O’FALLON – Two college students at First Baptist Church O’Fallon in suburban St. Louis, moved by what they learned about physical and sexual exploitation of young people their age trapped in modern day slavery, have used their talents to help make a difference.
Students Sarah Cutler and Daniel Maasen became aware of human trafficking in January at Passion 2012—a non-denominational Christian worship meeting for young people.
Cutler is a senior in economics and marketing at Truman State University. She said she was unaware before the conference how pervasive human trafficking is in the United States and throughout the world.
“I was in the dark about the realities of modern day slavery,” she said/ “At [Passion 2012] where the theme was freedom, both in the literal and spiritual sense, I knew that I had to do something.”
She had already begun training for a marathon and decided to use the race to raise $1,000 for International Justice Mission (IJM). IJM opposes slavery in all its forms, rescues victims, and transforms communities at risk for human trafficking.
“I couldn’t shake the connection between the number of miles in a marathon and the number of people estimated to be in slavery,” Cutler said. “A marathon has 26.2 miles; There are 27 million people estimated to be in slavery—a mile for every million. I knew at that point that I had to run the marathon for a reason other than for my own glory.”
Cutler said that while she didn’t meet her financial goal the marathon provided her opportunities to talk with others about why she was running it, and to spread awareness and understanding about human trafficking.
Now, she encourages others to get involved.
“No matter where you are—life-wise, location-wise, age-wise—there is a way to be involved in the effort against slavery,” she said.
Maasen heard messages at Passion 2012 that motivated him in various ways.
“One of my main inspirations was Sarah” and through music “there was something I could do,” said Maasen, who is a Missouri Baptist University junior majoring in worship arts.
Friends helped him produce a music CD, The Black and White Project. The title, he said, came from the idea that sometimes right and wrong are blurred to create a “gray area on the subject of sin. However, the sale of children into slavery is clearly not gray.”
The CD contains five songs Maasen recorded to raise funds for Not For Sale, an agency which battles slavery by creating enterprises that provide options to those who might otherwise be trafficked.
He didn’t know how his music would be received but was surprised—and is pleased—by the response.
“I have received offers from people I didn’t even know,” he said, noting that a promo video he posted on Facebook put it in front of more than 2,000 people.
Maasen’s work is now on YouTube, continuing to bring awareness about human trafficking.
Like Cutler, he said that Missouri Baptists need to be involved in this issue.
“Christians have the unique responsibility to make a change,” he said. “No other group of people has part of its mandate to be salt and light.”
Both students said they want to stay involved in the trafficking battle but aren’t sure what their next steps might be.
Both are in the college Bible study group led by Vonda and John Westmoreland at First O’Fallon. Since 2010 the leaders have taken groups to Passion conferences, which attract over 40,000 young people on their Christmas break for worship and to hear popular Christian speakers. The meetings also challenge students in practical ways to tackle issues and change others’ lives—physically and spiritually.
Vonda Westmoreland said she learned about human trafficking at a Passion conference.
“I had no idea that the things we use, the products we buy every day, are made by human slavery,” she said. “From chocolate to cell phones to sneakers, we have no idea what it’s costing people.
“This generation is looking for a cause, looking for something … to fight for. They can really make a difference in people’s hearts as well as their physical condition.”
Motivating students to get involved is a theme and a goal of the college group she and her husband lead and they are guided by Isaiah 26:8: “Everything we do is for the glory of God.”
She now keeps the issue in front of her students as well as friends via Facebook updates, and hopes to partner the college group in a project or organization that battles human trafficking.