. I was waking up every day wishing I was dead, pissed off at God because I would wake up. I just wanted to die. I didn't want to live this life anymore. But that moment of conversion when I understood my value in Christ and that he knew everything that I would do, he knew my identity and that he could, you know, Genesis 50, you know, 20, uh, moment of using, is it 5020 or 5022? Using what the enemy meant for evil, you know, with Joseph and and using it for the good, for the glory of God. And I didn't understand that and would have never come outside of that identity because I had accepted it, if it hadn't have been for the power of Christ in that jail cell, I would still be, I would probably be dead today if it hadn't have been for that, because I fully embraced that identity and that I was going to be the best sinner out there, the chief of all sinners.

SPEAKER_00 30:31

Well, what did that final moment of surrender look like? Like when you stopped, when you decided, because you went back to your lifestyle, but what was that, what did that final moment of surrender look like? And then can you explain to the listeners where the faith came in for that, for the healing to start being received?

SPEAKER_01 30:50

Well, so for me, uh, you know, in that radical conversion, and now I'm out in this atmosphere, everybody knows something's different about me, but because I was still partaking in the things of the world, they were there was no real legitimacy to it. And so nobody was really honoring it, nor was I. I just knew I was battling the flesh. There was, you know, the the Romans uh six, seven, and eight, and I was just wrestling and wrestling with the spirit and the flesh. And it took it took a few years. So from the time I was born again to the time that I would do a full surrender would be six years. I would go in and out of jails continuously in treatment facilities because I really didn't understand community was critical, church was critical. I needed someone to show me what it means.

SPEAKER_00 31:38

You needed that discipleship shift.

SPEAKER_01 31:40

Exactly. So I would come out of jail going back into the world. And so, of course, I wasn't able to now, you know, I wasn't there was nobody, there's no sanctification happening in that process, no discipleship happening in that process. So I would get with another trafficker, the one I married would go to jail, go to prison. I would get with another trafficker. Um, I would suffer a brutal assault from him, and I would hit my knees at that point, and I would say, you know, God, I know you have a call on my life. I know that you have called me and set me apart to do good works, but you're gonna have to make it easy. I don't know what to do. I had tried to get involved in churches, people were not taking me under their wing, they were alienating me. It wasn't really accepting. I didn't know what I was doing. I would just go to church. You know, I'd show up at different churches, always still using drugs and doing these things, but I knew that I was trying to do something different and I would suffer that brutal assault. And God told me I knew clear as day that I was gonna work with women. I didn't know what it was gonna look like because I was out in the streets trying to save all the women in active addiction and prostituting. It was like I didn't want them to do it. I did everything, I found all the drugs, I'd slept with all the men. So I knew I was a caretaker in that sense and a protector and a warrior. But so I knew God was gonna use that for something. And so I was being called to prosecute that trafficker, and I had never done that. I had never prosecuted a man who had ever touched me. I had never done it.

SPEAKER_00 33:16

I love it. I love it because it's so freeing. And when finally God gets a hold of us, it's like an automatic snapback, and and he continues each day to peel layers off of us, and we just give him all the honor and glory. What would you tell the version of yourself from back then and how that that would apply to the listeners today that might be in a situation that they're feeling trapped? Any situation that could be relational to this. Just give them a broad snap.

SPEAKER_01 33:48

Well, I would say that there, you know, absolutely is no uh pit too deep that God's mighty hand cannot reach in and lift you out and just set you on solid ground. I mean, doing that, prosecuting that trafficker was the hardest, one of the hardest things I've ever done because that is not something you do in that lifestyle. You do not call the police, you do not do that stuff. And going against him, testifying against him was a big deal. I would then leave that situation and surrender. This is where my surrender would come in, and I would go back into treatment, and God would make it easy for me, and he would bring me to the women of NAHT, specifically founder and executive director, Mary Tratnell. And that is where God, I would find community. I would find women who'd been in trafficking, who'd been where I had been, out on the other side. I knew it was possible now for me, and that um if God could do it for them, he could do it for me. And so what I would tell myself back then, because I want you to know, as hard as my story is and all the details, I wouldn't change a thing. I would not change a thing in order to be here doing the work that I am able to do, how the way that God is using me and every area of trauma, every year area of drug use, and I did them all, everything that happened, God has now redeemed it. So I would say, hold on because rescue is coming and what God is doing in your life, you could never imagine, and there isn't a paradigm, but he sees you, he hears you, he's listening, and he is coming for you. He's already got you.

