Stopping sex trafficking at home
Interview with Pastor Gwendolyn Cook by Terrence ClarkIt’s the plot of some movie. It begins. A young heiress or daughter of some billionaire is abducted from an event she attended. She snuck out wanting to be regular for a night, only to be snatched away inside an unmarked van, trucked to some off radar warehouse, gagged and bound, waiting for the ransom to be paid. Miraculously, she is saved by the relentless hero, come to her rescue, after the first ransom and release failed. Sometimes, depending on the writer, she is never seen again, until later in the script and life, when she has been pimped into a scandalous woman. A victim turned criminal.
Seen on the screen, but more tragic, manifest in reality---tribes of people hijacked from country and home, some sold by their own kindred. Races of humanity propelled into hard labor and bondage taken to faraway lands to forget their own. Generations have even been taught to fantasize these ideas in childhood verse. Rapunzel, Hansel & Gretel, Belle, and others---now sometimes the stories of Disney musicals, may really be exposés of human trafficking. At home, not in a nursery fable, is found this articles theme. I met Pastor Gwendolyn Ann Cook at a business encounter meeting sponsored by Leah Robinson’s Soar---a consortium of businesses, ministries, and organizations coming together to further each other’s impact. Pastor Cook was the first presenter. Her organization topic was not what you usually hear at these type of events. She sparked my interest and accountability, inspiring this interview. The first acknowledgment, of what she and her husband were doing, was that it was definitely ministry. “We have a mentoring program. A lot of people ask me, began the director, ‘what does WWITS stand for?’ It stands for Women Walking In The Spirit. It’s a youth and female mentoring program to help young girls that are faced with unsteady decisions, to get an opportunity, to turn around and go the right direction.” |
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"The ministry started in 2009 in northern New Jersey. “I was speaking at a church, I believe in Beverly, New Jersey. A young lady came up after the service and said to me, ‘you really need to speak to my girls.’”
“I said, okay. ‘She continued, my girls are in prison and they really, really need to hear you.’” “I said, okay, again. You set it up and I’ll be there. After about a week, she called me back. She set it up for me to come into a juvenile prison, which is The Female Secure Care Intake Facility, in Bordentown, New Jersey. I was able to go inside the prison and sit down and talk to the girls that were incarcerated. Believe it or not, I didn't know at that time that it was that many young, baby girls incarcerated. "I'm sitting there. I'm talking to the girls. I'm hearing how they became incarcerated and where they were from. As the girls were telling me, it appeared that ninety-eight percent of the girls were from the city of Camden, New Jersey. It was then, I knew that we had to do something. At that time, I guess there had to be about twenty or thirty female youths that were incarcerated. |
"On my way home, talking to my husband, I said, my goodness, we have to do something. So we began a mentoring program inside the prison. We were going in bi-weekly and spending time with the girls. As we ministered there, I saw that so many of them that were getting out were the ones that were getting new charges, because they didn't want to get out. They were continually coming back, being reincarcerated.
"So I said again, we have to do something. That's when we put together a program that mentored them once they came out of the institutions. We became a strong support system for them, helping them to get acclimated back into the community. Support was there for them, whether they needed to go to school, or whether they needed housing―a place to live. I helped them, to try to stay out of trouble."
The Cooks---Gwendolyn and her husband are pastors. She explained that programs like these were not all government or community-based organizations. “We have a church, my husband and I. We didn't have a church when we started this program. We became pastors. The mentoring program was established in 2009. We became pastors in 2013.
"So I said again, we have to do something. That's when we put together a program that mentored them once they came out of the institutions. We became a strong support system for them, helping them to get acclimated back into the community. Support was there for them, whether they needed to go to school, or whether they needed housing―a place to live. I helped them, to try to stay out of trouble."
The Cooks---Gwendolyn and her husband are pastors. She explained that programs like these were not all government or community-based organizations. “We have a church, my husband and I. We didn't have a church when we started this program. We became pastors. The mentoring program was established in 2009. We became pastors in 2013.
