Village of Light

Woodrow Kroll here. When you train one pastor in Ecuador, some donor friends are standing by to train a second pastor. Call 833-443-5467 or go online at trainaposter.com.

Every gift counts and now every gift is doubled. trainaposter.com Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just a few seconds. Enjoy it.

Share it. But most of all, thank you for listening to the Truth Podcast Network. Welcome to Lantern Rescue, a ministry program dedicated to bringing light into the darkness of human trafficking. It's time to light the way to freedom. This is Lantern Rescue. We tell the stories, we talk about rescues, and we empower you to do something about it.

William Wilberforce once said, Let it not be said I was silent when they needed me. This is Lantern Rescue. So how fun today on Lantern Rescue.

We're into a whole new kind of thing now at the Lantern Rescue and that we have volunteers that the Lord has provided sort of miraculously and, and Ren, can you introduce them for us? Yeah, so these girls are amazing. They've taken a lot of work off of our shoulders.

And they are the girls that are behind our social media platforms. And we really have been so grateful to them. And they've really done so much to help us. So yeah, they just, they kind of came to us with an idea of how to help us.

And that is definitely the best way if anyone wants to volunteer for us, is to come to us with a plan of what you want to do. And that's exactly what they did. And they've really just been killing it and helping us so much. Wow. So we have Gabrielle and Casey with us.

And so we'll start off with you, Gabrielle. How in the world did you guys hear about them? Or can you kind of tell us how this happened?

Yeah, sure. So about a year ago, we started seeing some of like the human trafficking propaganda and everything coming just up. Everything was everywhere. And me and Casey kind of both had it on our hearts from God to learn more about it and to speak up for it. So we kind of joined together, did an initial rally and decided to start a blog. And so we started our blog and our main goal was to connect with the community around us and raise awareness and to connect with other organizations.

And we were kind of just really open to whatever God was going to bring, whether that be literally just us telling our neighbors and shouting from our rooftops to going and actively doing something. And I had a friend and she mentioned someone from Lantern. And I was like, that's great. I want to meet him.

I really, really want to do it. And so it was just kind of God. He just put it on my heart. We met. Connected those dots. And it was like everything we were doing, which was primarily early prevention and social media awareness, is exactly kind of what they needed.

They needed someone to help with social media. And we were like, well, we can do that for you. Yeah. And they were like, OK, sure.

Great. And it just kind of took off. So we got to know them and we've gotten to learn so much from them. And it's definitely helped build our blog up and give us good information. But it's also helped them because now that they have the social media going, so many more people are learning the truth about human trafficking, not just what everybody else has throwing out there.

And they can focus on their job, which is to actually rescue, rescue. So, Casey, what was the name? Is it is the Village of Light. The Village of Light.

Well, that kind of blends perfectly. I told you it was God. I said that to her too.

I was like, lantern light? What? Yeah. So tell me from your perspective, Casey, how how did you get involved?

Yeah. So about a year ago, like Gabby said, I saw a video circulating. It was a rally kind of talking about human trafficking. And I saw it and I was like, oh, we really need something like that in our area. People need to know the truth where we are. So I shared it and kind of half joking was like, who who wants to join?

And that's where Gabby came in and stuck with me. And we decided, you know, what what can we do from where we are to make an impact? So, yeah, we started the blog and to talk about early prevention and how we can bring that to work in our community. And again, the name of the blog is Village of Light. Village of Light.

It just seems to go perfect with Lantern Rescue. And so with the Village of Light, Casey, you know, now all of a sudden you're getting shared information from Lantern. Right.

You know, can you tell us some of those early things that you're like, oh, my goodness, God, you're you're in this completely. Yeah. Just that.

Yeah. The information that we have got from Lantern has been extremely helpful, especially in like you can get information online. But getting information straight from the source has helped us a lot.

And with the accuracy of our information that we're able to give everybody else accurate information. So specifically information, what what did that look like? What were they stories or were they statistics? What were the tell me the story that just like, wow.

