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Jesus Calling: Stories of Faith - Courage in the Face of Darkness: Chris Edmonds & Caleb Altmeyer · LifeAudio

• 0:08
  Speaker 1: Life Audio. This episode mentions abuse and may be triggering
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: for some listeners.
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: Inspired by the NBC hit series Happy's Place starring country
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: music icon Reba McEntire, the official Happy's Place cookbook is
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: bringing the television magic to your kitchen. This fan-favorite show,
• 0:30
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• 0:33
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• 0:37
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• 0:41
  Speaker 2: your own kitchen with 70 mouth-watering comfort food recipes like
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: Emmett's Oven Roasted Ribs, Anniversary Chicken Piccata, Isabella's Croissant Bread Pudding,
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: and so much more. The official Happy's Place cookbook, available
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: at your favorite retailer.
• 0:59
  Speaker 3: Why did Dad save his men who gave him the courage?
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: I was asked by a Jewish reporter from a leading Israeli.
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: Newspaper the same question.
• 1:07
  Speaker 3: My response to him was, Dad saved his Jewish men
• 1:10
  Speaker 3: because a Jewish man named Jesus had saved him, had
• 1:13
  Speaker 3: redeemed his life, and redeemed him from his inhumanity to
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: where he could actually be who God wanted him to be.
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: Welcome to the Jesus Calling Podcast. This week we hear
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: from Chris Edmonds, who shares the story of his father,
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: World War II hero Roddy Edmonds, who was honored with
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: the Medal of Honor for saving hundreds of Jewish American
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: soldiers in a Nazi POW camp. Next, we'll hear from
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: Caleb Altmyer, founder of Helping Captives, who will tell us
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: about a childhood friend's tragic story, which eventually led him
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: and his family into the fight against sex trafficking. Let's
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: begin with Chris Edmonds.
• 1:55
  Speaker 3: My name is Chris Edmonds, and I love the Lord Jesus,
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: and I serve Him as interim pastor of Oakwood Baptist
• 2:01
  Speaker 3: Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. That's where I grew up. I'm
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: also the son of World War II hero, Army Master
• 2:07
  Speaker 3: Sergeant Roddy Edmund. Growing up with Dad and my mom
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  Speaker 3: was such a blessing. You know, they both loved the
• 2:18
  Speaker 3: Lord as well as all of my grandparents did. And
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  Speaker 3: as far back as I could go in my genealogy,
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: we all chose to follow the Lord. And Dad, I
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: really looked up to him and thought of him as
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: my hero all the way through life. when I think
• 2:35
  Speaker 3: about it, dad was so ordinary. He was just like
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: all the other dads, just like you and me. Yet
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: he had this infectious love for Jesus and for others.
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: To dad, Jesus was the first thing, the last thing,
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: his everything. He was a Jesus guy. And I think
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  Speaker 3: that's why dad cared about everyone he met. It didn't
• 2:57
  Speaker 3: matter who they were. I think my greatest and fondest
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  Speaker 3: He was just so full of life. He was fun
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  Speaker 3: to be around. He could stroll through the room, flash
• 3:06
  Speaker 3: his warm smile, and he was quick-witted, and he would
• 3:10
  Speaker 3: show genuine love for everyone. And he just had a
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  Speaker 3: way of lighting up the room and warming everybody's heart.
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: And everybody loved Roddy. They loved that. And he loved them.
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  Speaker 3: He was a good provider. He worked as a respected
• 3:24
  Speaker 3: sales manager most of his career, and he'd seal a
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  Speaker 3: deal with his word in a handshake. He was honest
• 3:30
  Speaker 3: as the day is long and hardworking, and he cared
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  Speaker 3: about his customers. And I think one of his greatest
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  Speaker 3: attributes was that he loved the good book. He talked
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  Speaker 3: about loving the good Lord and loving the good book.
• 3:43
  Speaker 3: And he tried to live it from the moment he
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  Speaker 3: surrendered to Christ as a teenager at Vestal United Methodist
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  Speaker 3: Church in South Knoxville. God's word became his marching orders.
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  Speaker 3: And I think that's what gave him the moral clarity
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  Speaker 3: he needed in the worst conditions. Because he really understood
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: life from a biblical perspective. And it sealed his moral
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  Speaker 3: code to where he wanted to live by that clarity.
• 4:12
  Speaker 3: The older I get, the more I realize that. My
• 4:16
  Speaker 3: journey of discovery to really understand Dad's experience in World
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  Speaker 3: War II started with his old diary. It's just a weathered,
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  Speaker 3: fragile book, and he kept it as a young man
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  Speaker 3: when he was fighting over in Germany. He passed away
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  Speaker 3: in 1985, and he never told us about his Army experiences.
