By Holly Schilling
Many of you have seen the new movie The Sound of Freedom. If you haven’t yet, here’s a brief synopsis: After rescuing a boy from ruthless child traffickers, a federal agent learns the boy's sister is still captive and decides to embark on a dangerous mission to save her. With time running out, he quits his job and journeys deep into the Colombian jungle, putting his life on the line to free her from a fate worse than death.
Based on a true story, the movie stars Jim Caviezel who plays Tim Ballard, a former government agent who embarks on a mission to rescue children from sex traffickers in Colombia. It is produced by Angel Studios—the same company that created The Chosen, the very popular three season series depicting Jesus and his followers.
Covering such a difficult subject, the movie is very well made. It is utterly heart wrenching without being unnecessarily graphic. While it has mixed reviews, it is certainly very popular (its latest gross revenue was 8.5 million since its opening on July 4th) and it is definitely raising awareness on child trafficking and the message that, “God’s children are not for sale.”
I think the hardest part for Christians is what to do when they walk out of this movie. You’ve seen this distressing movie and been told at the end: There are more humans trapped today in slavery than at any point in human history, including when slavery was legal. You’re angry, sad, and helplessly asking yourself, What do I do now?
While we may not be able to go to Columbia to rescue children, there are some places near us that we could become involved with. A few for you to research are Vista Maria, an organization that focuses on healing and advocacy for human trafficking victims, and Michigan Abolitionist Project, (MAP), a group working to prevent and end human trafficking in Michigan and beyond. You can help by donating, volunteering, and especially just educating yourself and others on this very real problem.
Vista Maria even seeks volunteers to act as “Heartmovers,” people who perform ministry services and prayer groups for youth, serving 2 to 4 hours a month and offering a moral compass and spiritual teaching for the abuse survivors in their residential program. Isn’t that what we should all be to all people we meet; a heart mover. Helping people move from the greatest slavery of all—the slavery of sin and death—to the freedom found only in Christ. Ultimately, God’s grace is the sound of freedom everyone in our world needs to hear.