Gabby, you want to you want to step in on that one? Yeah. So the story like the two things that stick out to me, one story was about the two children that were being shot for pornography and were being sent to America. And they were so young.

It was like six and what, 18 month old, a six year old and an 18 month old. And that just, you know, pornography has always been like something that has been on my heart because it's so desensitizing. And I'm the person who asked why. So like when I heard about some of the really strange porn that was out there, I was like, why? Like nobody hops on a computer and just starts to type that in. And just hearing that story of like how desensitizing it is and how it was just more and more and more and more just aligned so much with what I had always believed is the problem with porn. Because it's not just an initial watching something. It's a rabbit hole you go down and it leads to so many dangerous things. So that was one.

Two, I really learned there's not like an initial story that really peeks out other than that one. But the difference trafficking from like this country to trafficking in other countries, how it looks like, how many different ways it comes about. It's not just one thing you can hit straight on. It's, you know, there's kids being kidnapped in some areas. There's kids being coerced, coerced from their families, sold by their families. And it just changes from community to community and morphs. And it's labor trafficking, organ harvesting, sex trafficking, pornography.

It's just everywhere. And without everybody attacking it on different levels, you're just going to kill one head and eight other are going to spread out. Hey, I want to say why we're so excited to have these two on here from my perspective and Wren's perspective. As she mentioned, as Wren mentioned, these are volunteers that came to us with ability to do something and made it clear what they could do. And they're ready to go at it. Sometimes you have people volunteer and they're like, tell me what to do. And sometimes you're too busy to tell them what to do. You know, you're just so busy.

You cannot slow down for a volunteer. These two like came in and worked around that, you know, and they worked with it and they've been like, this is what you need to do and we're going to do it. And so that that is that is so helpful.

And and you can sense I'm sure listeners can sense their excitement and the energy they bring from the stateside, the effort to post up stuff on social media. And they're very careful. They do a great job.

These are the two people who write it. I mean, they do a great job. I've been reading what you guys write and I absolutely, absolutely love it and appreciate it. And and we try to overwhelm them. We could send them stuff every day. But we're just kind of, you know, maneuvering through social media and controlling it and really just creating an environment of people who really are in a fight against this. Not just somebody who's just liking any page that passes them by.

You know, but these two are these two are great. Yeah. I mean, running another 501 C3 myself, I can imagine what would be for people that want to volunteer or audit, you know, rather than having to train them. But actually, they train you kind of, you know, how that goes. That's phenomenal. So, Casey, what I was thinking is you guys had the opportunity not long ago, right? The team came in for the you know, we had that men's conference. They came in and spoke on the radio live. But you guys had actually got a chance to meet T.C.

and Ren and Alan. And so obviously, unfortunately, our listeners can't see these. You know, we can't publicize what they look like.

But you guys can kind of like share with our listeners. Wow. Right. What was your impression, Casey, of them and what stuck out?

Wow. They're just they're such an amazing group of people. They truly are. And you we did we got to meet them all for the first time. And when we all met for the first time, it felt like we had known them forever. They're just so just warm and fuzzy and welcoming and just really amazing people. The most selfless people. Right.

Because you have this picture in your mind or I did. Yeah. Right.

These are going to be tactical, military business. Yeah. Like you don't want to mess with these people. Right. But no.

But instead you get Santa Claus. I mean, literally. No, they're tough. They're big. I wouldn't want to mess with them. No, no. But no, really.

We were just laughing and sharing stories and just amazing people. They're just very authentic. I think that's what stuck out the most. You know, you meet people that run organizations a lot and they have everything like down to a science. They have their speeches down to a science. They have everything like they know what they're going to say. They performed it. They've done it. And it's a show.

And that's not to say that there's not meaning behind some of that, but that's just not how Lantern is. They like their family. They roll with the punches. They like sweat it out. They are so laid back and they just want to help. They just have a heart for changing it.