"Our church began in Pennsauken NJ. We were renting some space, then eventually, our church moved to Camden. With that being said, there were still a lot of girls that needed help. My husband works on the Juvenile Justice Commission. At that time, when we started the church, he had retired from the JJC after twenty-six years of service. Believe or not, now he is a reemployed with the Juvenile Justice, after about two and a half years of retirement.”
Gwendolyn says that her husband return to the JJC was not in response to their new ministry, but it helped get it started. “When he was working for the commission, he used to take the boys to church, on Sundays and of course I would be with him. We use to take eight, nine, or ten boys that were in the program at the time. It was in Camden, on Atlantic Ave. At that time, it was called Camden Town. It was run by the Juvenile Division.”
From the boys---from the commission to the girls---in juvenile prison, WWITS has expanded to reach a linked concern---human and sex trafficking. Pastor Cook says it’s all related. “Sitting, on Saturdays, talking to the girls, the girls were really free with their conversations. They would share, what their plans were when they got out of prison. Some of them just planned to go strip at a gentlemen’s club. They planned to go to Philadelphia to dance. They mostly wanted to make money.
Gwendolyn says that her husband return to the JJC was not in response to their new ministry, but it helped get it started. “When he was working for the commission, he used to take the boys to church, on Sundays and of course I would be with him. We use to take eight, nine, or ten boys that were in the program at the time. It was in Camden, on Atlantic Ave. At that time, it was called Camden Town. It was run by the Juvenile Division.”
From the boys---from the commission to the girls---in juvenile prison, WWITS has expanded to reach a linked concern---human and sex trafficking. Pastor Cook says it’s all related. “Sitting, on Saturdays, talking to the girls, the girls were really free with their conversations. They would share, what their plans were when they got out of prison. Some of them just planned to go strip at a gentlemen’s club. They planned to go to Philadelphia to dance. They mostly wanted to make money.
"Back then, in 2011, I saw a large number of girls caught up in prostitution, just as a survival mechanism, in order to eat or have shelter. These girls were fourteen, fifteen, sixteen years old. So with that being said, I remember at one time, five girls in 2015, were reported missing out of the city of Camden. It was believed that all five of these girls were caught in human sex trafficking."
Referring to several local incidents, the WWIS Director shared, “Working with the girls, you find out a lot about what's going on in their personal life. While working in the mentoring program, I believe, back in September. I got a call from a school. (I want to talk about this incident because it's something that's going on right now.) It started back with a twelve-year-old girl. She was having problems in school, an elementary school. The school saw my service and called me in, to see how I can help this young girl.
"She wasn't coming to school. Her behavior was just terrible. She’d disrespect the teachers and sleep in class. They thought maybe she might have been on some kind of stuff. I sat with the school and got the information on the parents. I made a promise to the parent and set up an appointment with them.
Referring to several local incidents, the WWIS Director shared, “Working with the girls, you find out a lot about what's going on in their personal life. While working in the mentoring program, I believe, back in September. I got a call from a school. (I want to talk about this incident because it's something that's going on right now.) It started back with a twelve-year-old girl. She was having problems in school, an elementary school. The school saw my service and called me in, to see how I can help this young girl.
"She wasn't coming to school. Her behavior was just terrible. She’d disrespect the teachers and sleep in class. They thought maybe she might have been on some kind of stuff. I sat with the school and got the information on the parents. I made a promise to the parent and set up an appointment with them.
"At the time, I went to visit the mother, the daughter was there. So I was able to sit down, talk to her, find out what was going on that caused her to act out in class, and miss so much school. One of the things, the girl said to me, ‘You know, Miss, I just want to be a kid again.’
"As we further investigated, we discovered that she was being recruited by a gang. They were using her to bring money, through sexual acts of trafficking.
