ASSEMBLIES OF GOD
Project Rescue Reaches Over 32,000 Women and Children in 2014
Hanna’s* parents died in a fire when she was a young girl. Afterwards, her aunt took custody of her. But instead of being a nurturing caregiver, the aunt kept her in a room and sold her as a sex slave for four years.
Abused, scared, and alone, Hanna managed to escape and took shelter in a nearby graveyard. Because of her rural background, and the tragic fire, Hanna had no ID papers and her name appeared in no government databases. Essentially, she did not officially exist. This made Hanna a prime target for further exploitation. She became a prostitute inside the very graveyard where she’d fled for shelter.
However, members of a nearby Assemblies of God church were the only people to reach out to Hanna. After attending a service, she accepted Christ as Savior. The people in the church helped restore her and find a faith community and family.
Now Hanna has grown into a strong young woman, full of joy, grace, and God’s love.
Even though she has no official identity, she has new life and identity in Christ and is a testimony of hope for every person caught in trafficking and sexual slavery.
In 2014 alone, the work of Project Rescue, a ministry of Assemblies of God World Missions, reached over 32,000 women and children like Hanna who have been affected by sexual slavery. The ministry, which began in Bombay in 1997 has expanded to six countries throughout Europe and Eurasia and includes 13 red light district churches where women like Hanna can find hope and healing through Jesus Christ.
In her latest book, Courageous Compassion: Confronting Social Injustice God’s Way, Dr. Beth Grant, co-founder of Project Rescue, emphasizes the need for the Church to respond to the global issue of human trafficking: "Good people and agencies are rescuing slaves out of brothels, but only Jesus can take the impact of the brothel out of the slave's heart, mind and spirit."
For more information on the ministry of Project Rescue visit projectrescue.com and “Project Rescue” on Facebook, @Projrescue on Twitter.
*name changed
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