And there's not anger, bitterness, resentment, frustration. Like they just go. They're just determined and they care and they just want to go.

And they are just themselves. And it was great. I mean, as Casey said, when we met them, it just kind of felt like we knew them forever. We just kind of just hopped right in. And we appreciated that so much because it was like real people. We were getting to know real people with real stories, with real passions who really cared and who really cared about us and wanted our help, too. That wasn't going to just fit us into this little box that they wanted something from. They wanted to work with us and help us. And we wanted to do the same for them. That's how God works.

It's called grace. When I first met them, I don't have the opportunity to meet everyone who wants to volunteer, but we are close in geographically. And something from the Lord said, Go meet these two and dig a little deeper. And we did. And I'm so glad and thankful that we did because they have a sweet heart and spirit to serve as well. As much as they're talking about our team, they fit in.

That family fit in with us. And so that was what was important, really. And they have not just the skills to do social media and write and photos and all those things. They have a true heart for these children and they break and they mourn for the anguish that they're under. And they now are part of seeing images every day or every week and knowing stories and knowing a suffering.

And you have to have a real heart for it to move forward. Did they see the images I saw last week? Probably, maybe. Yeah, there's some images you wish you could wash out of your mind, right? And so, Gabrielle, I'm wondering, you're posting these things on social media.

And again, it's Village of Light, right, is the name of the blog. And so, you know, what are people, how are they responding? Right before you answer that, I've realized we've got to go to a break.

So while you're wondering what they're going to say, you stay tuned. We've got so much more. Lantern Rescue coming up. Lantern Rescue is a USA-based organization that conducts international rescue operations for people suffering from human trafficking. Lantern specializes in sending former U.S. Special Operation law enforcement and intelligence personnel to partner with host nations and assist them in creating specialized units to combat ongoing security problems such as genocide, terrorism, and human trafficking.

As a nonprofit charity, they offer services free of charge to their host nations. Human trafficking is grown into the second largest criminal activity in the world, reaching an estimated $150 billion in annual activity. Lantern Rescue has developed rapidly to combat trafficking. Lantern operates through a trained international network in order to rescue women and children from sex and labor slavery and facilitates holistic aftercare services. They're gearing up for operations right now, and you can go to lanternrescue.org to see how you can support them financially. Welcome back to Lantern Rescue today.

We're so excited. We have some volunteers that are joining us and seeing how God is using people in so many different ways with so many talents, right? The beautiful thing about the church is it's got all sorts of parts, and one of the parts that obviously is information. And how do we get information out?

And these two young ladies had this blog, Village of Light, if you didn't hear about it in the first segment. So as they've been seeing these images, like we talked about, you may want to scrub your eyes after you see them. Obviously, you're not going to post all that stuff on social media, but it gives you an idea of some of the horrors of what Satan has out there. Casey, we were asked the question, what are you getting back from feedback from the people? Obviously, you're making a post. How are their comments? What's going on with that? So, yeah, feedback is, like Gabby said, sporadic.

You have the ones that, of course, are mourning with you, and their hearts are also breaking when they're given this information. And we have that and the, what can we do to help? And then we also sometimes fight for engagement, because it is such a hard topic and that a lot of people kind of want to shy away from and pretend that it's not happening, because it's so uncomfortable to talk about the things that are happening to these children, whether it's you're kind of in denial and don't want to believe that these things are happening.

So, the responses are kind of all over the place. So, Gabby, how would you say that you hook them, so to speak? I mean, it's like you're drawing to get engagement.

You guys are kind of, this is what you do. You know, can you give us some example of the hooks? Yes, Casey works on hooks as far as graphics. She's fantastic. I'm making good images that stick together.

If you haven't seen any of the social media pages, go, because the Instagram, she has made beautiful. And I usually write. I write the captions for hooks. You know, I try to connect it as much as I can to something that you could experience yourself, because it's easy to say, this could never happen to me. This is in a different country, a different kid. My kid's not in danger. My family's not in danger. But it's not true. It could have just as easily been you and your family. It could just as been easily your country. I mean, it's happening everywhere.