"I’m talking to her mother. She was abusive to her mother. She had hit her mother over the head with an iPad. So she had a few charges. And, on several occasions, the mother said that these gang members would come to the house looking for her. They would threaten her. The gang had given several phones. When her mother would take a phone away, she would come home with another phone, which would be an iPhone. And this phone was used to contact her for whatever, I guess if it was a client or whenever needed. We just discovered that when she turned thirteen, she was being trafficked. And, it was at thirteen, she was diagnosed with gonorrhea. Also, she was a heroin addict.
"So, we reached out to the school district of Camden, with the juvenile court system and they brought it to the attention of the judge. The judge order was put out for this young girl. She was picked up and put in a detox facility. Later, she was transferred to a program, where the judge had ordered her to go to a gender-specific program to get her out of the city and really to keep her safe. An FBI agent was brought in to speak to her. It was found out, she was being recruited and used by gang members, out of North Camden, for sex."
"As we further investigated, we discovered that she was being recruited by a gang. They were using her to bring money, through sexual acts of trafficking.
"I’m talking to her mother. She was abusive to her mother. She had hit her mother over the head with an iPad. So she had a few charges. And, on several occasions, the mother said that these gang members would come to the house looking for her. They would threaten her. The gang had given several phones. When her mother would take a phone away, she would come home with another phone, which would be an iPhone. And this phone was used to contact her for whatever, I guess if it was a client or whenever needed. We just discovered that when she turned thirteen, she was being trafficked. And, it was at thirteen, she was diagnosed with gonorrhea. Also, she was a heroin addict.
"So, we reached out to the school district of Camden, with the juvenile court system and they brought it to the attention of the judge. The judge order was put out for this young girl. She was picked up and put in a detox facility. Later, she was transferred to a program, where the judge had ordered her to go to a gender-specific program to get her out of the city and really to keep her safe. An FBI agent was brought in to speak to her. It was found out, she was being recruited and used by gang members, out of North Camden, for sex."
The Story Doesn’t End There
"The story is ongoing. “They put her in a program that we thought was safe. At thirteen years old, her mom calls me and tells me that she's pregnant. While she was in this safe haven that was supposed to be gender-specific for females only, she got pregnant. The facility they put her in had boys. The order was, because of her history in human sex trafficking, to put her in a facility where there were no boys. So now, we have a thirteen-year-old girl that's pregnant.
“That's just one of the cases. On the twenty-sixth of January, while I was at a workshop, I received a call from a young girl, who told me she was being trafficked. She hung up and she didn’t call back. I couldn’t reach her. And then, finally, on the thirty-first of January, she called me and told me some things that were happening to her. She was being beaten. And, she was trying to run away from a trafficker. My husband and I decided we had to go help her. We live in Vineland New Jersey. We traveled to Camden to the address that she had given us where she was located. We didn't know what we would be facing when we got to there. So we notified the Metro Police Department in Camden city.
"They had told us not to go in there, just wait until they got there. We sat in the car, a street over from the house, and we waited for Metro. I may be wrong, but I believe we waited out there for about forty minutes. The police never came during that time. My husband and I, decided, because of what was going on, on the phone, when she called me, we didn't want to go in and find this young girl dead. We got out of the car and proceeded to the house. It was an abandoned house---no heat, no electric, windows broken out. As a matter of fact, other squatters lived in that house, but we were able to bring her out.
"The story is ongoing. “They put her in a program that we thought was safe. At thirteen years old, her mom calls me and tells me that she's pregnant. While she was in this safe haven that was supposed to be gender-specific for females only, she got pregnant. The facility they put her in had boys. The order was, because of her history in human sex trafficking, to put her in a facility where there were no boys. So now, we have a thirteen-year-old girl that's pregnant.
“That's just one of the cases. On the twenty-sixth of January, while I was at a workshop, I received a call from a young girl, who told me she was being trafficked. She hung up and she didn’t call back. I couldn’t reach her. And then, finally, on the thirty-first of January, she called me and told me some things that were happening to her. She was being beaten. And, she was trying to run away from a trafficker. My husband and I decided we had to go help her. We live in Vineland New Jersey. We traveled to Camden to the address that she had given us where she was located. We didn't know what we would be facing when we got to there. So we notified the Metro Police Department in Camden city.