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  Speaker 3: He took it to his grave, and all we knew
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  Speaker 3: were the broad strokes of his military service. We knew
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  Speaker 3: he had been a Master Sergeant with the 106th Infantry
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  Speaker 3: and that he was captured in the Battle of the Bulge,
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  Speaker 3: and we knew that he had spent Many harsh days
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  Speaker 3: at two German prisoner of war camps toward the end
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  Speaker 3: of the war, but that's about all we knew. He
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  Speaker 3: just never talked about it. Once he passed away, his
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: diary just sort of remained tucked away with other mementos
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  Speaker 3: he had from service in World War II and even
• 5:05
  Speaker 3: his life. Mom just kind of squirreled him away. And
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  Speaker 3: then 20 years later, after his passing, my twin daughters
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  Speaker 3: were born actually the year he passed away. They were
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  Speaker 3: six months old when he passed away. But 20 years later,
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  Speaker 3: they're in college. And I'm helping one of them, my
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  Speaker 3: daughter Lauren, and her classmates on a college history project.
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  Speaker 3: The history professor had said, find someone in your family
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  Speaker 3: that lived during a significant historical moment in time and
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  Speaker 3: go interview them and do a video project on them.
• 5:37
  Speaker 3: And she came home excited because the professor had given
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  Speaker 3: her permission to do one on Paparotti, even though he
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  Speaker 3: wasn't alive. And the reason they chose him was because
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  Speaker 3: he'd been a POW in World War II. So, I
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  Speaker 3: was excited for her, too. So we pulled out Dad's
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  Speaker 3: old diary and began looking through it. And Lauren had
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  Speaker 3: never seen it. She'd never read it before. She's very
• 5:59
  Speaker 3: moved by what Dad had said. And the diary, he
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  Speaker 3: didn't really spell out what had happened in the camp.
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  Speaker 3: But you could tell that things weren't good in his
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  Speaker 3: POW experience. But his words, I'd read before, but my heart.
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  Speaker 3: was moved like never before. It was like the Lord
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  Speaker 3: clearly said in my spirit, go find out what happened
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  Speaker 3: to your father. After I watched the short video that
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: Lauren and her team had made, they used direct quotes
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  Speaker 3: from Dad's diary, and it was like a fire was
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  Speaker 3: sent from heaven in my spirit. So his words inspired
• 6:36
  Speaker 3: me to look further into his time as a prisoner
• 6:39
  Speaker 3: of war. So one evening, just past midnight, I decided
• 6:44
  Speaker 3: to search my father's name and rank on the computer.
• 6:47
  Speaker 3: I just Googled his name and rank. And remarkably, his
• 6:50
  Speaker 3: name appeared in a New York Times article entitled Richard
• 6:53
  Speaker 3: Nixon's Search for a New York Home. I'm stunned at
• 6:56
  Speaker 3: this point. You know, the first link that came up
• 6:59
  Speaker 3: was a New York Times article and dad's name's highlighted.
• 7:02
  Speaker 3: And the article recounted how an attorney named Lester Tanner
• 7:05
  Speaker 3: sold his historic townhouse to the president in the 1980s.
• 7:08
  Speaker 3: And the editor of the New York Times is looking
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  Speaker 3: back To 1980, it's actually 2008 when he's writing this article.
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  Speaker 3: And in the article, Mr. Tanner, whoever that is, I
• 7:21
  Speaker 3: didn't know at the time, recalled the bravery of his
• 7:23
  Speaker 3: Master Sergeant Roddy Edmonds saving his life in that POW camp. Well,
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  Speaker 3: that's my father.
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  Speaker 1: I'm stunned.
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  Speaker 3: And all the questions start peppering my mind. Who is
• 7:35
  Speaker 3: Lester Tanner? What does he mean by bravery?
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  Speaker 1: Is Mr.
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  Speaker 3: Tanner still alive? And it's, oh, where is he? Because
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  Speaker 3: I've got to find him. So I searched, and I
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  Speaker 3: finally found him. After many months, I found Mr. Tanner
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  Speaker 3: in New York City. And the day I met Lester,
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  Speaker 3: I learned the amazing story of my father's service. Mr.
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  Speaker 3: Tanner had been captured by the Germans as a staff
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  Speaker 3: sergeant in the early days of the Battle of the
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  Speaker 3: Bulge in the deadly force of the Ardennes alongside my father,
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  Speaker 3: who was a master sergeant from Knoxville, Tennessee, and both
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  Speaker 3: served in the headquarters company of 422nd Infantry Regiment, the
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  Speaker 3: 106th Infantry Division. And Lester looked at me and he said,
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  Speaker 3: what your father did is one of the most remarkable
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  Speaker 3: things I've ever witnessed. And then he added, it's the
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  Speaker 3: defining moment of my life. Your father deserves the Medal
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  Speaker 3: of Honor for what he did. And I was stunned.
