Welcome to the Sex Trade
Posted on Wednesday, June 5, 2019 by
By Jill Meyer, Parent Life Director
“Kari” was only 14 years old when she ran away from home. Home was not a very nice place. Mom was an addict and there was abuse. She convinced a friend to run with her that day.
Little did she know it would change her life forever.
As it got dark, the friend chickened out and decided to go home, leaving Kari on a bench at the mall alone. A short time later a well-groomed man in a suit with a briefcase stopped to talk to her. He explained that it wasn't safe for her to be there outside and alone. He shared that he and his wife often offered young girls a place to spend the night off the streets. Kari went with him.
Kari doesn't know if it was what she ate or drank. Within 24 hours she woke up in another city. She had been drugged. She proceeded to be gang raped. Welcome to the sex trade, little Kari.
Fast forward 2 years. Kari is pregnant and somehow gets away. Allowed to, we think, because of the pregnancy. Back home now she finds out about Parent Life and calls for help.
I spend several days helping Kari get connected with resources in the Denver area – counseling specific to girls out of the sex trade, a safe place to live and have the baby, a possible mentor.
Is this a typical story for our Parent Life Ministry? No, but more common than we would likely think. I hope it SCARED YOU LIKE IT DID ME!!!! Please pray for our ministry to young girls who are the victims of this evil as well as other trauma!
Thank you for being a part of the ongoing conversation with youth in our city and helping us share God’s story. It's our honor to be the storytellers on your behalf who meet kids right where they are and give life to their story.
Providing young people in our community with the opportunity to make an informed decision to be a follower of Jesus Christ and become part of a local church.