"They had told us not to go in there, just wait until they got there. We sat in the car, a street over from the house, and we waited for Metro. I may be wrong, but I believe we waited out there for about forty minutes. The police never came during that time. My husband and I, decided, because of what was going on, on the phone, when she called me, we didn't want to go in and find this young girl dead. We got out of the car and proceeded to the house. It was an abandoned house---no heat, no electric, windows broken out. As a matter of fact, other squatters lived in that house, but we were able to bring her out.
"Afterward, we were going to reach out to the Center for Family Services, so that we can find a house for her. Right now, she’s hiding from a trafficker. So the police department calls and said, where are you? We had left before they got there because they were taking so long. They told us to pull over. They were coming to us.
"They made us come back with them to the police station. We were going to take her, to get her in a safe place. They made us come back to the police station so that a detective could interview her. I was allowed to sit in on the interview process. During, they discovered that she had just come from a house where she had been held up for eight months. She had been six to eight months with two traffickers. She said there were fifteen other girls that were still in that house, which was in Atlantic City.
"I reached out to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. They turn the information over to the New Jersey Attorney General Task Force. I've been working with them to see how we could locate the other girls. The girl, we rescued said every time they brought her out of the house, they had a pillowcase over her head. They transported the girls in a navy blue car that didn’t have any windows. She couldn't say where she was, because she didn't know. All she knew, was the day that she was saved, she was running for about fifteen or twenty minutes. She had to run into a bus terminal. A Caucasian woman came up to her and asked if she was okay because she didn't have any shoes on. All she had on was a robe. The woman gave her money to catch the bus to Camden. That’s how she got to Camden. She’s originally from the city of Camden. She informed the detectives that several of the other girls that are being kept in the house are from Camden as well."
Pastor Cook’s background may have positioned her and her husband to more readily help victims of trafficking, but she says other can stay aware of suspicious activity and help as well. “If you notice something that's suspicious, get the information into the hands of the authorities?
And her own organization is set to be a light. “We do presentations. I worked in partnership with the FBI. We set up venues in schools, churches, and communities. We bring in the FBI so that they can bring awareness. I mean, even when the FBI is not able to attend with us, we were in schools.
"They made us come back with them to the police station. We were going to take her, to get her in a safe place. They made us come back to the police station so that a detective could interview her. I was allowed to sit in on the interview process. During, they discovered that she had just come from a house where she had been held up for eight months. She had been six to eight months with two traffickers. She said there were fifteen other girls that were still in that house, which was in Atlantic City.
"I reached out to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. They turn the information over to the New Jersey Attorney General Task Force. I've been working with them to see how we could locate the other girls. The girl, we rescued said every time they brought her out of the house, they had a pillowcase over her head. They transported the girls in a navy blue car that didn’t have any windows. She couldn't say where she was, because she didn't know. All she knew, was the day that she was saved, she was running for about fifteen or twenty minutes. She had to run into a bus terminal. A Caucasian woman came up to her and asked if she was okay because she didn't have any shoes on. All she had on was a robe. The woman gave her money to catch the bus to Camden. That’s how she got to Camden. She’s originally from the city of Camden. She informed the detectives that several of the other girls that are being kept in the house are from Camden as well."
Pastor Cook’s background may have positioned her and her husband to more readily help victims of trafficking, but she says other can stay aware of suspicious activity and help as well. “If you notice something that's suspicious, get the information into the hands of the authorities?
And her own organization is set to be a light. “We do presentations. I worked in partnership with the FBI. We set up venues in schools, churches, and communities. We bring in the FBI so that they can bring awareness. I mean, even when the FBI is not able to attend with us, we were in schools.