SPEAKER_00 35:32

Amen. That's what I love. He is no respecter of persons, and it doesn't matter how far that we think that we have moved outside of his love or comprehension, he is a God of grace, he is a God of mercy, and he meets us right there in the surrender and makes us a new creation. The old is gone, the new comes forth. I love that because again, there is no pit that is too deep for the rescue of Jesus and the deliverance of all of our chains. So I kind of want to shift. I want to get Monty's perspective. I want to hear a lot of people don't realize how prevalent grooming, trafficking, and exploitation are today. Even me, when I was talking to Christina, did not realize what happened to me was a grooming experience. And then that revelation when she told me, I was like, that sure did. It was because it led me into the rest of that. And I don't even know that there was a name, Christina, for what you and I went through when we were that age. Or I mean it was happening, but but anyways, Money, I I want to hear about your personal background. Like, I just want to hear all of the things because I want to bring awareness to this because I think I shared with y'all what even happened to my son on TikTok and having to get the police involved. So these are things that I didn't even realize was what did you call it, sexual exhortation or sextortion. Sextortion, yeah. So that was a word that y'all I had never heard till I heard you talk about it. So let's hear it, Avonty.

SPEAKER_02 37:02

All right. So um so for me, how I got started was I have a history of trauma as well today. And so for me, there is sexual trauma that took place from about the age of eight until almost the age of twelve. Um happened with an old kid. And through that whole trauma, through that whole experience, there was guilt, there was pain, there was isolation. These are all things, these are all tools that rumors and trauma to news today. Methods haven't changed.

SPEAKER_00 37:28

Hey Mani, I want to have you come a little bit closer to your uh microphone.

SPEAKER_02 37:33

Can you hear me a little bit better now?

SPEAKER_00 37:35

Yes, sir, yes, sir, thank you.

SPEAKER_02 37:37

Absolutely. And so for me, it was um I didn't have anybody that I could talk to, or I didn't feel like I had anybody that I could talk to going through that. And so for me, there was it affected every relationship that I had. And it affected I didn't trust anybody, and I didn't have any close relationships or close friends. That didn't happen until I was much older in life. So how Christina was saying God uses our past trauma, he uses all of the experiences that we've been through for good. So all of that that I went through, everything that I experienced wasn't for naught. God used it, and he used it here, and he's using it here at NAHT. And so for me, one of the passions that drives me um in doing what I do is I want to help other kids. I want to help young people, middle school and high school kids, understand that it's never too late and that it's always you're always um able to talk to somebody. Um, one of the tools that traffickers use is secrecy. They want secrecy and isolation, and I've heard both of you say that. Um, secrecy and isolation are both, you know, um powerful tools that the groomers and the traffickers use. Um, it's all about isolating that child from someone. It's all about making that child believe that there's nobody that's gonna help them. Um, and so they want to keep them in that bubble, they want to keep them in that guilt and shame, which is what happened to me. So for me, it's really important for us as well too, that we let our middle school and high school kids know that um it's never too late to tell someone, it's never too late to tell parents. Nowadays, what groomers are doing, things have shifted. Technology plays a big part in that. Technology makes it very easy for um predators, for groomers to make connections and make contact with young people. The ironic thing is that when Christina and I go out and we do presentations and we do trainings and awareness events, it's the students that already know these things are happening. Students know that there are predators, that there's groomers, that there's people online trying to connect with them, trying to get pictures, trying to get videos. It's usually the parents that we have to convince these things are happening. And it's usually because parents believe that, you know, oh, my kid would never do that. Right? My kids go to a grade school. We live in a great neighborhood. All of those are true, but because of technology, technology bypasses your home security. Technology bypasses your gated community. These are individuals who are having personal, intimate conversations with your kids or grandkids while you're in the next room. And how this happens, this grooming process happens when you think about when you were in middle and high school. You think about just being that age as a vulnerability. When you also factor in that when you're in middle school and high school, you're trying to figure out your identity. You're trying to figure out where you fit in in life, you're trying to figure out love, life, career, marriage, money, all of these things are happening simultaneously. Hormones are raised, you got all of this stuff happening. Those are all vulnerabilities. There are predators that are online, all they do every day is look at chat rooms and they look at gaming platforms and they look for those vulnerabilities. With technology, it makes it easier not only for traffickers and groomers to connect with kids, but it also makes it very easy for middle school and high school kids to post how they're feeling. Back in our day, talk about it, right? We would talk, we would meet, I would see your face, there'd be interaction, there would be this whole interpersonal connection that's happening. Nowadays, with technology, most kids don't have that. They spend anywhere, on average, from 10, 12, 14 hours a day on a mobile device, right? And so they're using a lot more of their neurological capabilities. They're also posting all of their feelings, they're posting all of their vulnerabilities to that middle school student, to that high school um student, it may seem innocuous, it may seem innocent enough. You know, my boyfriend dumped me. I don't like this school, my parents get on my nerves. Those are all things that every kid goes through. But to a person who is looking to exploit that, those are vulnerabilities. When we look at the the model of grooming, what it comes down to is building a false sense of trust. If a groomer, if a trafficker can identify something that they can connect with that child on emotionally, it is going to make the process of building this false sense of trust a whole lot easier. Because now I found a common language that I can connect with that child with, whether it's soccer, whether it is my parents, whether it's school, if I can form some form of connection with that kid, it's going to make that building that false sense of trust a whole lot easier, which is then going to make me being able to manipulate that child a whole lot easier.

