“It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.” – Jesus [1]
Imagine as a father, taking your son and daughter to a “talent show” in response to a promising opportunity that came knocking at your door. Your children scurry about in anticipation of an exciting adventure ahead. You try to keep them still long enough to clean and dress them up. You put on your only suit and drive them to the address provided and walk them up the stairs to the entrance where you hear the festive music playing loudly. The door opens, and your children are welcomed by a vibrant female who embraces them with enthusiasm and excitement.
The atmosphere changes quickly as the lady tells you to come back later to pick up your children. Your mood drops. Do you call the whole thing off and walk away? Or do you trust that your children will be in good hands? To your annoyance, you choose the latter, so as not to disappoint your kids in their eagerness for attention and childhood play. You give them time to enjoy the promised food, cake, and fun. You choose to trust, willingly, and… regrettably.
A few hours later, you arrive to pick up your children and they are gone. The room is empty, and no one is to be found. The light remaining is a mere flicker. Silence screams loudly as the darkness seeps in. The nightmare begins.
This is an account of a true story that is documented in the recent block-buster sellout motion picture, Sound of Freedom, starring Jim Caviezel, who plays Tim Ballard, Founder and CEO of Operation Underground Railroad.
Tim Ballard left his job as an undercover special agent with the Department of Homeland Security where he worked for over a decade in the child crime division. Tim’s work was restricted from rescuing sex-trafficked children that he knew of who were out of the country. He could not live with that, and in a critical moment of decision, Tim, with the support of his wife, chose to risk everything so he could find and save children who were being ravaged by criminals of horror for their own perverted pleasure, power, and greed.
The movie, Sound of Freedom, takes the viewer through an intense sting operation that Tim was involved in, rescuing and uniting a brother and sister with one another and their father, and freeing other children as well.
The Sound of Freedom is an action-packed drama that unveils the harrowing reality that exists among us and in our nation, and it is heart wrenching.
Perhaps it would be easier to look away, thinking to yourself that this kind of horror only takes place in Third World countries. But think again.
The truth of the matter is millions of children are sold into slavery for sexual exploitation right here in the United States. It is the second most profitable illegal industry— second only to the drug trade.
While drugs are sold in a single transaction, human beings can be sold over and over again. The costs are low, and the profits are extremely high. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, human trafficking has been reported in all 50 states.[2] The International Labor Organization estimates that profits from human trafficking and forced labor are $150 billion annually.[3] These children are so incredibly young, the most innocent of victims and their lives are being sacrificed for the darkest of souls.
Alarmingly, the United States is the number one consumer of child rape material, and we are quickly rising to becoming number one in the production of child pornography. Tim Ballard refers to this as the “economy of pedophilia” in his extensive interview with Jordan Peterson where he talks about his life’s work.[4] The Sound of Freedom exposes the truth and shines a light in a world of darkness.
Most recently, with the unmitigated border crossings into our nation, over 85,000 children are unaccounted for. Tragically, this is due to a slack approach from our federal government to vet the identity of their “sponsors.” These children are “processed” and then released into the custody of criminal traffickers who take possession of them as property for sale. Left behind on an open border are the hopes of rescuing them from the formidable horrors that lie in wait. Congressional hearings continue to take place today to mitigate this crisis that feeds the lusts of these perpetrators.[5]
These statistics are staggering. The egregious and unimaginable abuses to our children are exposed through the movie Sound of Freedom. The riveting reality is inescapable. We are compelled to pull our heads out of the sand and face the truth.
Although this film was produced five years ago, it was held up in litigation with Disney who refused to feature it in movie theatres. Finally, the movie rights were obtained by Angel Studios, and they had one goal: To expose the truth of sex-trafficking to 2 million viewers to account for an estimated 2 million children here in the United States that are currently missing from their homes and loved ones. To date, this film has seen an excess of $125 million in ticket sales and word is spreading fast.
Today, Tim Ballard continues the fight of good vs evil, light against darkness. Through Operation Underground Railroad, Tim and his teams enter the darkest places of our world to rescue and free children who are enslaved. He holds nothing back in exposing the horrors he faces. Through his Blog, YouTube and Podcast platforms, you can watch rescue operations, hear testimonies of survivors, and learn more about the crisis of human sex trafficking, the fastest growing international trade organization that the world has ever seen.
By watching Sound of Freedom, you too can be aware of the alarming sex-trafficking and human smuggling crisis that besets our nation and our world. Do not look away or pretend it does not exist. This could be your child. Learn how you can join Tim in the battle to rescue and save the lives of these innocent victims. God’s Children are Not for Sale.
_____________________________________________
[1] Luke 17:2 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2017&version=NKJV
[2] National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Child Sex Trafficking Overview https://www.missingkids.org/content/dam/missingkids/pdfs/CST%20Identification%20Resource.pdf
[3] International Labor Organization https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_800090/lang–en/index.htm
[4] Jordan B. Peterson: The Fight Against Worldwide Child Slavery & the Sex Trade | Jim Caviezel and Tim Ballard | EP 372 https://youtu.be/rTBGNEliczc
[5] Rep. Cammack Torches HHS Sec. Becerra Over Missing Migrant Children https://youtu.be/HljzAu9MgEo
Forbes: Senate Republicans Accuse Biden of Allowing Human Trafficking Through Border Policy https://youtu.be/t2zcMQdwtZ0
Resources
- Angel Studios: https://ourrescue.org/
- Operation Underground Railroad (OUR): https://ourrescue.org/
- OUR Blog: https://ourrescue.org/blog
- OUR You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7PuxxvmPNE
- OUR Podcast – In the Trenches: https://ourrescue.org/
- Sound of Freedom Showtimes: https://rb.gy/wehzv
- UNICEF USA. Gould, H. (2017, January 13). What Fuels Human Trafficking. UNICEF in Action. https://www.unicefusa.org/stories/what-fuels-human-trafficking