Harvest of Your Generosity
After the One
October 20, 2019 • Guest Speaker Jody Dyess
ABOUT F.R.E.E. INTERNATIONAL Working for several years in India to combat human trafficking, Michael and Denise Bartel realized the issue was not just a foreign problem. Upon their return to the U.S. they founded F.R.E.E. International and continued the fight against modern day slavery here in the states. A 501c3 nonprofit organization, F.R.E.E. International began in 2007 headquartered in New York City and worked throughout the country to raise awareness about human trafficking and trained local communities how to mobilize and be effective in abolishing slavery. Currently, we have F.R.E.E. team members working throughout every region of the U.S. with local law enforcement, attorney general’s offices, churches, schools, and local and state governments. A core belief of ours is that we are most effective in the fight when the strengths of others are brought to the table and coordinated effectively. Today, our headquarters are in Las Vegas, a city known for it’s depravity, a city we know as Ground Zero in the ongoing battle to FREE those trapped in slavery. THE ISSUE We slayed that old evil called slavery over 150 years ago, in 1864, with the 13th Amendment. Or so we thought. In fact There are more slaves today worldwide than at any point in history. In fact we did not kill slavery. We merely pushed it underground, where it thrives, hidden yet robust. And because it is hidden our view of slavery – which we now call human trafficking – has been obscured. The question is, can we allow ourselves to misunderstand such a monstrous sin while it creates profit out of misery and resides in our own communities just as it does around the world? We can’t be overwhelmed by scope and significance of the issue. Human trafficking is as old as human society. Steeped in shadow as it is today and propped up by high profitability and the anonymity provided by the internet, slavery has the potential to grow at an alarming rate. But consider the consequence of inaction and willful ignorance – an entire generation of youth swallowed by misery. Something should be done. And it can be done.