In the footsteps of Wilberforce

For all my life I looked to people who I believed changed the world. I always dreamed of being a part of these groups of people when I grew up and now that I'm an adult, I've wondered how much have I actually learned from them.

One person who I really look up to and consider an inspirational person in my life is William Wilberforce. If this name does not sound familiar then I highly recommend you researching him since he was a key person in the abolitionist movement in England (By the way, they ended slavery in 1807, which was way before we did in America).

So why am I mentioning this? Because for some odd reason I cannot get the call that John Wesley (the founder of the United Methodist Church) gave to Wilberforce. This call to action was the very last letter that John Wesley sent to anyone, which I think is pretty cool because of the significance of it.

Balam, February 24, 1791
Dear Sir:
Unless the divine power has raised you us to be as Athanasius contra mundum, I see not how you can go through your glorious enterprise in opposing that execrable villainy which is the scandal of religion, of England, and of human nature. Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you? Are all of them together stronger than God? O be not weary of well doing! Go on, in the name of God and in the power of his might, till even American slavery (the vilest that ever saw the sun) shall vanish away before it.
Reading this morning a tract wrote by a poor African, I was particularly struck by that circumstance that a man who has a black skin, being wronged or outraged by a white man, can have no redress; it being a "law" in our colonies that the oath of a black against a white goes for nothing. What villainy is this?
That he who has guided you from youth up may continue to strengthen you in this and all things, is the prayer of, dear sir,
Your affectionate servant, John Wesley

Wesley pretty much said that you will be going through troubling times and this job that you are dealt with is a difficult one, but you must fight it. They both saw injustice in the world and wanted to stop it.

This type of call to action really reminds me of Esther when her cousin Mordecai persuades her by saying that she may have been placed in the position she was in to help save her people. Also, if she didn't step up, then you might lose your entire family.

So going through difficult times and challenges may help you in the future? So going through situations where you thought you had all control in and then completely lost it and felt like you could not truly voice your opinion is a good thing? So seeing injustice is a good thing because it shows that you are not turning a blind eye?

All of these things are things that I deal with on a regular basis. So what am I doing that is causing a real impact? 

Random fact about me is that I consider myself a modern day abolitionist. If you are aren't familiar with this term, then it means that I am a person that supports movements like International Justice Mission and Love146 just to name a few. I, like Wilberforce, want to make sure that all people are free and are treated equally. I am not ignorant to the fact that there is modern day slavery. In fact there are more slaves today than there were when the slave trade that went on.

The last figure I saw said that there are about 27 million people (men, women and children) who are slaves today. This honestly kills me inside and one of the many reasons why I specifically follow and support Love146. They specifically focus on "The abolition of child trafficking and exploitation."

So once, you are probably wondering why I am bringing this up.

When I was 17 years old, I met a missionary who worked with these girls who saved from the sex trade and have forever been changed from the stories she told me. I thought the work she did was amazing, but I knew that the work like that was not best for me. I'm not necessarily the most compassionate person and really freeze up in situations that I don't know how to deal with, but I still want to make a difference, especially n this area.

Someone needs to fight this and not everyone is called to go to another country and actually be on the forefront of the action. There is also a need for people at home spreading the news that this is going on.

I used to be so passionate on this subject, telling everyone I could about this. I did not want anyone to not know about child trafficking, because I believe it is a scandal against human nature. No child should have their childhood taken from them from these villains.

So take a few minutes and watch this clip. Just Imagine what it is like to be one of those kids and imagine what we can do to stop this.