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  Speaker 3: And I hadn't heard the story yet, but I'm thinking,
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  Speaker 3: what could dad have possibly done? And then Lester said,
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  Speaker 3: shared with me what my father did that my dad
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  Speaker 3: never shared with any of our family or anyone that
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  Speaker 3: I know of. Dad was the highest ranking American soldier
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  Speaker 3: in style like 9A at POW camp for non-commissioned officers
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  Speaker 3: near Ziegenhain, Germany. On January 26, 1945, the Germans ordered
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  Speaker 3: that only the Jews were to report outside for the
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  Speaker 3: next morning's roll call. Just the Jews, no one else.
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  Speaker 3: Anyone who disobeyed would be shot. Without hesitation, Dad said,
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  Speaker 3: we're not doing that. Tomorrow we all fall out. And
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  Speaker 3: that's what they did. It was barely cold that morning,
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  Speaker 3: January 27, 1945. And as the Nazi commander approached, he
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  Speaker 3: was stunned. All the Americans, nearly 1,300 soldiers, were lined
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  Speaker 3: up in sharp formation. Major Zygmunt, he oversaw all German
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  Speaker 3: POW camps. He's the eyes and ears of Hitler. In
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  Speaker 3: the POW camps, he issued the orders and no one
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  Speaker 3: had ever disobeyed his orders. Well, Siegmund rushed over to
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  Speaker 3: my father and he screamed. He said, they can't all
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  Speaker 3: be Jews. To which my father declared, we are all
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  Speaker 3: Jews here. Well, the Nazi was furious. He pulled his
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  Speaker 3: pistol and pressed it hard into my father's forehead. Sergeant,
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  Speaker 3: one last chance. You will order the Jews to step
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  Speaker 3: forward or I will shoot you right now. Well, Lester
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  Speaker 3: said time froze. No movement, no sounds. He said it
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  Speaker 3: seemed like an eternity. And then suddenly, he said your
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  Speaker 3: father spoke. He broke the silence. said he leaned into
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  Speaker 3: the Major and looked him in the eyes, eye to eye,
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  Speaker 3: man to man, even with the gun to his head.
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  Speaker 3: He said, Major, you can shoot me, but you'll have
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  Speaker 3: to kill all of us, because we know who you are,
• 10:30
  Speaker 3: and you'll be a war criminal when we win this war,
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  Speaker 3: and you will pay. Well, Lester said, the Major blanched,
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  Speaker 3: turned white as a ghost, and he was visibly shaken,
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  Speaker 3: and without warning, he slammed his pistol in his holster
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  Speaker 3: and fled the scene. And my father that day saved
• 10:51
  Speaker 3: the lives of more than 200 Jewish American soldiers. Then
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  Speaker 3: two months later, he saved all 1,292 American soldiers when
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  Speaker 3: he refused orders to leave the camp on a death march.
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  Speaker 3: He hatched a plan the night before, and all of
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  Speaker 3: his men followed it. They marched every other nationality out
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  Speaker 3: of the camp and left only the Americans to fend
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  Speaker 3: for themselves, and they left them in the camp. Lester
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  Speaker 3: said all of us learned to love and respect Roddy
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  Speaker 3: because of his leadership. We're alive today because of your
• 11:23
  Speaker 3: dad's courage. Why did dad save his men who gave
• 11:29
  Speaker 3: him the courage? I was asked by a Jewish reporter
• 11:32
  Speaker 3: from a leading Israeli newspaper the same question. My response
• 11:36
  Speaker 3: to him was, dad saved his Jewish men because a
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: Jewish man named Jesus had saved him, had redeemed his
• 11:41
  Speaker 3: life and redeemed him from his inhumanity to where he
• 11:45
  Speaker 3: could actually be who God wanted him to be. And
• 11:49
  Speaker 3: so that's It's pretty amazing that dad had the courage
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  Speaker 3: to do what dad would say anybody would have done
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  Speaker 3: in that camp. And really, when you stop and think
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  Speaker 3: about it, that's all God expects for us is to
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  Speaker 3: do what's right for him, for the Lord first, and.
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  Speaker 1: Then for others.
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  Speaker 3: If we do what's right for the Lord, then we're
• 12:10
  Speaker 3: going to do what's right for others. Receiving the Medal
• 12:16
  Speaker 3: of Honor is incredible. It's beyond words to try to
• 12:20
  Speaker 3: describe our experience in Washington. It was out of this world.
• 12:23
  Speaker 3: And from meeting with other recipients, there were two other
• 12:27
  Speaker 3: families there representing their loved one. And then receiving the
• 12:32
  Speaker 3: award before a host of dignitaries and our family members.