SPEAKER_00 42:03

And do you think this is why it's missed so much?

SPEAKER_02 42:05

Well, absolutely. It is, it's it's ironic because there is this secret that so many kids are carrying day by day because they're interacting with individuals who are manipulating them and isolating them. At the same time, the secret is being displayed or is being carried in public. Parents are seeing it, they just don't know what it is, they don't know what to look for. And if you think back to your life when you ever, if you've ever had to carry a secret, right? Think of that secret that you're carrying as kind of like a balloon that fills up on the inside. Right. In the beginning, it's a little bit easier for you to manage. Um, you're still able to do your normal activities and able to do your normal things. But the longer you interact, you know, with the person that is manipulating you, the longer you carry the secret, the fuller the balloon gets on the inside. It's just going to fill you up. When that balloon starts filling up, something has to give, Elizabeth. There has to be something. That secret has to make room. Your body has to make room for it. So what parents see a lot of times and what teachers see a lot of times, what's the manifestations of that secret, right? We see it in outburst.

SPEAKER_00 43:08

So they're not even noticing that these behavioral changes might have a backside to where this is going on.

SPEAKER_02 43:15

Well, absolutely. Absolutely. And and and for um for the parents and grandparents and teachers, when they when they view outbursts, like as a parent, if you say, Hey, let me see your phone, and it's like, why? Why do you always want to look at my phone?

SPEAKER_00 43:27

I mean, that is that's the common response I have noticed with all three of my team, my butt, well, they're not all teenagers now, but I'm gonna still call them that because I'm I'm still young, just in case y'all didn't know that. And um but I get that. Why do you want to look at my phone? And there's nothing in there, but it's like Yes. I'm like, Well, you're acting awful guilty. So let me ask you this are there certain signs when these particular behaviors because as you were talking, it was generating in my mind what what my son Landon had posted on. TikTok prior to that predator putting saying to him. I mean, that that I just had that revelation and I was like, now listen, I want to tell y'all that that child tells me everything sometimes, but you know what? I'm so thankful. And he and his friends, and and I'll tell them, well, now I know how to pray for y'all. I would rather them tell me because I know and I know Christina knows, and I know Monty with Europe bringing like what it costs you to carry these secrets around. It it causes shame and guilt and condemnation, and the enemy just has a whole major foothold. So, how can parents find out about the secretness, secretiveness or emotional manipulation? Like, what are some of the triggers that we should be looking for as parents that this might be happening?

SPEAKER_02 44:46

One of the biggest ones will just be isolation. Like if you notice your child or grandkid, if you notice they've stopped doing some of the activities they used to do, like if the routine changes, I mean you used to hang out with someone, so you're not hanging out with them anymore. You know, that could be a red flag. Um, you used to go out um and do this activity, that could be a red flag. Um, if you notice just changes in behavior, sudden changes in behavior, it could be a red flag. Any notice or any different, any change that is going to that seems out of the normal, those are going to be things that you want to have conversations. Elizabeth, it all comes down to conversations. You want to have conversations. The enemy, whether we talk about the our ultimate enemy or we talk about predators, they want to work in secrecy. They want to work in the shadows. They don't want their methods, their ways identified. So for us, it is imperative as parents, grandparents that we have those conversations. The moment a child realizes it's never too late to tell someone, whether it's parent, grandparent, teacher, friend, the power that that individual has over them is gone.

SPEAKER_00 45:43

Breaks.

SPEAKER_02 45:43

Or that secrecy is gone. So there I get it, yes. Freedom in that. And so for parents, grandparents, look for those things. Have those conversations. Um, start talking with your kids. It's gonna be awkward in the beginning, like most things are, but stick with it. Um, you want to look at their phone, you want to look at their apps, ask them questions about their apps. Um, why do you like this app? What do you get from this app? Start recognizing something called Vault Apps or V-A-U-L-T or hidden apps. Really quickly, the way I describe a hidden app is every mobile device, doesn't matter if it's Android or Apple, comes pre-installed with one calculator. Hey, you get one calculator app. If you look at your kid's phone or your grandkid's phone and you happen to see two calculator apps, well, a flag should go off. If you click on one of those calculators and it tries to do facial recognition or ask you for a passcode, bell should be ringing because that's a hidden app. Chances are suggested by somebody your child has been in contact with, it's used to hide messages, images, photos, all of these different things, videos. And so you want to routinely just have conversations, casual conversations. Hey, can I see your phone? Go through the apps. If something looks like a weather app or it looks like a news flash app and it asks for a passcode or a facial recognition, you know, start asking those questions. You want to start having those conversations.

