*Disclaimer: This episode is not intended for little ears*

Isaiah 61:3 NIV "and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor."

*Transcription Below*

Questions We Discuss:

What is human trafficking and how does it work?
Is there a certain target age or demographic that makes people more vulnerable to being trafficked?
When we are prompted by love, what can the church and community and families and individuals do?

Nita Belles is the Founder and President of IN OUR BACKYARD, a national anti-trafficking nonprofit. Her book, In Our Backyard, Human Trafficking in America and What We Can Do To Stop It, is a best-seller and known as the primer on human trafficking in the U.S.

Nita has been a leader in anti-trafficking work surrounding Super Bowls since 2010. She founded Freedom Stickers which are in all 50 States, and Convenience Stores Against Trafficking, which partners with over 20,000 convenience stores nationwide. Nita collaborates with top law enforcement, government officials, legislators, the medical community, social service providers, faith communities, and survivors as the key to creating comprehensive, lasting change. Her work has been featured on CNN, Fox Files, Focus on the Family, USA Today, BBC and others.

Nita is known for her compassionate heart, as a friend to survivors, a team player and for finding solutions when there is seemingly no solution. She believes laughter is a necessary component in this work yet is driven to compassionately annihilate human trafficking and change the culture which allows this atrocity to flourish. Nita is a force in the movement who specializes in linking arms with other organizations in a collaborative effort to find lasting solutions.

Connect with Nita Belles' Non-Profit, In Our Backyard: Website, Twitter, Instagram @inourbackyard, or through Facebook

At The Savvy Sauce, we will only recommend resources we believe in! We also want you to be aware: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

In Our Backyard, Human Trafficking in America and What We Can Do To Stop It

Other episode mentioned: Overcoming Evil With Good: Recognizing Spiritual Abuse with Dr. Diane Langberg

Thank You to Our Sponsor: Sam Leman Eureka

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Gospel Scripture: (all NIV)

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”

Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”

Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession- to the praise of his glory.”

Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”

Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“

Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“

Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

*Transcription*

[00:00:00] <music>

Laura Dugger: Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here.

[00:00:17] <music>

Laura Dugger: Today's episode includes some thematic material. I want you to be aware before you listen in the presence of little ears. The principles of honesty and integrity that Sam Leman founded his business on continued today over 55 years later at Sam Leman Chevrolet Buick in Eureka. Owned and operated by the Bertschi family, Sam Leman in Eureka appreciates the support they've received from their customers all over Central Illinois and beyond. Visit them today at LemanGM.com.

Nita Bells is my guest today. She is a speaker and a leading national expert in the anti-human trafficking movement. Her book is entitled, In Our Backyard: Human Trafficking in America and What We Can Do to Stop It. She's going to educate us today on how to be wise, aware, discerning, and loving in our approach to human trafficking. [00:01:21]

Here's our chat.

Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, Nita.

Nita Belles: Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it, Laura. Good to be here.

Laura Dugger: Well, will you just start by telling us a bit about yourself and how you ended up doing this work?

Nita Belles: I am a recovering workaholic and God told me I needed to quit working for a period of time and started working on my degree, my master's degree in theology. And it was during that time that I encountered the reality of human trafficking and that got to my heart and I just said, "God, I have to do something. What do you want me to do?" That was 2006.

When I asked God that question, I didn't know what I thought God would want me to do, but I certainly didn't want to do what God asked me to do, which was to write a book because I never considered myself a writer. I was never one of those people that wanted to write a book. [00:02:23] But in 2006 there was nothing written on human trafficking in the United States. And so that's what I set out to do.

I published the book twice. The first one was self-published in 2011 and then it was picked up by Baker Books and that was published in 2015.

Laura Dugger: Wow. You are an expert in this area, and I just love for you to educate us. What is the definition of human trafficking and sexual exploitation?

Nita Belles: Well, there are two types of human trafficking. Actually, human trafficking itself wasn't a crime in itself before the year 2000 in the United States. They prosecuted under other crimes, the Mann Act, indentured servitude, forced prostitution, those kinds of crimes. But in 2000 it became an actual crime and defined as human trafficking, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. [00:03:26]

So there are two types of human trafficking basically. Sex trafficking, which is a commercial sex act induced by force, fraud, or coercion in which the person performing the act or in which the person performing the act is under 18. So a commercial sex act is a sex act in which something of value is exchanged for that sex act. So that's sex trafficking.

