LIVING
SPIRITUAL LIFE DEVELOPMENT
Mission Possible: Anti–Human Trafficking A social justice ministry by MAJOR A. A. MARGARETA IVARSSON
A tri–fold adventure has impacted my social–justice journey; being a female leader with two passports (Sweden/USA), serving in lay and ordained ministry as a Salvationist influenced by Scandinavian Ecumenism and Wesleyan love, and accompanied by degrees in music, ministry, and spiritual formation. Most recently, my journey has touched the margins of society in New York City through P.E.A.R.L. Essence Outreach, an effort of The Salvation Army that focuses on illicit massage parlors and strip clubs where women and girls are often exploited for sex. Our mission is to offer first–step services to empower women who are highly vulnerable to trafficking because of extreme poverty, trauma, immigration status, and other social issues. T h rou g h t he e y e s of P.E.A.R.L. Essence Outreach,
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we learn to serve out of our experienced faith. We come face–to–face with trafficked survivors, who often define themselves as lost causes by default. Nonetheless, we convey that they are the crown of God’s creation; “Purposed, Empowered, Appreciated, Respected, and Loved” (P.E.A.R.L.). Surprisingly, they often already know that God loves them. They typically offer up a “God Bless you” before we part company. The ultimate invitation to lived theology is through
personal and corporate transformation in the “real” world. We educate ourselves and debrief our efforts together with volunteers and ministers in training at the Salvation Army’s College for Officer Training in Suffern, N.Y. In this space of grace, our inherited bias meets its antidote in the call to welcome others as sent by God with something to teach us. In these moments, we surrender to practicing the ways of Jesus, who had no time for those who rejected His initial invitation, while He commands us to go out and find those people who would respond positively (Matthew 22:1–14). Our talk becomes a credible walk, and worthy of our intellectual and spiritual efforts. Many people aspire to a seat at the table of power during meetings about anti–human trafficking. Few are willing to
sacrifice time spent receiving training in this discipline and give up a night’s sleep to hand out warm gloves, offer the ministry of presence, and share Kingdom hope where traffickers have their heyday. Occasionally, a survivor may reject a small gift or a word of appreciation due to a feeling of unworthiness. This interaction sometimes triggers tears of sadness among volunteers. Why? Because somewhere deep inside of us we have all had moments when we’ve defined ourselves as something other than beloved children of God. Our hurts and wounds are wrapped up in the fact that “My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together” said Bishop Desmond Tutu. Human beings share in the common journey as survivors of personal trauma.
Volume 8 Number 4, 2022
