Find, Rescue, Embrace

By Michael and Denise Bartel

There are a few things that happen in life that are forever stamped on your brain. Some are private moments, good or bad, and some are shared experiences. I remember the space shuttle exploding, my first kiss, my wedding (and wedding night), 9/11, the birth of my kids as though it happened yesterday; the sights, the smells and the sounds are all seared in my brain.

One of these moments came when I heard that slavery still existed in the world today.

It was during the 1994-95 school year and my wife and I were directing the XA ministry at Purdue University. God had given us great favor with the sizeable international student population there and we interacted with many of the students and offered prayer for them and their country. One day I was talking with a student from Africa when he began to explain the plight of those trapped in slavery in his country, and my whole world changed. It seemed surreal hearing those words come out of his mouth. Why had I not heard of this, where was the news coverage, the outrage from the Christian community?! I was very emotionally impacted by this conversation, so my wife and I began researching and praying about what could be done. Can you go to college and take Abolition 101? Who was doing anything about this? We had to be involved as the numbers of people forced into slavery were staggering with over 27 million slaves worldwide. What skills could we use and how would we start? God answered our prayers and our questions by allowing us to work with Project Rescue. Project Rescue is an Assemblies of God World Missions outreach to victims of forced prostitution in Southern Asia and other Eurasia countries. We were able to see people of faith with various gifts from backgrounds of engineering to Bible school and everyone in between lay their life down to bring life to those with no hope. It was inspiring to see regular men and women of faith being used in such an extraordinary way.

God has moved us out of Southern Asia and is using us to start a ministry in the metro northeast section of the United States. Up to 75,000 slaves are trafficked into our country every year from every continent and dozens of countries. Slavery is a big issue here. Slaves have been found by law enforcement agencies in New York City from 24 different countries in the last 18 months. A believer who works for the FBI and Homeland Security told us that 14,000 slaves are brought into the country each year through JFK airport in New York City. 14,000! Through one airport! This believer is a huge blessing to us and is helping us as we began to network with different law enforcement agencies. The U.S. does not have any long-term care facilities for victims and this will be our primary goal for the near future. We are calling the ministry f.r.e.e. international, an acronym for “find. rescue. embrace. empower.”

When Mother Teresa was asked how she could work with the destitute and unloved everyday, she replied, “First, I meditate on who Jesus is, and then I go out and look for him.” I like this because she emphasizes Christ and his heart for the poor and oppressed, “As you’ve done it unto the least of these you have done it unto me,” but also emphasizes the importance of looking, really seeking out those in great need. Luke 19:10 tells us that Christ came to SEEK and to SAVE the lost. This is something for us to embrace. It is not enough to know about the need but to allow the love of God in us to compel us to SEEK out those who are lost, oppressed and enslaved with the intent to bring life. That is why hundreds of you chose to give a year to missions and are praying about a lifetime, it is why missionaries leave their home and head to Eurasia and its 2,651 unreached people groups and it is why my wife and I started f.r.e.e. international. Be compelled. Go with God, but go … seek … love.

For more information on f.r.e.e. international or human trafficking/modern-day slavery contact Mike and Denise Bartel at thebartels@pactec.net or 646-315-5832.