Labor trafficking is another whole type of trafficking which we don't hear a lot about, we should hear more about. Labor trafficking is using force, fraud, or coercion to recruit, harbor, transport, obtain, or employ a person for labor or services in involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery. And those are right out of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.

Laura Dugger: So how does this work? Specifically with sex trafficking, what tactics do predators use to entice people that they plan to exploit? [00:04:33]

Nita Belles: You know, people kind of talk a lot about kidnapping, and that is hardly ever the case. What happens is the traffickers woo their victims by developing a relationship, and once they get the trust in that relationship, then they begin to control. It's almost identical to domestic violence, where there's the power and control cycle. If you lay domestic violence and human trafficking psychologically side by side, they are almost identical until you get to the motivation. The motivation for domestic violence is that the perpetrator perceives that they love the victim and they don't want to lose them. In human trafficking, it is the perpetrator wants to make money off of the victim, period. And so that's why it's so much more brutal.[00:05:38]

Laura Dugger: I'm wondering now, how do these predators capitalize on social media?

Nita Belles: Oh, good question. Great question, Laura. That is a huge place that predators recruit victims. They go in, they watch someone's profile, they watch until there's a vulnerability, they develop a relationship with that person on social media, and then they swoop in. But it's not just social media. It's at parties, it's through other friends. There's a whole recruiting process that happens within the... A trafficker has a unit of people that he traffics. And I'm going to say “he”, there are some female traffickers. But within that unit, there's a whole system of recruiting that that has to happen. So they're recruiting in malls, they're recruiting... really anywhere they go they're looking for new recruits. [00:06:41]

Laura Dugger: Wow. It sounds like it even starts through relationship and then maybe that gives them an opportunity to use some psychological manipulation tactics. Is that right?

Nita Belles: You're exactly right, Laura. It starts primarily through relationship. And that relationship, oftentimes, when it's a trafficking situation is formed with the intent always of making that person a victim. So they have no investment in the truth from the very beginning of that relationship. The whole point of that relationship is to traffic that person.

Laura Dugger: Wow. I'm thinking of the fellow parents listening as well. We have four young daughters. That's not the only reason this topic is important to me. But even for parents to recognize, is there a certain target age or demographic that makes people more vulnerable to being trafficked? [00:07:40]

Nita Belles: You know, there really isn't. Traffickers just look for a vulnerability. So that vulnerability is maybe that there's a homeless child on the streets. The average age of entry for human trafficking, sex trafficking, is 12 to 14 for girls and 11 to 13 for boys. So there are a lot of children that age who are trafficked. But in some areas, like in our area, I don't think that that is the average age. I've seen children as young as that being trafficked but I don't think that's the average age in our area. I think it's older.

But basically, whether the person is eight years old, or they are, you know, 25 years old, what the trafficker looks for is a vulnerability. Does that person need food? Do they need shelter? Is it somebody from a loving Christian home, but they somehow have been made to feel unloved, either by outside influence or, you know, whatever. Families all have what I like to call stuff. You know, we've all got it, and none of us are perfect. [00:09:08]

So they just look for that vulnerability, that need. The trafficker watches for that. And then when they see the need, they let them know they can fulfill the need. And that is what hooks in the victim to become a victim, the trafficker fulfilling that need and making the victim feel like they are the most important person in the world to them.

Laura Dugger: So what I hear you saying is that nobody's exempt from this coming in contact with someone they know, or love. You've elaborated a little bit where they may recruit people, but where is this trafficking taking place?

Nita Belles: It is taking place everywhere. It's in cities. It's in rural areas. It's in churches. It's in schools. It's really everywhere. There's no place that's really exempt. [00:10:08] I've heard over the years, a lot of people say, Well, I'm sure it's not taking place in our town. Well, do you have internet? If you do, it probably is. So yeah, it takes place everywhere.

Laura Dugger: This is an odd question, but I've always been curious. There's this building in our area that's in a commercial spot where a lot of restaurants are. And there's this building that says massage, and it has a picture of a panda bear there. And there aren't any windows, but it's always flashing the open sign late at night when we've been out to dinner before. And I've just always been curious, would that be something that is a red flag?

