Lantern Rescue

This is the Truth Network. Welcome to If Not Forgot. Stories of hopelessness that turn to hope. Here is your host, Mike Zwick.

Alright, this is If Not For God with Mike Zwick. I've got a Gabby right here from Lantern Rescue. And what do they do? Here it is. Isaiah chapter 1, verse 17, it says, Learn to do well, seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, They shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, They shall be as wool. And Gabby, I want to welcome you to the show. Thank you so much.

We're excited to be on. Yeah, but also, we were also talking a little bit before fighting human trafficking, fighting child trafficking. You know, 10, 15 years ago, not a lot of people were talking about it. But there was a movie that came out a couple of years ago where everybody was talking about it. And actually, we just said that Tim Tebow was on the Sean Ryan show talking about this as well.

Is that right? Yes, um you definitely see little bit by little bit the veil being torn and Curtains going back and people realizing what's going around the world. Modern day slavery, human trafficking, sexual exploitation, online exploitation. It comes by in a lot of different names, but it really is all the same thing. It is predators and traffickers targeting vulnerable communities, vulnerable people and children, and using them to gain profit and to exploit them.

And that's something that is close by our hearts and something we fight every day.

Okay. Yeah, and a lot of people were kind of talking about it a couple of years after that movie. What was the name of it?

Sound of Freedom? Yeah, it's on to freedom. But then more recently, everybody was talking about the Epstein files. Yeah. That has definitely been all over social media and every platform you look at.

A lot of people are Finally, waking up to some of the things that are happening and calling for justice. Yeah, and so.

So what do you guys do exactly? Lantern Rescue. Yeah, so we are a counterhuman trafficking nonprofit. We exist in 18 now countries around the world. We just grew to two more.

We partner with local law enforcement and local NGOs to make an impact inside of those communities. It can look different every region depending on what kind of trafficking is most present there, where the gaps are, where vulnerable victims are being targeted. And we build up those teams to slowly bring awareness to the community, but really take in tips and investigate these crimes and hold traffickers accountable. And then we also partner with aftercares in those communities so that when we help rescue a victim, we are able to provide them resources and support. And uniquely in the United States, a lot of that looks like training.

And our founder and president is actually a prosecutor, so she prosecutes those crimes. And helps. uh build the accountability and justice model for our organization.

Well, that's pretty cool. And I'm looking at you guys on Facebook. I mean, this is not just something that you guys talk about or anything like that. I'm looking at something right now where you're talking about sex trafficking and it says Maria's story. Do you know what I'm talking about?

Yeah, that was our most recent post. We see stories like Maria's. often um unfortunately Maria's story has not fully been resolved yet. You know, and we can see that sometimes too, where investigations are remain open. She was.

reported by her mother to be associated with a criminal gang and at risk for exploitation. In this region where we work, we see this happen a lot young girls or young adults meet Men and build romantic relationships with them online or in person, and then slowly those people talk them into running away from home. And then they sexually exploit them. We've had gangs sexually exploit girls online. We've had them exploit them in prisons.

We've had them exploit them in brothels and clubs. It can go anywhere specifically. For Maria, she has not been found, but four suspects were arrested, and we're looking into the suspects' stories and more investigative work to try to locate her. Yeah, well, I tell you what, so far, if nothing else happened, you got four suspects off the streets. Is that right?

Absolutely. Yep, absolutely. But our team is very dedicated. It is even though sometimes these investigations can take months, Um we are very persistent in finding those. Yeah, and and I'm looking at something else as well.

Uh it says that three girls, only thirteen and fourteen years old, were rescued from a sex trafficking situation. Yeah, that was that's actually a story that is in our impact report. We just released our 2025 impact report. And if you're looking for a better insight of like what we do and how we do it and some stories, you can text 2025 to 336-234-3302, and it'll send you a copy of that report. These three girls were rescued from a human trafficking network.

It was in South America, I believe, and they were 13 and 14. They were actually. Also exploited by a gang, but the gang members that were exploiting them were their mother and one of the girls' brother. And they were exploiting them to sex tourism and to other people who were looking to purchase them for sex. Yeah, and and many of the unfortunately, and sometimes you wonder how this could be possible, but many of the people who have been molested as children or many of the people who have been sexually abused or sexually assaulted as children Or even into their young adulthood, a lot of times it was a family member or a close friend.