"It’s a lucrative business, only seconds to the drug trade. It’s the money and profit involved that’s easily drawing people in to make this big money. That's why gang members are recruiting young girls---making them promises. I'll make you America's next top model. I'll do this for you. I’ll do that for you. And, it never happens."
"We’re at events all over, not only in New Jersey but even in Philadelphia. We’re, trying to bring awareness. We even have workshops teaching people how to identify and to recognize somebody being traffic. We have a television broadcast called Mother's Go Get Your Daughter’s, which helps to bring awareness to the signs.
"So often, when I talk to people, they think this is something that happens abroad. They don't think that it's happening right here in their community. They’re basically even right next door. We have all kinds of information and materials that we distribute out in communities. We have door knockers that we put out on doors. We leave maps about The National Human Trafficking Hotline. If you see something, say something. You’ll never know that you might be the person that can save a young girl or even a young boy’s life.”
Church---Help Stop the Trafficking
It without question, the Church has a definite calling to pray and to believe God---binding the power of the enemy and losing the power of God. Sometimes, in the area of taking action, it might fall a little short. Pastor Gwendolyn brings the organization and great commission together into ministry responsibility.
“I believe that the body of Christ is inside a building. I often say, when Jesus comes back, the church inside is going to miss him. Although there are some laws in the church, the vast majority of the laws are outside. When bringing awareness, it’s something the churches never talk about.
"This is why, I'm banging on church doors, to let us in, because a lot of girls, we have come in contact with grew up in church. A lot of our Christian girls are nice and can easily be seduced into a lifestyle of trafficking because they are not hearing. These are conversations they should be hearing from the pulpit, not from television, not from Oprah, not from Dr. Phil. They should hear from a man or woman of God that they trust, someone who knows the voice of God. "
"So often, when I talk to people, they think this is something that happens abroad. They don't think that it's happening right here in their community. They’re basically even right next door. We have all kinds of information and materials that we distribute out in communities. We have door knockers that we put out on doors. We leave maps about The National Human Trafficking Hotline. If you see something, say something. You’ll never know that you might be the person that can save a young girl or even a young boy’s life.”
Church---Help Stop the Trafficking
It without question, the Church has a definite calling to pray and to believe God---binding the power of the enemy and losing the power of God. Sometimes, in the area of taking action, it might fall a little short. Pastor Gwendolyn brings the organization and great commission together into ministry responsibility.
“I believe that the body of Christ is inside a building. I often say, when Jesus comes back, the church inside is going to miss him. Although there are some laws in the church, the vast majority of the laws are outside. When bringing awareness, it’s something the churches never talk about.
"This is why, I'm banging on church doors, to let us in, because a lot of girls, we have come in contact with grew up in church. A lot of our Christian girls are nice and can easily be seduced into a lifestyle of trafficking because they are not hearing. These are conversations they should be hearing from the pulpit, not from television, not from Oprah, not from Dr. Phil. They should hear from a man or woman of God that they trust, someone who knows the voice of God. "
Church Gone Wrong
"A young lady told me this morning that a church in Philadelphia got caught trafficking young teenagers outside of the church. I was told not to long ago that two pastors one from Ohio and another place was trafficking their youth.
"It’s a lucrative business, only seconds to the drug trade. It’s the money and profit involved that’s easily drawing people in to make this big money. That's why gang members are recruiting young girls---making them promises. I'll make you America's next top model. I'll do this for you. I’ll do that for you. And, it never happens. Still, that's not the greatest temptation. The temptation is getting these young girls to trust them. A lot of the young girls that are being trafficked are usually runaway girls with bad behaviors---youths that come out of foster care.
Pastor----Adds
“If I may interject, I just want to respond spirituality from a church perspective. The theme is found in John. Where Christ said, He came to seek and save all which were lost. When you’re dealing with an underdog. When you're dealing with those that are cast down and that fits the girls that we're talking about?