SPEAKER_00 47:00

Wow, I had no idea. So I know I have um a protection something. So it says, send me in. I have to do a face for any app on my child's phone to be installed. But I had no idea there was such a thing as hidden abs. I think a lot of us parents, it's not that we're naive. There's just so many different the world is changing at such an alarming pace and the enemy no longer hides, and they're coming at our children with every angle. And even this type of technology is even more devastating or detrimental to their emotional stability. So okay, I've got a question. How do we create safety and trust with our child without getting that initial typical teenager response? I mean, let's is is is there a way or with your teaching and coming in to talk to students and parents, is is there a certain is there a way that you're teaching or some type of system that you recommend so that we're breaking down that barrier? Because we definitely don't want our kids to be in a fight or flight or a defensive mode. We want to create a continuity of openness and being frank, just completely letting it all go.

SPEAKER_02 48:09

I think one of the big things, Elizabeth, is that you just want to be transparent with your kids. Um, you want to just let them know that you made mistakes growing up and just start out with having just casual conversations. And when we do presentations and awareness trainings, one of the things that I'll say is when you start having conversations, when you want to have conversations with your kids and you want to go down this road, which is important, try not to do it in a manner of, Elizabeth, sit down, I want to talk to you, right? Because you want to have that transparency. You want to have that open. So when you have those conversations, when you want to have those conversations, do something that you wouldn't normally do. Take a walk, ride a bike, do an activity that's going to be conducive for that child to be transparent. One of the questions that you can ask that's really simple is who is your best friend? And then follow that question up with, that's awesome. Well, why are they your best friends? Because if you understand and you start to understand your child or grandkid's emotional motivation, that is gonna give you a lot of insight as to who they are connecting with or who they're gravitating with online. And so knowing who they're emotional, who they're connecting with emotionally is gonna give you a lot of feedback. But it's just hasn't having casual conversations is really how can parents stay spiritually and emotionally connected?

SPEAKER_00 49:25

Do you think that just kind of goes hand in hand with starting that honesty and setting up the rapport, like you said, in a situation that is like calming? Like, oh, we just casually went for a drive to get a coffee or an ice cream or something and and just bridge that in. I know I know a lot of times mine will look because they'll see the look in my face and they're like, What are you about to ask us? Especially the younger one. And I'm like, Oh, we're just talking, and he's like just laughs because I don't have him fooled. However, you know, with my history and I think a lot of my stuff coming out, and and I put it all out there. I mean, even the pieces that I had forgotten about till, you know, a couple months ago. And uh I put it all out there for my kids, and I'm like, see, there's nothing that you can't do that you can't come back for. But it's confronting it and having that open and honest response. Like, listen, I'm not perfect. I failed along the way, but I want better for you. I don't want you to make the same mistakes, and I I I just I simply want better. So I just wondered if there was another way to emotionally stay connected.

SPEAKER_02 50:34

Stanner, you want to take this one? Staying emotionally connected really just starts with I think just being, again, I'm gonna go back to just being honest and open. I think one of the things that you said, Elizabeth, was, you know, you weren't afraid to just share your story. And you weren't afraid to tell them that you made mistakes. Um, sometimes I think as parents, granted, parents nowadays have a lot on their plate. Typically, both parents are working, and as long as the kids are coming home and they're not getting in trouble, the police aren't showing up and they're getting good grades, everything is fine. And we just want to like that. And so a lot of parents think, well, my kids are good, they're getting good grades. I don't want to, you know, hit the hornet's nest, I don't want to, you know, have that confrontation, I don't want to stir up anything. But again, what we know here as far as Tennessee is that all 95 counties have had documented human trafficking cases. Every zip code in Tennessee um has had documented exploitation and trafficking cases. And so it's happening everywhere. And so what we know is that having those conversations, and you as a parent, there really isn't a cookie-cutter answer, unfortunately, but you as a parent know your kids.

unknown 51:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 51:36

It's like you just got finished saying, Elizabeth, you know, when your youngest sees your face, they automatically know, okay, what's about to happen. And so you know, as a parent or as a grandparent, you know, some of those things, and you know your kids, you know how best to start those conversations. I think it's always good to have those conversations, not uh not being, you know, accusatory or what did you do? One of the things that we say here when we're talking with parents and teachers and staff is that you want to hold space for it. Right. Hold space for that. And and what holding space means is you want to let your child know, you want to let the student know, you want to let them know that you can come to me with anything, but at the same time, you want to prepare yourself emotionally and mentally. They do take you up on that. Um, and it's crucial because in that moment, as a parent or a grandparent, think back to yourself, it's like, you know, my okay, mom, you said I can come to you for anything. Now I'm gonna trust you on that. I'm coming to you, I'm getting ready to tell you something. If your reaction is, oh my gosh, like what did you do? What you that then that's gonna have dramatic effect on any kind of future disclosure. So yes. Does that make sense?