It just looks different in different places. And as moms and as Christians and as leaders of families, like, we should have a heart for this, because these are someone's children and they're God's children. So they need that. And we can't just look away and pretend it's not happening. They're living it every day. They can't look away. So it's our responsibility to at least notice and to at least speak up.

And so I try to connect it as much as I can to that and help them see, like, this is real. It's happening. It's not a movie. It's not something that you can be like, oh, turn on and turn off.

It's happening around the clock, every day, every minute as we speak. So it needs to hit your heartstrings. Like, it needs to be something that causes emotion in you, because it's causing emotion and it's causing pain and abuse and grief in them. And they deserve to have someone who cares about that. Right.

I mean, somewhere there's a little kid, right, that is working out in a brickyard and then having to get dressed up at night to go out and get abused. It's unbelievable stuff. But, you know, I'm just sitting here in awe that like, wow, God. So Casey, you just heard the gifts, right? You know, Casey does the graphic art, right? She has this view for this. And then, you know, obviously, Gabby has been given the gift of language.

Right. And so when you think about the whole team of Land and Rescue, Mark, think of the cast of character. That he has put together. In other words, he found this very unique gift in T.C. as it compared to a completely different unique gift in Allen and Wren. Like, whoa.

And then you. And so from your standpoint now, as you sit back and look at that, I'm wondering, Mark, what do you see? It's just another example of God's provision to do what he wants done. I mean, how many nonprofits out there, Robbie, are just begging for one person to help them with social media, right?

And God sends us to. And I, I just marvel at that because it is such a social media is such a can be such a burden to nonprofits who have a lot of information they want to get out, but they don't quite know how to do it or it's just is consuming a time when they can't do it. I mean, for us this morning, you know, I'm sitting here reviewing a conversation that I would share a little bit that says basically, we're evaluating Intel video needs, drone videos of the villages, connecting roads, photos, ability, construction within the villages.

How far apart are the villages with the typical transportation, what types of guns, how much ammo, blah, blah, blah. Right. So, you know, I've got multiple of those type of conversations going on. I'm not able to share with people who love us, support us, pray for us everything that I need to because we're just we're dealing with the operations, you know. And so they come in and let me tell you how important they're not under us. They're equal with us. Like they are our team. Just because we're kicking the door doesn't mean any difference because they're engaging the population and they're sharing what we do. And so, I mean, I'm just so thankful that God always provides what he wants done.

It's a beautiful thing. You know, I think about it in the book of Acts. You know, you don't want the disciples out there waiting tables. The gifting is to share what they got to experience with Jesus. Right. And so, you know, each person into their particular gift. So I just got to ask Casey, I love visual arts.

I can't do it, but I love it. So what you know, you get a chance to see something that you can't offend. Right.

You can't put this up there because that obviously. But so, you know, I'm just curious, like what what are you looking for in the right image that you feel like or or maybe tell us your success? Man, when I use that picture, it wowed them. Yeah.

Well, let's see. Yeah, it's hard with images. You have to be careful. Of course, everybody likes to see the rescue. So we get a good response for when we do and we are able to post the victims that have been rescued. And man, every time I have to blur one of those faces, it's just it's it's heartbreaking.

And I hate you know, obviously there's good reason for why we do it. But and that's a little off topic. But that's just something that every time I have to blur one of their faces. And it's like if you guys could just see the heartbreak and the pain in their eyes. Wow. But yeah, with the images, it's just finding finding that balance.

What's not going to be too much and too overwhelming because you do have people that are really sensitive to that stuff. So just getting the information out there and making it pleasing to the eye because that's how we like to look at pretty things. So I'm just making it look good and making the right show off. Yeah, exactly. What I was here.