"You see, when it comes to trafficking, one of the things they look for is the liability. When we look at it from a mission’s point of view, those are the people that we want to minister to. Those are the people that we want to bring in.
"One of the problems in our community is that we're desensitized to what's really going on. We see a girl on the corner. We automatically assume that prostituting is something that she wanted to do or something that she agreed to do, so we don't look any further than that.
"Although we might see a pimp on the corner, pushing her and making sure that she's doing what she is supposed to do. We don't necessarily investigate that because of the label that we've already put on it. When in fact, she might have been brought in from a different stage. She might have been homeless. Like my wife said, often times a trafficker goes after those who are easily manipulated. It’s about intimidation.
"A young lady told me this morning that a church in Philadelphia got caught trafficking young teenagers outside of the church. I was told not to long ago that two pastors one from Ohio and another place was trafficking their youth.
"It’s a lucrative business, only seconds to the drug trade. It’s the money and profit involved that’s easily drawing people in to make this big money. That's why gang members are recruiting young girls---making them promises. I'll make you America's next top model. I'll do this for you. I’ll do that for you. And, it never happens. Still, that's not the greatest temptation. The temptation is getting these young girls to trust them. A lot of the young girls that are being trafficked are usually runaway girls with bad behaviors---youths that come out of foster care.
Pastor----Adds
“If I may interject, I just want to respond spirituality from a church perspective. The theme is found in John. Where Christ said, He came to seek and save all which were lost. When you’re dealing with an underdog. When you're dealing with those that are cast down and that fits the girls that we're talking about?
"You see, when it comes to trafficking, one of the things they look for is the liability. When we look at it from a mission’s point of view, those are the people that we want to minister to. Those are the people that we want to bring in.
"One of the problems in our community is that we're desensitized to what's really going on. We see a girl on the corner. We automatically assume that prostituting is something that she wanted to do or something that she agreed to do, so we don't look any further than that.
"Although we might see a pimp on the corner, pushing her and making sure that she's doing what she is supposed to do. We don't necessarily investigate that because of the label that we've already put on it. When in fact, she might have been brought in from a different stage. She might have been homeless. Like my wife said, often times a trafficker goes after those who are easily manipulated. It’s about intimidation.
"So there's a number of things going on behind the scenes that people may not recognize it or realize that creating that whole scenario. One of the things she does is to turn the lights on so people will be able to recognize it. When the people are able to identify it, then people will be able to do something about it."
I Added In
Pastor Cook’s question prompted some thoughts. The scripture came to mind.
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. ---1 Timothy 6:10
Whether its sex trafficking, drugs, or corruption in everyday commerce, if we look deep enough, it’s there. The love of money is tied to the evil. The whole marketing system, in general, even if it’s for sound products or business, fishes in intimate waters. A marketer or business knows, if they can hook a person's soul, they capture the person. When you tie that philosophy to something as horrendous as trafficking, prostitution, or drugs, its outcome is more horrendous. If you hook a person's soul, and at an early age, the thought is you have captured them for life. And a person’s soul indubitably is attached to their (treasures or) wallet.
Summary---Love is so cold---Terrible Facts
"I'm really thankful for the opportunity, because any chance, we can get the opportunity to bring awareness because it's happening so often. The thing about it is it doesn't have an age limit. The younger, the better, the more profitable. It’s happening right here. It’s not happening in Asia, Kenya, or Korea. It's happening right here. We’re seeing that more and more each day.
"I believe it’s because we are so separated from one another. It just seems like the love has gone cold. Like my husband said, when people see something, they don’t say something. We have to start saying something, due to the fact that kids are dying. The Department of Justice said that ninety-nine percent of the girls that are trafficked will never be rescued. We’re talking, one out of a hundred will be rescued from human sex trafficking. The Department of Justice also says that the lifespan of a traffic young girl, it's only seven years. It’s because of the disease, the beatings, the abuse, and the forced drug use.
I Added In
Pastor Cook’s question prompted some thoughts. The scripture came to mind.