Nita Belles: Yes, that would be a red flag. You know, indicators like that, and you're wise, Laura, in being observant for that. A lot of people don't think about it. So good for you for thinking about it. You've obviously taken the time to educate yourself and learn a little about human trafficking. [00:11:13] So you have the ability to recognize red flags when you see them. So yes, absolutely.

Laura Dugger: Well, I appreciate that encouragement, Nita. But I would love to take this a step further. So in a situation like this, when I just have this gut feeling, or something seems off, or we are educated on this topic, how do we notify someone? Who do we call to mention that we wonder if trafficking is occurring? Great question.

Nita Belles: That is the National Human Trafficking Hotline. It's (888) 373-7888. That number is staffed by trained individuals 24-7. You tell them what you see, why you think it is, get as many specific facts as you can, the address, people you see coming and going. If it's like a car out and you say, I think I saw a trafficking activity around that car, get the license plate, a description of who's driving, all of those information that you can get. But even if you don't have it all, call that number and try to tell them what you've seen. [00:12:26]

When you call that number, they're not going to do the investigation. They will notify the local person who has been identified as law enforcement that knows how to respond to human trafficking and give them those facts. So the more facts you can give, the better. And the more people who call, the better. You may not have the whole story, but you may have one fact that they've been waiting for in order to be able to put this case together. So don't ever be afraid to call that number.

Laura Dugger: That is so helpful. And it brings tears to my eyes as I recall a situation that happened when my husband and I were on vacation. I had never seen anything like this. And I wish I had heard this episode before that time, so I would have known what to do.

But we were walking in an unfamiliar place walking to dinner and did end up going through some darker alleys that I think we were off the beaten path. [00:13:33] But there was a female that I noticed, maybe 15 feet away, and she was sitting by a curb, and a young, maybe 20-year-old man walked by and I heard him say, How much? I think I was so shocked and startled. I'm not sure what happened. I turned to my husband and shared what I had just heard.

When I turned around, they were gone. We just stopped and prayed for their situation. But this is so helpful to have these conversations to know that could have been the next step we would have taken. It sounds like it's okay, even if we're wrong. Would you recommend always erring on the side of calling that professional hotline and allowing them to take the further steps?

Nita Belles: Absolutely. In that kind of a situation, you know, it's like, I'm thinking through how could you have gotten a good description of the two people, you could have gotten the location, the time obviously, but it would have been hard and you couldn't have safely taken a picture of them. [00:14:43] So that is something that you can sometimes do. Like with the massage parlor that you've got, if you had a photo of the massage parlor exterior or even anything you saw suspicious, sometimes you can get pictures and send them into the hotline.

Laura Dugger: That's helpful. Are there any other indicators that we could be aware of to notify someone if we're questioning whether or not trafficking is taking place?

Nita Belles: Yeah, yeah. There are a lot of indicators of human trafficking. If you see a lot of activity coming in and out of a home where you've got a lot of men coming and going, and they come for a short period of time and leave, you may see women that stay inside, they may go out periodically, but primarily stay inside, women or girls. People oftentimes think, Oh, this is always a 12-year-old girl. And honestly, it's not. [00:15:53] There are a lot more adult trafficking situations than there are child trafficking situations.

But if you see something like that, where you've got a house where people are coming and going, get the address, call in, take pictures, if you're a neighbor, you can take lots of pictures, but call that in. Also, not always do you want to call the National Human Trafficking Hotline. If you've got a local police department or somebody that you know is in tune with human trafficking, call them. You can call a local police department or sheriff's office and say, who is the detective who oversees the anti-trafficking work and get to that detective information on things. Or if something is in progress, don't bother calling the hotline call 911.

Laura Dugger: And now a brief message from our sponsor.

[00:16:46] <music>

Sponsor: Sam Leman Chevrolet Buick in Eureka has been owned and operated by the Bertschi family for over 25 years. A lot has changed in the car business since Sam and Stephen's grandfather, Sam Leman, opened his first Chevrolet dealership over 55 years ago. If you visit their dealership today, though, you'll find that not everything has changed. They still operate their dealership like their grandfather did, with honesty and integrity.

Sam and Stephen understand that you have many different choices in where you buy or service your vehicle. This is why they do everything they can to make the car-buying process as easy and hassle-free as possible. They are thankful for the many lasting friendships that began with a simple "welcome to Sam Lemans". Their customers keep coming back because they experienced something different.