Absolutely. We see familial trafficking all the time. Um people sometimes are shocked at that. Um a lot of times, someone you know is the person that will abuse you. And then when you're looking at trafficking, often it's someone within your community, someone you wouldn't expect.

So these girls, they just went under the radar for so long because they were hidden under what appeared just like a normal family on the outside. And nobody truly knew. what was going on inside their homes and also for victims of familial trafficking and violence, a lot of times they don't know what's abnormal because it's what they've grown up in and experienced their whole lives. Yeah, I'm looking at something else. There was a a teenage survivor from sex trafficking said this Thank you for rescuing me and my little baby and reuniting me with my family.

I will start a small business so that I can take care of my child while at home. I mean this is just a young girl. Mm-hmm. Yep, you can actually read her story in the impact report and on other places as well. She was already a mother when she was trafficked, We call her Esther.

And she um, went to with another woman to another location thinking that she was going to be getting a job and it ended up being a a deception and she was trafficked in the back of a bar. to men. And during that time, she got pregnant with her second child and was never able to send any money or support back home to her family or her other child. And she was continually exploited even with the child in the room until one of the patrons of the bar noticed that something was off and reported it. Luckily someone knew about our team in that area and was able to get that information to our team.

And our team worked with local law enforcement to go to rescue her and arrest the ones who were trafficking her. And hold them accountable. And then, whenever we were able to reunite her and bring her home. Um, you know, they she was worried about being able to provide for both of our children. And so we have a program called Victim Care Services.

Even though rescue and the counterhuman trafficking portion of what we do is our main mission, we have a commitment, a strong commitment, to seeing that. Victims are not repeatedly victimized and back in exploitation because of gaps that we can't meet.

So a lot of times we partner with aftercares and other things to help fill those gaps. And for Esther's case, she just needed a little bit of money to start a garden to feed her children, but also sell things in the marketplace to provide for them. And so we granted her a small amount of money for that victim care services portion of her story. And it's just been awesome to see her thrive and be able to fully embrace becoming a mother and being able to provide for her kids in that way. Yeah, you know, one of the things that I'm reminded of when we're doing this kind of work is there was a young boy, and I'm sure you've heard the story, Gabby, but.

There were thousands of starfish that he had thrown. He saw they were on the beach and they were basically washed up. And he was taking as many of them as he could and he was throwing them back into the ocean so that the starfish could live. And all of a sudden, an older man came up to the young boy and he said, What are you doing? He said, There's no way that you can save all of these starfish.

You're just wasting your time. And the young boy picked up a starfish and he threw it back into the ocean and he said, I made a difference to that one. And yes, Lantern Rescue is not going to be able to save every single child in the world, but it's like that young girl who had a baby who was just a teenager. You all were able to help. Get that woman off of the streets.

Help to get give that woman her life back. Get many young girls back to their families. And you can look at what you've done and you can say, I made a difference to that one. Is that how you feel? Absolutely.

And you honestly never know. It's also an effect. Rescuing one victim has more of an effect than just not being able to reach every victim in the world. Supporting Astra in the way that we did not only helped her in her life, but it's Has a high potential to stop her children from ever being trafficked and exploited in the future. And that's why we build the model that we do.

It's a very unique model. We believe in you have to teach someone to fish, not fish for them. We do not want to come in and just do all of the work for the community and then run the risk of if we ever have to leave or things ever change that they're not able to do it anymore. We want to teach them to do it and allow them to use their passion and care and dedication to their own community to change that slowly and make different cultural norms. shift so that they are all protecting and providing the way that they want to be and desire to be, and they're not at risk of exploitation.

So that's our model, and that is always our goal. And whenever you get a trafficker behind bars, off the street, not able to exploit others, you are truly safeguarding other victims that are vulnerable to their Tricks and abuse. Yeah, well, and I'm looking at something that you posted six days ago, and it said that children are among the most vulnerable targets for traffickers. They are manipulated, isolated, and exploited by people who know exactly how to take advantage of trust and vulnerability. And you said that's why protecting children remains a priority in this fight.

And you said in 2025, Lantern-supported teams helped bring 1,019 victims to freedom. And you said, but millions more are still waiting. And you said that you can text 2025 to the phone number 336-234-3302 to receive the full impact report. Yep, absolutely. We definitely encourage that.