SPEAKER_00 52:39

Yes. So with my middle child, obviously I did not know Jesus, and he was the same bloodline curses, all the things, like he was the spitting image of me in a male form, but on steroids, and uh so we would like pound it out. And now with the youngest, I'm like, listen, there's nothing you can tell me like and and he and and it's precious and I love it, but I've learned I just keep I keep the face like we're just in a court system and a jury, like just okay. And inside I might scream, you know, I could hear myself screaming in my head, but then I'm like, Well, you know, like this is a sin, or okay, do you realize like what the ramifications of this are? And so we kind of talk about it, but I do leave the space, and then all his friends tell me, and then I'm holding the space for all that. And then it's always like, you know, you can't tell their parents because now obviously if it's something that needed to be shared, I'm not gonna withhold any information. But I do like this space that they've come, and and it is a work in progress, parents, listeners, aunts, uncles, whoever, whoever this is falling on your ears. This takes practice on your part to keep an open mind, to keep an open heart. And you just have to know like the trust and the continuity of them feeling like they can come to you is so much bigger than your pride or ego. So you better crush that flesh. I wanna, what practical steps can listeners take today? And like what resources do you guys have that help with this awareness with these practical steps?

SPEAKER_02 54:11

One of the things that is some that something that parents can do right away that know is that they can set up their home Wi-Fi parameters. And a lot of parents don't realize that they have flexibility to go in and they can set parameters for their home Wi-Fi. There's also other options for home Wi-Fi where you can put parental controls on it. There's apps that you can look into that will monitor. Um, and I think you might have said this too, Elizabeth, but there's apps that you can monitor your child's mobile device and all of your electronic devices so that there's no accidental stumbling on sites that are less, you know, that have less parental controls. Something else that you can do is you can, you know, turn off if your kid has a um cell phone, turn off the location tracking. You'd be surprised at how many predators looking for location tracking, have conversations and and try to have your kid not say, Hey, I'm going to Kroger's. Now I'm going to my favorite ice cream store. Now I'm going to this because predators use all this information to build a profile on you.

SPEAKER_00 55:08

And so I say all Okay, I had no idea on that because I like life because I like to know where this 16-year-old is.

SPEAKER_02 55:14

For you, absolutely. So for parents and grandparents, it's crucial for you to know. And so you can have those apps on there. Um there's also apps on there that will monitor the child's sites, like what sites they're looking at. You can put, you know, time restrictions on, you know, how long they're looking at sites. Home Wi-Fi is a really good one as well, like I mentioned before. Um, but having just having conversations really is going to be one of those biggest things that you can do and continue to have those conversations.

SPEAKER_00 55:39

Well, we're moving from fear into awareness today. And awareness is protection. So listen, listeners, family, we're bringing the darkness to the light because we want you to see the signs. I mean, if it could happen, someone trying to extort my child and instead of him freaking out and calling the police instead of coming to wake me up, then it could happen to yours. And it's just so easy that they can transition in looking for these vulnerabilities. So we as parents need to unite. We as family need to unite and we need to be more on guard of what is coming into contact with our children. We need to be in control of environments better than we are, rather than just going with the flow, like Monty said, up like you're not getting in trouble, the police aren't getting called. That doesn't necessarily mean everything is copesthetic in a child's life. There are so many things that they're facing at school, etc., that can change their perspective on life itself. The world is harsh and people are evil, and evil doesn't hide anymore. So we have to stand together.

SPEAKER_02 56:42

Elizabeth, can I say one thing?

SPEAKER_00 56:44

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 56:45

I just want to say something else to the parents and grandparents, and that um another way to look at grooming, another way to look at trafficking, another way to look at um your role as a parent or grandparent is that you're on the front lines. And when we at NAHT, we don't we don't use that word lightly. When you think of front lines, you typically think of being in a battle and being in a war. And so as parents and grandparents, you are on the front lines, whether you realize it or not. As a soldier, being on the front lines, you don't wait until you're in the battle to try to recognize the enemy. You have to be able to recognize the enemy before you get there. So so soldiers spend a lot of time in training so that they can recognize the enemy. And so it's important for parents and grandparents to spend time to know the websites, to know and have those conversations so that they can recognize the enemy. I can't ask you, I can't ask Christina, I can't ask anybody to join me or join a fight or join a cause if one, you don't believe there's anything to fight against.

SPEAKER_01 57:41

Right.

SPEAKER_02 57:42

And you have to first understand that there is something to fight against. There is an evil to fight against. Now that you understand, now that you have the awareness, now that you know some of these things, now the next logical step is okay, well, now I know there's something to fight against. How does this evil operate? And that is where it becomes crucial that you understand and be able to recognize how the enemy operates.

