The city of Thane lies a little to the north of busy Mumbai, removed somewhat from the cacophony of sonorous honking, shouted voices and the trademark cascade of clashing smells. As the crow flies, it’s probably thirty minutes from where I stayed in Bandra West, but by car, it was far longer. That day, the heat was, as it always is in Maharastra, wet and sticky, though fortunately the city had been sprayed for mosquitoes, so we were at least safe from the onslaught of carnivorous bugs that generally hangs over tropical India like a cloud.

The apartment that houses the YouCanFree.Us organization in Thane is decorated with white and purple paint and towers over the rest of the city like an aged pine. From the outside, it looks like any other apartment building in any other city in the world, but on an upper floor, there’s a group of girls who’ve just begun their new lives.

The industry of human trafficking is the third largest organized crime in the world. Nearly 80% of human trafficking around the world is done for sexual exploitation, and the rest is “bonded labor.” India itself is considered the Asian hub for human trafficking, and for good reason; children, in particular, are at huge risk, as many from the dalit (or untouchable) lower caste are either taken by pimps or are sold by their parents. The desperate condition of India’s poorest has long been a subject of both interest and shame in and out of India, as solutions are few and far between, and are often too “small-scale” to be considered real resolutions. There is a harsh social stratification that divides many Indian citizens so deeply and makes it difficult to draw the women and children sold into sexual slavery out of their desperate situations.

One organization, however, is striving to make a difference.

The girls I met that day at the YouCanFree.Us safe house were among the kindest I’ve ever encountered. I sat on the tiled floor as they cooked my group and I a meal, expertly massaged our hands, painted each others’ nails, and delighted in taking selfies, and I marveled at their humility and graciousness. Each of the girls had been rescued - quite literally extracted - from the red light districts across India, many of them recently. Many had been sold by their parents, drugged, and repeatedly forced to serve clients, often for years. But they were normal; they were adjusting. They had new prospects - YouCanFree.Us helps to offer these rescued girls new lives through the learning of trades and even the opportunity to attend college. They are shown care, compassion, and love, many for the first time in their lives.

I was compelled to share with these girls who had been so kind to me my favorite bible verse, which comes from Phillippians 4:13. It reads,

"I can do all things through He who gives me strength."

All things. I can do all things. As I read, I prayed that these girls would remember that the grace and love of Christ are with them always and that God protects his children. Their kindness and sweet, gentle humility were such tangible proof that Jesus really does save his children; these girls who lived so long without hope had been given another chance.

It's been over a year, but I can't get that afternoon in Thane out of my mind - and I don't want to. I often wonder how these girls are now, if they're in school, or if they've become seamstresses or teachers or doctors. I pray daily that Christ keeps them safe, and repeat to myself the verse that I know so well:

"I can do all things through He who gives me strength."

If you'd like to learn more about the epidemic of human trafficking in India, and how you can help, you can visit the YouCanFree.Us website.