If you text that number, you'll also get a link to learn how you can partner with us for 2026. Or you can go to our website on our website. You can find both the report and ways to get involved. We did. We rescued 1,019 victims in twenty twenty five.

And we've kind of hit our five year mark as an organization. And in those five years, we've reached over three thousand victims total. And in 2025, out of those 1,019, Um 70% of those were children. 70% were children. You know, Jesus put it like this: He said, It is better for you.

You know, if you were going to cause one of these little ones to stumble, he said it's better that you have a millstone tied around your neck and you were to go to the bottom of the sea. And I think that. There is so much sin in this world, there is so much evil, but that there are people like you, like you from Lantern Rescue, and your friend Kaitlyn is involved as well, right? Oh yes, absolutely. She's been um A great person to have in our team for a while now, and she helps us.

You know, share all of these numbers. She helps us make sure that all of our donations and support are going where they should be. We actually have a financials page in our 2025 report, too, and 85% of all expenses that we got last year were solely to the mission just to do this, just to rescue victims, provide them victim care services, and support the teams that are doing the work. And we're just really thankful to be in that place. I I mean, I I I think it's awesome.

And so You know, people can, like you said, they can text 2025 to that number. What is it, 336? 234-3302. But one of the things that enables you to do uh to do what you do is is people's financial donations as well. Is that right?

Absolutely. Donations is what gets us there. I've actually had teams request, like there was one team we partnered with and they had gotten a call of a victim who was reporting that she was being abused and trafficked in her family and needed to be removed. And the only thing stopping that team was that they did not have enough money to put gas in their car to go and get her. The resources are so limited in some of these countries, even for law enforcement.

And so by just simply providing them gas, they were able to go get her, rescue her, take her where she needed to go to begin that investigation.

So every time you think, oh, a dollar is not going to make a difference. Oh, $25 is not going to make a difference. It does. Every single donation matters. And $1,000 donation is really helpful, right?

Oh, yes, for sure. It definitely is. And we actually have a Liberators community, and right now we are looking to get 10 liberators in that community as soon as possible to meet some of the immediate needs we need. Liberators community is made up of the people who are ready to take that extra step. They are monthly donors that are dedicated to this fight.

They donate $35 or more a month, and we send them a free welcome pack and everything because we truly believe that they're part of this team. And they get exclusive updates and texts and things like that, too. And they make a way that we know consistent money is going to come in for some of these immediate needs.

So I can't speak enough. Our liberators are incredible. have a whole page dedicated to them in our report, and you can go see. But they did incredible work last year raising money. Just one hundred twenty five of them were able to help our work get where it needs to go.

Yeah, and I wonder if if you had another hundred people who were donating thirty-five dollars a month, how much more of a difference that could make as well. it would be incredible. We would be able to reach not more just more victims, but more communities and countries that are constantly asking for our help, and we just need the support to get there. Yeah, and and going back and looking at what you were just looking at, you said another one of your favorite passages in the Bible is from Isaiah 6. Is that right?

Yeah, I just believe like if you have been looking at content, you feel a burden for this call, if you feel like Nobody's doing anything, and you are ready for justice, and you want these things to be seen and uncovered and known. You just do something about it. You don't just sit there in that burden or in that heartbreak or in that rage. You pick up. and fight this fight with us.

Because really, you truly can make a difference. And God is very good at growing that calling. If you say yes to one thing and plant the seed, you will be amazed at what will happen. um, from it when you allow him to water it. Yeah, now and and and I know you guys have a lot of stuff that you do online or whatever.

Do you have any like meetings or or if if somebody wanted to get, you know, get information or be able to meet you guys and and do like a conference kind of style or where you guys talk or anything, do you guys do anything like that or? Absolutely. We have a community called Ambassadors, and those are people who want to help us host. fundraisers or ministry events at their church or conferences. And we also would love, like if you're local or somewhere near, to hop on a call or come meet you and talk, answer any questions you have.

On our website, you can find our email or you can type in light the way at landformsky.org and it will send your request. I do our social media personally. You can also send us a direct message or DM through there, and we can absolutely get something set up. to make an impact. That is awesome.

And so you said there there were if there were a thousand and nineteen victims who you helped to get off the street, I'm sure you've got some more stories as well. Is that right? Absolutely. If you are someone who has been reading and is kind of shocked about Um at seeing in some of the child sacrifice Instances that are mentioned in those files, I am here to tell you that we are actively knowing and finding. Child sacrifice as well.