SPEAKER_00 58:03

Well, I love that. And I think that, you know, what we don't realize, you could have a perfect child, a cheerleader, a 4.0 student that has a problem and feels a false sense of security from a predator and falls into this life. I mean, Christina and I did not set out at any point in our life to go through what we did or make the choices that we did. Hello. We became a product of an unmanaged system, right? And we found we found comfort in other things because we were missing those. So it doesn't necessarily like the devil is not a respecter of persons in any situation. And you look at all three of us now, and you wouldn't be able to look and go, Well, I'm sure she did this as a child, but here we are by the grace of God. So, you know, I want I also want people to know like about survivors, about survivors, like nothing wrong with us. Nothing wrong with us. There's there's uh we're echoing. We're echoing. Let's see. Okay, that's better. I just want everybody to know that we're not misunderstood. Christina, I would love to have your circle round perspective on what it looks like for women coming out, what NAHT provides and the support systems put into place for healthy transition. And and guys, this doesn't mean, you know, when what NAHT does is so much more than than I think we've scratched the surface for today. And Christina, I'd love for you to bring some light.

SPEAKER_01 59:38

Can you hear me? Okay, yes, ma'am. Okay, a minute ago it wasn't able to hear me. I was trying to, you disappeared camera and all for a minute ago. It was like, I was like, hello, but uh okay, I did I thank you for um circling back because I do want to leave all the listeners with hope. Like, okay, so this darkness and this evil is so massive, and it's coming at everyone, and not just your children, it's coming at you, it's coming at everyone at all times, it's bombarding you. You know, it's send these images, pornography, you know. So there's so much hope in this because NAHC, but one, the community. Our uh to our president, to our legislature, senators, everybody understands this issue today and now is talking about it. We're all communicating about it. We're understanding. Now there are a lot of people who don't know what trafficking is, what grooming is, but they are uh willing to be educated today. And so our educate to recognize initiative, Monty is the director of educate to recognize, we're getting to go into middle schools and high schools, talk to the students, talk to the parents, talk to the faculty, identify two-point people in these presentations, bringing education and awareness to our most vulnerable. Then we, if somebody, if for some reason someone slips through the cracks, there is support. And AHT has a rescue program where we get to go into active drug and trafficking situations, offer services to women who are being exploited, women who are being trafficked, women who are vulnerable to be exploited, under the in addiction, have substance use disorder, um, and offer services, get them out, get them into safe placement, provide everything they need. They can leave with nothing but the clothes on their back. We work with local law enforcement when they do sting operations and when they're trying to get these predators, when they're getting these traffickers, and there's victims that are getting caught in the crossfire. Instead of these women going to jail, there are services being provided to them. You know, let's not arrest them for prostitution. Actually, let's get to the core of what led them vulnerable to drugs and prostitution to begin with. How did they end up in this situation and really unpacking that? And our rescue uh program gets to do that. Our restorative program, it's comprehensive aftercare. So once a victim is rescued and now they're on that journey of healing and now they're a survivor, no longer being trafficked, no longer using substances, what does it look like to unpack that trauma? What does it look like to stay sober? Do you need a job? Do you need a driver's license, social security card? We're gonna help you restart your whole life and teach you to raise them as like teenagers into adults now because they've been stunted by trauma. You know, build a wraparound team, community around them. You know, do they have a a sponsor to help them through AA, NA, helping them with relapse prevention, you know, unpacking trauma? Do they have a we make sure they have a therapist, make sure they have a financial advisor so they can help them budget money? What does it look like to be a good steward of the resources that they have, uh they've been given? Spiritual mentor, um, NAHD, we are a faith-based organization. We believe all roads of justice and healing lead to Jesus. However, we don't mandate a spiritual belief. You can believe whatever you want to believe to receive services from us. You just need to understand that our hope, hope has a name, uh, and his name is Jesus, and he's a person, and his name is Jesus. Excuse me. Amen. So hope is a person, that person has a name, and his name is Jesus. And we he wants a relationship with us, and we are in relationship with him. So sneaky Jesus at NAHD, and we're building this community around each individual member. You know, what does it look like to have a spiritual mentor to unpack scripture if the women choose to go that route and really learn more and surrender their identity in Christ? And then, you know, what does it look like to for leadership and uh professional development, not just having a job, but meaningful employment? And so our secret sauce at NAHC, aside from Jesus, who is who's all, is that we have thrivers on staff, women who have been impacted by trafficking, me, several, we have seven thrivers on staff that are providing services. We have rescue coordinators that are doing this rescue and intervention work that have been trafficked, know what it looks like, know how to speak to the women, meet them where they're at to inspire hope that if they can come out of trafficking, they the women they're working with can too. And you know, our case managers have lived experience, thrivers on staff, understand what it looks like to start their life all the way over. And then we walk into resource, which is our uh professional development, our very own job readiness program where we make sweet paisies sweet. And they are so good, by the way. They're fire. And so the women in our program, level three and above, if they want to deepen their relationship with the Lord, understand their identity in Christ, and go further in discipleship, they can apply for an internship in our sweet Daisy Pedophore shop in our SEEDS program, which is an acronym for support, employee. I mean, support, equip, employ, disciple, and send. And where it is an intensive discipleship program, where at the core they're um learning their identity in Christ and they're having a more powerful and deeper relationship with him and um really launching them into Thriver where now they can be a leader in the community and be a warrior in the fight against human trafficking. So there is hope. And so let me tell you a few stories about how the NAHT models work. Like, you know, we had a um a young lady who we were at an education to recognize presentation. And we were talking, I was talking about my story because all of our presentations are audience informed and thriver-led when appropriate. We have someone with lived experience speaking to the students. And what it looks like is, you know, I was sharing from my story about what it looked like for me at 15 years old. And one of the young ladies came up with her counselor and said, you know, I am where you were at 15. I am sleeping around with some of the boys in this school right now. And actually, he's in the audience and he's asking me to have sex with other people. And I know I'm vulnerable to be groomed and exploited, and I don't want to do this anymore. And so we were able to engage with her and the counselor and empower her to share with her parents what's going on and really interrupt where the enemy may have come in. We've had opportunities where a young lady had met a boy in a park and had exchanged. She was 13 years old. He and, you know, he was talking to her. They were talking. He was picking her up and he had already groomed her into doing sex acts with him. Sh and her father found the conversations in text message on the phone. He reached out to NHD at his wit's end. He was a veteran. He'd been in Afghanistan fighting an enemy. He knew how to fight that enemy, but he had no idea how to fight this enemy had now infiltrated his daughter's phone. She thrivers sat around the table talking with her. This young lady wouldn't share anything with her father or anyone else about this boy. But when she after she talked to us and got in the car with uh her dad, she told him everything about him. And then they were able to get a worn out and prosecute him and be able to unpack that he was in fact grooming her to take her to an older man, that that young man was being used in order to uh build trust in grooming and get her to someone else. And then we had a young lady who was on TikTok. She was, you know, opened up an account. Her father thought that she had closed and he wanted her to close it down because she was doing suggestive material on there. 17 years old, came to talk to us, learn more about us. We got to talk to her and engage with her and equip her with what could possibly happen and set her up for success if she ever found herself in trouble and that she could come and receive services from NAHG. You know, Monty's got a success story about a young man in one of our presentations about sex torsion. I'd love for you to share that real quick, Monty, with the audience about the hope of this education of what is happening in our community with podcasts like this, with our legislator, our our leaders in the government, and everyone is really pulling together to do this. And now our schools and parents are inviting us in. And this is a powerful testimony of what our work of what we're doing and educate to recognize and how God is using it.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:00