Yeah. And Robbie, these are these are two moms. So, you know, I mean, and they're females. So they understand the sensitivity of it and the care and the love behind that child because they are moms. And I think that brings a great value to our social media.

Mama Bear is coming out. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I see that completely. So when you're looking at language, right. You see that the way that Casey sees images, right. You're looking for language to communicate horrific information in a way that's actually helpful. Right.

That actually uplifts and encourages the body of Christ to take action rather than lay shame or guilt or or all those other things. So, you know, let us walk with you a minute in that like you're going to put together this post. Yeah, well, I Casey rolls me back in a little bit because I can get I am a very open book. I say things how it is. I believe that the truth is important enough that it should stand on its own. I'm a big believer in testimonies. So our testimony is what sets us free. It's our story.

It's our life. God is always seen in it. And sometimes you can't see a minute until you lay it out. And so even though I can't meet these children, even though that I can't hear their story from them, I get little blips of it. And I'm able to share that testimony for them. What happened to them to bring it to light, to bring it to truth, to let it be known. It's not hidden anymore. They don't have to pretend it's not there.

No, like somebody's listening, even if it's just me, somebody is listening. And so I usually formulate that for the rescues for the other posts. It just kind of depends. Me and Casey have dug deep. We've done like our personality test.

We've done our spiritual gifts test. We kind of known what works for each other to bring it together. So writing is definitely, it just kind of comes to me a little bit more naturally. But I usually just lean in.

I spend my morning doing like my devotional and Bible time. And then I usually write the post then. And God shows me kind of what I should say. And I just try to connect it as much as I can to someone like me, a mom at home, or someone like my family who needs to know the truth and really understand how deep it is. Like it's not just some cover story that's like, oh, propaganda or oh, this person hooked up with this person.

It's like real. It's happening and it's deep and they need to know it. A lot of people don't know it. A lot of people don't even.

They know that trafficking and abuse happens, but not on the scale that it really does. So how cool is it that like those Rogers and the Hammerstein, or I can't think of the name of the two guys who wrote all the Disney songs we all sing, the one of them actually wrote the lyrics usually and the other one wrote the music. But see, it wouldn't have been near as good if the guy that wrote the music didn't reflect his music off the brother that wrote the lyrics and the guy who wrote the lyrics reflected his lyrics off the brother. And so as I was listening to what you said, Casey dials me back or you probably bring up Casey's volume. Yeah, for sure. Definitely.

As I'm listening, just think of how God places people in your own life to be able to do that. And so when it comes to this placement, Mark, we have more needs that we need a coordinator. Yeah. One of the things we're discussing here, Casey, Gabriel, myself and Robbie and then Ren, we've discussed it is that this good work is generating volunteers. The interfacing of social media with people who learn they want to volunteer, people who are here in the radio show are wanting to volunteer. And so we get those volunteer requests. And unfortunately, you know, we are operationally working a lot.

I landed from out of country last night at around midnight. You know, so we're overseas or just going places quite a bit. So it's difficult. So we're praying about, you know, volunteer coordinator, somebody who has that time. And more than just that, you know, folks who listen and say, well, I want to volunteer and some have filled out forms and I hope they know we're going to get to them.

It really is. You have to come to us with a sense of here's what I can do for you guys and here's my plan to do it. And then we help you. We just say, yes, let's do it.

You know what I mean? If we have to formulate the plan for the volunteer, you know, that's difficult. Sometimes there are specific titles, like a volunteer coordinator, that we need to establish a role. But a lot of times, you know, we don't know what we need. If someone comes and says it, then we're very open to it. What's difficult is someone who just says, hey, I just want to volunteer. You know, you'll be on standby maybe, but, you know, we don't really know what to do with that person because we don't have time to figure out their skill set and everything. You're sitting there going, well, I don't have time to volunteer. Have you got time to pray? Because believe me, he hears those cries in the middle of the night. He is there with those little children and he wants the world to know that man rescue is his business. So thank you, guys. Thank you. This is the Truth Network.