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. ---1 Timothy 6:10
Whether its sex trafficking, drugs, or corruption in everyday commerce, if we look deep enough, it’s there. The love of money is tied to the evil. The whole marketing system, in general, even if it’s for sound products or business, fishes in intimate waters. A marketer or business knows, if they can hook a person's soul, they capture the person. When you tie that philosophy to something as horrendous as trafficking, prostitution, or drugs, its outcome is more horrendous. If you hook a person's soul, and at an early age, the thought is you have captured them for life. And a person’s soul indubitably is attached to their (treasures or) wallet.
Summary---Love is so cold---Terrible Facts
"I'm really thankful for the opportunity, because any chance, we can get the opportunity to bring awareness because it's happening so often. The thing about it is it doesn't have an age limit. The younger, the better, the more profitable. It’s happening right here. It’s not happening in Asia, Kenya, or Korea. It's happening right here. We’re seeing that more and more each day.
"I believe it’s because we are so separated from one another. It just seems like the love has gone cold. Like my husband said, when people see something, they don’t say something. We have to start saying something, due to the fact that kids are dying. The Department of Justice said that ninety-nine percent of the girls that are trafficked will never be rescued. We’re talking, one out of a hundred will be rescued from human sex trafficking. The Department of Justice also says that the lifespan of a traffic young girl, it's only seven years. It’s because of the disease, the beatings, the abuse, and the forced drug use.
"In order to control, they get them addicted to heroin, crack, and other drugs that promote these girls to continue that lifestyle, because they have an addiction. So if they don't do the trafficking or what they're telling them to do, then they are beaten or even killed. That's how dangerous this act of crime against humanity is.
"I don't know if you've noticed, but if you look at the website of the missing and exploited children. Every day, there are hundreds and hundreds of children that are missing. Believe it or not, they're saying that this is a trafficking situation.
"Because of the money involved, a hundred and fifty billion dollar industry, gang members are getting involved. You can sell an AK 47 one time, you can sell a bag of heroin one time, but they're selling these young twelve and thirteen-year-old girls fifteen and twenty times a day. Their return is better on a human body.
"Talking to the young girl that we were able to rescue on January 31, she said she had to have sex with twenty different men a day. After she was rescued, I'm trying to help her to start all over again, she said, Mrs. Gwen, I don't know if I can be a good girl. She says, all I know how to do is strip and have sex with people.
“That's not your calling, I said. God didn't design that for you. That’s why we come in. we bring that spiritual aspect because we need to help them to discover their divine purpose which is not having sex."
I added again
We know Jesus’ attitude towards this, as well as any sin. Still, I believe he has a special place for children. Matthew 18:6---Says that any of that harm, I'm paraphrasing, any of these little ones, he says better than a millstone, be hung around his neck. He'd be cast into the bottom of the sea.
"I don't know if you've noticed, but if you look at the website of the missing and exploited children. Every day, there are hundreds and hundreds of children that are missing. Believe it or not, they're saying that this is a trafficking situation.
"Because of the money involved, a hundred and fifty billion dollar industry, gang members are getting involved. You can sell an AK 47 one time, you can sell a bag of heroin one time, but they're selling these young twelve and thirteen-year-old girls fifteen and twenty times a day. Their return is better on a human body.
"Talking to the young girl that we were able to rescue on January 31, she said she had to have sex with twenty different men a day. After she was rescued, I'm trying to help her to start all over again, she said, Mrs. Gwen, I don't know if I can be a good girl. She says, all I know how to do is strip and have sex with people.
“That's not your calling, I said. God didn't design that for you. That’s why we come in. we bring that spiritual aspect because we need to help them to discover their divine purpose which is not having sex."
I added again
We know Jesus’ attitude towards this, as well as any sin. Still, I believe he has a special place for children. Matthew 18:6---Says that any of that harm, I'm paraphrasing, any of these little ones, he says better than a millstone, be hung around his neck. He'd be cast into the bottom of the sea.