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[00:18:09] <music>

Laura Dugger: Well, I'm curious about the other side that we may not consider as well. From your interaction, I'm sure you've met pimps along the way too. So what have you learned about them or their typical stories?

Nita Belles: Yeah, you know, again, these are all people, whether they're the victims or the perpetrators. So they all have different stories. But I will say that oftentimes a trafficker, and I like to call them traffickers because pimp is a word that our society has glorified and you know, there's just nothing glorious about this.

But oftentimes they come from families that do this, just like you may have a family that has a grocery store that they pass down for generations. Traffickers pass that, what they consider a trade, down for generations.

So oftentimes the boys are groomed at a very young age to understand how to traffic and the whole attitude about women and being used and that they are possessions, not people. [00:19:22] That is passed down. And so many traffickers come from trafficking families.

Sometimes it is an abuse situation. I have a story in my book where it's abuse situation where he was abused and ended up becoming a trafficker. But he would readily say, you can't blame the abuse because there's a lot of people that were abused and didn't become traffickers. There's a contributor sometimes to it. Sometimes it's just our society has glorified it so much they think it's really cool. And money is always the motivator.

Laura Dugger: Wow. So you've shared that this is taking place everywhere, big cities, small towns. I know I've heard you teach before where you talk about sporting events, and I believe airports are some other high-trafficking places. Are there any fallacies that we need to correct so that we can do our part to stop sex trafficking year-round in all these places? [00:20:28]

Nita Belles: Yes. Thank you for asking that. People talk about Super Bowl. In our backyard has been to the last 13 Super Bowls now. We've been doing anti-trafficking efforts with law enforcement surrounding Super Bowl since 2010.

But we have heard this rumor that Super Bowl is the biggest human trafficking event in the world. I've been to 12. It's not. It is not. But anytime you have a big convention, anytime there's opportunity. Traffickers consider themselves business people and so they will look for opportunity to make money. And they consider, for instance, a Super Bowl or any other large sporting events or conventions, they are people coming together in an atmosphere of having a good time. They are people coming with excess cash, and they come in a party atmosphere to have, like I said, a good time. [00:21:36] And that is something that traffickers will capitalize on.

Laura Dugger: It makes me wonder about college campuses as well. Do you see that a lot?

Nita Belles: Absolutely. In fact, in one college campus before the newspaper was aware, the college newspaper, they actually let some traffickers get on the college newspaper in an article they featured where this was a rap singer recruiting rap singers, models, that kind of thing. So the college newspaper actually advertised for the traffickers without knowing it.

Laura Dugger: I even remember being in college and I worked for our newspaper. So I remember looking through the things that were in there and often in the jobs section, there were times that they posted looking for models. And it looked very sketchy to me. They would allude that it wasn't required nudity, but there were scandalous poses that they would want you to do for these pictures. [00:22:44] I just remember being naive and very surprised by that, that it could even be advertised. Would that be something?

Nita Belles: Absolutely. That's a huge red flag. Here's another thing that's happening on college campuses now. It's very dangerous. It's sometimes trafficking. Oftentimes it's not, but it certainly is a precursor to trafficking. It's a whole thing that's happening among the college-age right now. It's sugar daddy, sugar baby.

So normally a young girl, college girl, young woman would be solicited or would solicit on a sugar daddy, sugar baby website. Men get on there that are willing to pay for favors. Young women get on there that are willing to do those favors maybe for their rent, maybe for their college tuition. [00:23:43] Some of them don't turn to trafficking. Sometimes they do turn to trafficking. It certainly is a grooming for trafficking that can happen, maybe not even by the potential trafficker. But that kind of activity is certainly a warm-up for trafficking.

Laura Dugger: And that grooming reminds me of a previous episode with Dr. Diane Langberg, where she talks about the frog in the pot of boiling water or warm water that eventually is boiling. So this grooming is the slow steps of wooing the person, not just coming and trafficking right away, but maybe spending a lot of money, spending time giving compliments. Is that right?

