New Years Day has come and gone and most of us are still holding strong to our New Years resolutions. Here at Love146, our mission has always been the same, "Abolition and restoration. To combat child trafficking and exploitation with the unexpected and restore survivors with excellence." We do not change this in the New Year, but rather, we remember it and remind each other of the immeasurable importance of that mission and the greater hope and possibility that it can be accomplished. Sometimes the best resolutions are the same each year. Why? Because those are usually the ones that are lifelong pursuits, like staying healthy, loving in bigger and better ways, or challenging ourselves to be better at what we do. We are committed to our mission of abolition and restoration. We believe in it wholeheartedly and trust in the heartbreaking and joyful moments but always glorious journey.
For me, speaking on a personal level, this mission goes far beyond the confines of "work" (however honorable someone might think it to be) and reaches deep into my heart. It is personal to me on so many levels, the most impacting of them being my relationship with Jesus. His gospel, the one about Him dying on a cross for the sake of our lives, compels us to do something about the injustices of this world. Above anyone else, it is the Church's responsibility. Not only is this the very root reason of why I do what I do, but it is the very reason I am able to. I can do nothing a part from His grace to do so nor can any of us make a lasting difference in our world without He being at the center of it all. Let me make myself clear, though. You don't have to be a lover of Jesus Christ to do the work He called every one of us to do, all are welcome in the work of abolition. No matter who you are, it stands to reason that, as the great Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly." Therefore, to love one another in tangible ways, standing with one another in the pursuit of abolition, is something more than just those who love Jesus are capable of doing. And I believe that we all would agree!
So this New Year, instead of coming up with a new resolution for Love146 Dayton Task Force, I am simply reminding us all of what exactly it is that we are fighting for. We are fighting for the multitudes of young children, women and men, that are enslaved and held in bondage by the fierce evil of human and sex trafficking. The 27 million individuals who are yet to be rescued. For the little girl who's number was 146, who despite her current enslavement, had fight left in her eyes, and life still flowing from them. She is the reason we are here. She is the reason we do what we do. 146 represents the masses of the beautiful lives we seek to change, to rescue, to love, to restore.
This is Love146. This is revolution. This is the mission of our day. & I cannot be more grateful to be a part of it with you.
Alexa Joy
Love146 Dayton Task Force
Social Media Manager
Love146 Dayton Task Force
Social Media Manager