You both and your ministry are doing a wonderful work. I spoke to you the other day, be encouraged. You are making the difference. And, don't be afraid.
“I received that man of God, said Pastor Gwendolyn. There’s so much more for all of us to do. I thank God that I was able to hold a training event to acquaint women. I had sixty-one women come to this training to be equipped because they see the need. I have mothers who call me and say, 'my daughter's being trafficked. I know my daughters being trafficked.'
"It’s just the fact that people are now seeing. But one thing I would like for you to help me with because this is not a woman’s crime. When I do presentations, the house is full of women, but men are the main perpetrators of this crime. We need to get more men involved.
"We have our Mothers Go Get Your Daughters. We need fathers to go get your daughters. I was telling my husband, I want to get a whole bunch of men together because the gangs in cities like Bridgeton, Millville, and Camden are tracking these girls. They don't see any men on the front lines, so they feel like they have the full range, to come in, take these little girls, and makes sex slaves out of them.”
“I received that man of God, said Pastor Gwendolyn. There’s so much more for all of us to do. I thank God that I was able to hold a training event to acquaint women. I had sixty-one women come to this training to be equipped because they see the need. I have mothers who call me and say, 'my daughter's being trafficked. I know my daughters being trafficked.'
"It’s just the fact that people are now seeing. But one thing I would like for you to help me with because this is not a woman’s crime. When I do presentations, the house is full of women, but men are the main perpetrators of this crime. We need to get more men involved.
"We have our Mothers Go Get Your Daughters. We need fathers to go get your daughters. I was telling my husband, I want to get a whole bunch of men together because the gangs in cities like Bridgeton, Millville, and Camden are tracking these girls. They don't see any men on the front lines, so they feel like they have the full range, to come in, take these little girls, and makes sex slaves out of them.”
Jesus Christ in the lives of the Cook’s?
"Jesus Christ, Pastor Johnathan Cook started, “He is the center of all things. He is the final authority when it comes to who we are and what we desire to be. When I was growing up, I heard, you shoot for the stars and if you don't get to the stars, you can end up in the cloud. Christ is the target to be reached. He’s also a relationship. It's about a relationship. It's about sharing. It’s about an experience.
"It’s not about the structure. Even the church is a living organism, but that living organism is based on the relationship. It's through that relationship, we’ll ultimately become who he has called us to be. And quite naturally, like any other relationship, sometimes there are misunderstandings. Sometimes we don't always comply. It's like David, even though David missed the mark a number of times, he knew what it was to repent. Therefore God says he was a man after God's own heart, despite the things that he may have done along the way."
"I know myself, to me he’s a lifeline, said sighed Pastor Gwendolyn Ann Cook. If you want to live and I mean really live, then you got to be connected to that lifeline. Especially because of the population, that I’ve learned, I personally couldn’t do what I do, if it wasn't for the life of Jesus in me."
"Jesus Christ, Pastor Johnathan Cook started, “He is the center of all things. He is the final authority when it comes to who we are and what we desire to be. When I was growing up, I heard, you shoot for the stars and if you don't get to the stars, you can end up in the cloud. Christ is the target to be reached. He’s also a relationship. It's about a relationship. It's about sharing. It’s about an experience.
"It’s not about the structure. Even the church is a living organism, but that living organism is based on the relationship. It's through that relationship, we’ll ultimately become who he has called us to be. And quite naturally, like any other relationship, sometimes there are misunderstandings. Sometimes we don't always comply. It's like David, even though David missed the mark a number of times, he knew what it was to repent. Therefore God says he was a man after God's own heart, despite the things that he may have done along the way."
"I know myself, to me he’s a lifeline, said sighed Pastor Gwendolyn Ann Cook. If you want to live and I mean really live, then you got to be connected to that lifeline. Especially because of the population, that I’ve learned, I personally couldn’t do what I do, if it wasn't for the life of Jesus in me."