Nita Belles: That is right. That is right. And that person, again, may not end up being their trafficker, but it certainly does the groom and the person who has been a sugar baby for becoming a trafficker. Because oftentimes in the sugar daddy, sugar baby situation, the sugar baby ends up being the loser in the situation because the sugar daddy decides to move on, and here she is with debt or whatever that she can't pay, and sugar daddy is gone. [00:25:03] And so she is caught needing money. And that's the next thing.

Laura Dugger: We love our audience. You are the friendliest people. If you ever have questions or if you want to become a sponsor, or you would like to learn more about becoming a patron, please reach out to us in an email sent to info at TheSavvySauce.com. You can also connect with us on social media at The Savvy Sauce. It's such a complex, evil situation.

So, Nita, how do people actually recover from trafficking? Or are they often rescued from these situations?

Nita Belles: So sometimes they are recovered and they go out and they come back and they go out and they come back because that's how the psyche works, trying to break away from this trauma bond that they have with the trafficker. It's not usually somebody swooping down to rescue them, because most times that becomes not good for the victim. [00:26:07]

Anytime you've got a hero in a situation, the attention and the focus is on the hero, not on the victim. So we want the victims to have the main stage. We want people surviving this to have the main stage rather than the people that recovered them. I'm kind of speaking to a mindset that is out there that I like to debunk because it's not valid.

So in a domestic violence situation, they say that the victim leaves seven times before she actually really leaves. In human trafficking, because it's so much more traumatic, you can imagine how more complex that is and how many more times it may take.

So there are some things that we can do to stop trafficking. One of them is to talk about it. All traffickers ask is that we be quiet about this, because if we do, they can just keep on doing this horrific crime. [00:27:11] So we need to talk about this. I'm going to ask that anybody hearing this broadcast tell three people about what they heard today, because you can make a difference just in that simple act.

Laura Dugger: Absolutely. I'm fearful to ask this question. But how does this affect Christians? Because I wonder if you have stories about people who call themselves Christians, and yet they're involved in this too.

Nita Belles: Unfortunately, I've got more stories than I could possibly tell. Pornography is a part of human trafficking. 67% of all pastors are entertaining pornography. It's a huge problem that we've got to talk about. I was listening in the hotel yesterday, just the TV was on in the background, and it was mainstream TV, and it was on a show. And it was like, Well, I can sit and look at these pinups for hours, and that's the best part of my day, I'm going to have to admit. And it's like, we've got to stop that. That is accepting exploiting another individual. And it's not okay. And we've got our society has to stop that. [00:28:29]

So it is quite common in the church. It is quite common, sadly, that there are people in the church who buy sex. So yeah, it sadly is. I won't go into details on that but being in the church isn't a guarantee.

Laura Dugger: It sounds like even at a macro level, our culture is being groomed to accept this and that seeping even into the churches and so to be wise and aware and discerning.

Nita Belles: Yes, yes, absolutely. We've got to be wise and aware and discerning. And again, we've got to talk about it. We've got to talk about pornography, we've got to talk about human trafficking. I did a presentation to a youth group one time and one of the fathers whose two children attended a local high school was shocked that I used the word "pimp" and use the word prostitution in church and said that that was the first time his children had ever heard that word. [00:29:38]

Well, that father needs to spend a day at school because I promise you those children are hearing that all the time. And we've got to talk about it in our youth groups. We've got to tell the kids this happens and Jesus has better for you and give them other alternatives.

Laura Dugger: What model do you believe Jesus lays out for us to follow today?

Nita Belles: Oh, wow. That is one word: love. I think that that is probably the measure of our success in any situation is love. So if I see somebody that I believe is being trafficked on the street, where is my heart? Is my heart pity, or is my heart, that's a real person, I wonder how she feels, or I wonder how he feels? And what would I want, what would I need if I was in that situation? That's the love of God, because God looks into hearts and gives according to love. [00:30:54]

Laura Dugger: So will you share some success stories where you've witnessed evil being overcome with good?

Nita Belles: Oh, yeah. I will talk about a survivor that I've worked with for the last probably eight to ten years. She was trafficked first by her mother when she was three years old in satanic ritualistic abuse. That is the worst form of trafficking that I've ever seen. I won't go into the details, but it's awful. And she experienced that.