In our 2025 impact report, you can find two stories. Of child sacrifice. This past month alone, we had three deaths. from a child sacrifice. An exploitation.

One girl we have named Hermila. She was four years old and she went missing, and her body was found the next day by police. in a stream And she had been brutally attacked and drained of her blood for ritual sacrifice where others had believed that they were going to get wealth or power or success. from this atrocious act. And we have worked hard to bring them accountable for their actions.

You can read more on her story in the report. And we're constantly fighting Okay. instances like this. Another story is ONSI. Um he was 14 years old and and his story actually has a Incredible outcome for what has happened to him.

I actually got to meet him when I went to Africa. He was attacked on his way to school. He a perpetrator took him into a field. And a lot of times with ritual sacrifice, they will take their body parts back to a witch doctor to perform the ritual act.

So he was taken into that field and mutilated and then his attacker tried to murder him. and left him for dead. And someone noticed and investigators got out there and they were able to take him very quickly to a medical facility.

So he is alive today. He still has a lot to overcome. with what he's gone through mentally, emotionally, and physically, but he is in a partner aftercare facility and given a lot of support and attention. And we're praying for him every day. And then his attacker was found.

and brought to justice as well.

Now, what country was this on? This was in Uganda. Oh my gosh.

Well, and and this is what a lot of people have talked about, and some people, you know, didn't want to believe it. But there is something called SRA. Have you heard of that? SRA, yes. Satanic ritual abuse.

Yeah. What do you know about what can you tell us about that? Tectonic ritual abuse absolutely happens. Ritual exploitation and abuse happens in so many different ways. We had a case last month of a girl that was rescued in the Caribbean who was definitely ritually abused.

She was exploited by different men in rituals in her home actually, and as part of a temple ritual in that area, you have we see girls all over Africa who are sexually assaulted with the intent and purpose to get blood from them in order to take that blood back to witch doctors who do rituals. like I mentioned for power and wealth and success. And then you have just cult groups that will ritually abuse and exploit um the girls and women and boys that are in inside it as well. It looks differently in a lot of different ways in a lot of different areas, but it's definitely present and alive today, something that we have to be aware of and constantly fight and pray against. Yeah.

Yeah, and you know, a lot of people actually came to the Lord since 2020. And I believe what a lot of people did and what they saw was they said that the reason that they came to Jesus is because they saw all of the darkness that was in the world. And they realized that with all of the darkness in the world, there's got to be a good side as well. And so, you know, the Bible says that we know that all things work together for good to those who love God and for them who are called according to his purpose. I know there's a lot of dark that you see in the job that you do, and it must be tough, but I'm sure that you see the light as well.

Is that right? Absolutely. The Lantern Rescue and our tagline, like the way to freedom, is more than just Knowing that dark is there and dark is present, but like truly being a light and more than rescue. We have small wins and big wins in our groups and our community. Honestly, it's so uplifting to me to even just like hear the quotes and the stories from survivors themselves, like the one you listed and like when I got to go visit and see some of the ones we've supported and the aftercare facilities.

Let me tell you, like, they are so resilient. They are so filled with joy. They love the Lord. And, like, they've gone through these things that are. horrifying and hard to wrap our minds around, but like they are, you know, just happy to be alive and happy to grow and like so thankful for things.

And, you know, that reminds me that it is emotional and it is hard, but like you can truly make an impact and they're not done. They're not giving up.

So we can't give up either. We have to look at this evil in the face and continue to work against it. We do, and I'm following Lantern Rescue on Facebook. You can just follow them, Lantern Rescue. You guys are on Instagram as well as TikTok, and even Xer, you tell me.

Yep, we are on our main platforms: our LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook. I'm in TikTok. and we're on threads as well. Yeah, and if somebody wants to make a donation or to get involved, your website is what lanternrescue.org? Yes, sir.

Lanternrescue.org. And once again, if you don't do anything else but get some information, you can text Twitter. 2025 to 336-234-3302. All right, Gabby, I want to thank you again for coming on today. Thank you for all the work that you're doing, guys.

And make sure to go find out more information and if you want to, donate to this worthy cause. God bless you. Thank you so much, Mike. All right, for my YouTube channel. If not for God with mighty wick.

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