So we had at towards the end of the last year, Elizabeth, we spoke at a private school. And when we speak at a school or we speak at a church, we always have um several presentations. So we train the staff. And so for the school, we train the faculty. We train them to help them be able to recognize and be able to be prepared for what could happen. Then we also, like Christina was saying, we designate two-point people out of that awareness training. We have a male and a female, so that if any child discloses anything during a presentation, everything is funneled through those two-point people. They know who to call, they know how to handle the situation. Then we have a presentation where we talk with the parents. We invite the parents in. Parents have to be involved. We have to create this stool for this child to sit on, and we have to have all of these components in place. Parents have to be involved in this whole process. If the school knows about grooming and knows about exploitation and they're up to date, and the student definitely knows about grooming and exploitation, but there's no dialogue or there's no connection in the home, it's going to fall apart. So we have to have the parents, we have to bring the parents in. Parents, we give them extra time to ask questions because we want them going back to holding space. We want them to hold space and know how to respond if their child comes to them and discloses information. And then we finally have a student presentation. So we did this. We had all of these different presentations with the faculty, point people, parents, and then we had a middle school presentation on a Friday. And then right after that, we had a high school presentation. That same afternoon, that same evening, a ninth grade boy was at home and he had made contact with somebody that he thought was an attractive young girl. Turned out to be AI, turned out to be, you know, other gentlemen from a different country. And in a matter of 48 hours, from that Friday to 48 hours, he had all he had become a victim of sex tortion. And so he had given money. It started out with give me $35, give them me cash app, which he did. Then it was hey, send me $55, $75, which he did. And so he ended up sending money and photos to these individuals. By Monday, he wouldn't talk to his mother. He told his mom that he was suicidal. And so his mom reached out to our founder and executive director, uh Mary Travenel, and we were able to, what we do is we quarterback care. We were able to come alongside the family. The school was notified, the school knew what to do, they were able to come alongside the family as well. But this was a success story. And it was a success story not because something didn't happen. It did. But here's why it was a success story. Even though that ninth grader sent money, even though that ninth grader was suicidal, the ninth grader remembered something that he heard in the presentation that Friday. He remembered what Christina had said was it is never too late to tell anybody. I don't care where you are, I don't care what you've done, I don't care how far you find yourself. Tell somebody. The moment you do that, the spell is over. The secret is over, freedom is freedom begins. So that ninth grader remembered that and on Monday told his mom. Now here's the beautiful thing: the mom had showed up at the parent presentation, and the mom knew how to respond. And it was crucial, Elizabeth, because had the mom responded and her initial response was, Well, what did you do? You know, that would have changed the whole outcome. But the mother had been at the parent presentation. She knew how to respond. She knew the whole space for that. She knew who to call, she knew what to do. All of the legs, all of the components knew what to do, and they were able to shore up this ninth grader. Case was opened, they're looking for the traffickers and the exploitation the exploiters. The school knew what to do. They came alongside the family. Healing has begun. But one of the things, one of the shocking statistics with sex tortions that targets young boys, middle school and high school boys, is that there is an alarming rate of suicide. So when you look at statistics from 2016 to 2024, statistically, suicide has increased by 47% for those for that demographic. And so for us, it was huge that this ninth grader, even though he found himself in the situation, remembered that it was never too late. Um we were able to step in. He told his mom. Um, and that's what is important, and that's what it is about bringing awareness and education and having those conversations. Um, that's why it's so important.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:12