Today she is in her late 20s, and she is still recovering, which is a lifetime recovery for somebody who's experienced that kind of trauma. But every day gets better. When I first got to know her, she was attempting suicide multiple times a week and talking about it multiple times a day. [00:31:55] She's gotten past that now. She's a lovely, wonderful individual. Who could not love her! But the treasure that she is to all those around her is magnificent. Somebody that experiences that level of depravity certainly has more compassion than someone who has not experienced very negative things in life.

Actually, I can tell you another story of our new executive director in our backyard. She was trafficked from about 9 years old to 11 years old by a neighbor boy who came from a trafficking family. She is now in her late 30s, and she is married, has three lovely daughters, and is an amazing individual. She's doing a phenomenal job within our backyard and making a difference all over the world, literally. So there's always a recovery that's ongoing, but there are beautiful success stories. [00:33:08]

Laura Dugger: And for these survivors, where do they go next after they escape this bondage?

Nita Belles: You know, every story is different. I don't know that there is a next. It's out and back and out and back and out and back too many times. And then it's three steps forward, two steps back, three steps forward, three steps back, three steps forward, four steps back, five steps forward, one step back. It's just a long process.

Laura Dugger: And is there any scripture that God's revealed or lessons that he's taught you on this topic throughout the years?

Nita Belles: Isaiah 61:1-3 is a scripture that God has brought to me many, many times. It's kind of my life scripture that God has given me. It just talks about those that are hurting need a hand. He need us to identify with their hurt, not not look at them, sit next to them and walk it with them. [00:34:17] So that would be a scripture.

And then the other thing that as a life lesson I think that God has taught me is that I can't do it all, that I have to empower others and let go. Because if you try to think about all that's going on, it will absolutely overwhelm you. There's just too much. You just have to empower others and let it go.

Laura Dugger: Well, I've got my phone pulled up here. Would you mind if I read Isaiah 61:3 in the NIV?

Nita Belles: Sure.

Laura Dugger: It says, "And provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor."

Nita Belles: Yes.

Laura Dugger: So that is beautiful. Thank you for bringing that scripture to mind. I'm also curious, why do you encourage people that getting angry is not enough?

Nita Belles: Anger is a stage we go through when we learn the realities of human trafficking. But it's a stage. And if we don't push through that stage, we won't be effective. So we've got to push through that stage and find out what it is that God is asking us to do and do it.

It's like anything else in life. If somebody has been wronged or sees somebody else wronged, anger only goes so far. You've got to have a plan to make a difference. And that anger will eat you up and it won't do others any good. So anger is okay. It's just we've got to press through it and get past it. [00:36:11]

Laura Dugger: I think that makes so much sense because that could end in consuming you with anger and, like you said, not being productive. Or the other side, if your anger eventually turns into apathy, that doesn't work either. So it's better to be prompted by love. When we're prompted by love because of God empowering us with that ability to love, what can we do as the church and community and families and even as individuals?

Nita Belles: Yeah, great question, Laura. We need to talk about it. When we talked about that. They asked us that we not talk about it, so, yes, we need to talk about it. Here's another thing that anyone can do. If you have a cell phone, put the National Human Trafficking Hotline in your cell phone. (888) 373-7888. Just put it in your cell phone. And if you see something, say something.

A third thing that somebody could do to take action is get on our website, inourbackyard.org. People may have seen our freedom stickers inside restroom stalls. Sometimes that's the only place a victim of human trafficking is alone and can ask for help. [00:37:23]

So In Our Backyard, if you get on our website, there is a form you can fill out. Ask for those freedom stickers, we'll send them out to you for free. The only thing we ask is that you put them up appropriately, and we'll send those instructions. You can actually be a part. We have validated stories of people who have seen freedom stickers, called the National Human Trafficking Hotline, and are free today living valid, successful lives because they have seen the freedom stickers. So anyone can do that and be a freedom sticker. We call you a freedom sticker hero if you put that up.

Laura Dugger: I appreciate that next step or practical application. Are there any other ways that people can learn more from you or connect with you further through your website?

Nita Belles: Absolutely. Inourbackyard.org, there's a form there. Just get on and ask whatever you want. [00:38:24] There are other opportunities. We have what we call sip-and-give living room parties where you can have coffee or whatever it is that you want to have and talk about human trafficking. And we will help you do that and educate your friends about human trafficking. Maybe there's somebody that you've wanted to talk to about it. Organize a sip-and-give, and you can do that right in your own living room.

Laura Dugger: I think that's very helpful. We will link to all of that in our show notes today. I just have one final question for you today because we are called The Savvy Sauce because "savvy" is synonymous with practical knowledge or discernment. And so as my final question for you, what is your savvy sauce?

Nita Belles: Oh, am I acting out of love? I'm such a human person, and I have sometimes judgmental thoughts or other thoughts other than love. And I think that that is my savvy sauce. Am I acting out of love? [00:39:27] And that's not just with trafficking. That's with everything. Telemarketers, oh, my gosh, that's the hard one. Am I acting out of love?

Laura Dugger: What a great savvy sauce, that simple question, am I acting out of love? That is wonderful. You are full of practical and actionable next steps and yet so much wisdom. And the Lord, I'm so grateful that He's called you to this work and that you are faithfully loving others well through this and inspiring us to all come alongside and do our part as well. So thank you very much for being my guest today, Nita.

Nita Belles: Oh, thank you, Laura, for having me. And thank you for the great things you are doing, too. What a great podcast. Thanks for having me on.

Laura Dugger: Ever since launching this podcast in 2018, our team has tried to release at least one episode every Monday morning. In addition, we also launched a secret bonus episode for paying patrons on the first of every month. [00:40:27] But in 2022, we're changing things up a bit. We will continue to release the bonus episode for paying patrons. But on those weeks when it's the first of the month, that will be the only episode going live, which means next week on Monday, there will not be a brand new episode available for the general public.

If you've benefited from any messages on The Savvy Sauce, we would encourage you to support our work through joining Patreon. You can go to thesavvysauce.com, click on the Patreon tab, click "Join Patreon here", and then follow the prompts so that you can have access to all these bonus episodes and downloadable scripture cards. We hope you join us there. Otherwise, we'll see you back here in two weeks.

One more thing before you go. Have you heard the term "gospel" before? It simply means good news. And I want to share the best news with you. But it starts with the bad news. Every single one of us were born sinners and God is perfect and holy, so He cannot be in the presence of sin. [00:41:30] Therefore, we're separated from Him.

This means there's absolutely no chance we can make it to heaven on our own. So for you and for me, it means we deserve death and we can never pay back the sacrifice we owe to be saved. We need a savior. But God loved us so much, He made a way for His only Son to willingly die in our place as the perfect substitute.

This gives us hope of life forever in right relationship with Him. That is good news. Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live and died in our place for our sin. This was God's plan to make a way to reconcile with us so that God can look at us and see Jesus.

We can be covered and justified through the work Jesus finished if we choose to receive what He has done for us. Romans 10:9 says that if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. [00:42:35]

So would you pray with me now? Heavenly, Father, thank You for sending Jesus to take our place. I pray someone today right now is touched and chooses to turn their life over to You. Will You clearly guide them and help them take their next step in faith to declare You as Lord of their life? We trust You to work and change their lives now for eternity. In Jesus name, we pray, amen.

If you prayed that prayer, you are declaring Him for me, so me for Him, you get the opportunity to live your life for Him.

At this podcast, we are called Savvy for a reason. We want to give you practical tools to implement the knowledge you have learned. So you're ready to get started?

First, tell someone. Say it out loud. Get a Bible. The first day I made this decision my parents took me to Barnes and Noble to get the Quest NIV Bible and I love it. Start by reading the book of John. [00:43:34]

Get connected locally, which basically means just tell someone who is part of the church in your community that you made a decision to follow Christ. I'm assuming they will be thrilled to talk with you about further steps such as going to church and getting connected to other believers to encourage you.

We want to celebrate with you too. So feel free to leave a comment for us if you made a decision for Christ. We also have show notes included where you can read Scripture that describes this process.

Finally, be encouraged. Luke 15:10 says, "In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." The heavens are praising with you for your decision today.

If you've already received this good news, I pray that you have someone else to share it with today. You are loved and I look forward to meeting you here next time.

Welcome to The Savvy Sauce

Practical chats for intentional living

A faith-based podcast and resources to help you grow closer to Jesus and others. Expect encouragement, surprises, and hope here. Each episode offers lively interviews with fascinating guests such as therapists, authors, non-profit founders, and business leaders.

They share their best practices and savvy tips we can replicate to make our daily life and relationships more enjoyable!