Well, you know what? I love it because God uses every single moment in our lives, every single piece of every bit of story to be able to go back, right, share, and be the roadmap to someone else's survival strategy. God doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called. And that's exactly what he's done with all three of us on this call. So what I want every single listener to hear is that whatever the darkness is, it dies and loses power when it's brought to light. It doesn't matter what it is. Shame, it keeps people silent, but Jesus is still in the healing business. Freedom is the portion that Jesus died for. And, you know, we want you to know that NAHT has the resources. It doesn't matter what it is, even if you don't have the confidence and the open mic situation with your teenager or with your other family member and you're worried about things, reach out for help. Let people that have walked this walk help you navigate. There are resources, but the most important thing is to not just brush it under the rug. We are no longer a society that can stand by and push the darkness under the rug. We must stand up in order to fight back the powers of darkness. We do not need to be afraid. There is no shame. We bring every bit of darkness to light. So I just want to invite everybody right now, like just surrender. Whatever, whatever darkness has a hold on you. It doesn't matter if something happened to you as a child or you did something as a teenager, bring that to the light right now and experience that healing, that freedom, and the deliverance because the time is now. We're no longer living in a time where we can be passive about what is going on. The world sees the problem with trafficking, the world sees with sex torsion. Look, my son just went through this on TikTok. So I understand. I mean, my child gave my credit card, put it out there. So this stuff is real. And it's not because our children did something bad. There are predators, there are prowlers, and it's time to bring, bring it out in the open. Listen, if you suspect your daughter's going through something or your son, NAHT is the resource that we have available. I'm going to put every bit of the contact information, how you can be involved, how you learn more information. It will all be in the show notes. So I need every single one of you to share this with your friends, share it with your teenagers, your pastors, educators, anybody that is a survivor and anyone that needs hope. We also want to bring awareness that NEHT will come and educate your school, private, public, churches, whatever, because I'm going to tell you something. Awareness can and will protect a life. It's up to you and your yes to bring every bit of darkness to the light. What you hide will have power. And one encounter with Jesus, that's all it takes for the transformation. Christina Monte, I cannot thank you both enough for your honesty, your love, and your commitment to go back into the fire and rescue those that are in need, because it takes that yes to Jesus. It takes, and here's the thing again, folks, we don't want you to think they're driving Jesus down your throat. You know what? They are showing the love of Jesus, that agape love, everything, every resource. And I've dealt with a lot of rehabilitation centers. And you want to know why relapse is so high? Because you don't have the discipleship, the continuity to care. All of the aftercare, the plans, the therapy, everything wrapped into one. NAHT is the first organization that I can say I've honestly seen and worked with that does it all. This is why success is possible because of individuals like Monty, Christina, and the whole NAHT organization that opened their hearts to give back, because that's what this life is about. Friends, I love you. Again, everything will be in the show notes. I want you to open your hearts today. B, you have been blessed. You woke up today. So now it's time to bless others. If you have questions or concerns, you reach out. If you have an immediate prayer request, put it on there. Or if you need a personal help with a resource to contact NAHT, you know I'm available. Till next time, friends, I love you so much. I'll see you next week. Thank you so much for spending this time with me today on Grace and the Breaking. If this episode spoke to your heart, please remember to follow, download, and share it with someone who might need a little encouragement right now. You can find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast platforms. As I close, I want to leave you with this reminder. 2 Corinthians 12 9. My grace is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect in weakness. So no matter what season you're walking through, you are not alone. And there is always Grace in the Breaking. For more information, resources, or to connect with me, visit GraceintheBreaking.com or email me at info at GraceIndheaking.com. Until next time, friends, stay rooted in faith, hold on to hope. And remember that there's Grace.