• 12:37
  Speaker 3: We had lots of friends there as well. And then
• 12:40
  Speaker 3: to connect with the highest military leaders and being treated
• 12:42
  Speaker 3: like royalties. it's really beyond amazing to be honest with you.
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  Speaker 3: And though it's taken 13 years, it's all been in
• 12:49
  Speaker 3: God's timing. You know, I cherish the scripture that says
• 12:53
  Speaker 3: all that's been accomplished, the Lord has done Isaiah 26, three,
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  Speaker 3: and I've done nothing except try to follow God and
• 13:01
  Speaker 3: discover what he wanted me to know. So everything that's
• 13:05
  Speaker 3: happened from dad being saved in that camp and all
• 13:08
  Speaker 3: of his boys getting out safe, that's all the Lord's doing.
• 13:12
  Speaker 3: And then, for it to be buried in the ashes
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  Speaker 3: of the Holocaust for 70 years before it ever comes
• 13:18
  Speaker 3: to light.
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  Speaker 1: That's all the Lord's doing.
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  Speaker 3: And I think it's for such a time as this
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  Speaker 3: when we so desperately need to start treating people with
• 13:27
  Speaker 3: the highest respect and honor that God calls us to.
• 13:35
  Speaker 3: When we esteem others better than ourselves, we take people
• 13:38
  Speaker 3: to where God resides, the place where God resides. for
• 13:42
  Speaker 3: that unconditional love, regardless of who they are, regardless of
• 13:47
  Speaker 3: what we think about them, regardless of how they think
• 13:49
  Speaker 3: about us. We love them with the love of Christ.
• 13:53
  Speaker 3: And that is a love that's beyond this world, but
• 13:56
  Speaker 3: it's a love that we have to share through the
• 14:01
  Speaker 3: power of Christ. It's pretty amazing. And dad shared that
• 14:04
  Speaker 3: love in that POW camp. He even shared it with
• 14:07
  Speaker 3: the Nazi major because he looked at him and he
• 14:10
  Speaker 3: told him the truth. When you combine truth with love,
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  Speaker 3: it's unstoppable. And he told him the truth. He loved
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  Speaker 3: him enough to tell him the truth with a gun
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  Speaker 3: to his head and said, you're going to regret this.
• 14:24
  Speaker 3: You don't want to do this. This is going to
• 14:27
  Speaker 3: be the worst thing that could have ever happened to you.
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  Speaker 3: That's what he was telling that guy. And thankfully, Dad's
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  Speaker 3: words helped that Nazi to make the right decision. He
• 14:36
  Speaker 3: didn't pull the trigger. I shouldn't be here. My family
• 14:40
  Speaker 3: shouldn't be here. A lot of those Jewish guys and
• 14:42
  Speaker 3: the POWs in that camp should have been killed. But
• 14:47
  Speaker 3: he talked the Nazi down and told him the truth,
• 14:51
  Speaker 3: and he told him in love. And I hope someday
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  Speaker 3: in heaven when I'm there with Dad that the old
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  Speaker 3: Nazi's there and we get to celebrate that we're all
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  Speaker 3: one in the Lord. Today, our prayer comes from Jesus Listens.
• 15:09
  Speaker 3: August 11th. Please join me in prayer. My vigilant God,
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  Speaker 3: I delight in these reassuring words from you. I am
• 15:21
  Speaker 3: with you and will watch over you wherever you go.
• 15:25
  Speaker 3: An adventurous journey awaits me, yet I'm anticipating it with
• 15:28
  Speaker 3: mixed feelings. In some ways, I'm eager to step into
• 15:32
  Speaker 3: this new adventure. I'm hoping to find bountiful blessings along
• 15:36
  Speaker 3: the way. However, part of me fears leaving my comfortable,
• 15:39
  Speaker 3: predictable routine. When fearful thoughts assail me, please remind me
• 15:44
  Speaker 3: that you will be watching over me constantly, wherever I am.
• 15:48
  Speaker 3: I'm grateful that the comfort of your presence is forever.
• 15:54
  Speaker 3: It's a forever promise. You've been teaching me that. That
• 15:59
  Speaker 3: essential preparation for the journey ahead is practicing your presence
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  Speaker 3: each day, I need to keep calling to mind that
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  Speaker 3: you are with me and you're taking care of me.
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  Speaker 3: As I walk with you along my life path, I
• 16:12
  Speaker 3: like to imagine your strong hand holding on to mine.
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  Speaker 3: Help me to trust you, my guide. To show me
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  Speaker 3: the way forward step by step. Because your sense of
• 16:23
  Speaker 3: direction is perfect. I don't need to worry about getting lost.
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  Speaker 3: I can relax in your presence. Rejoicing in the wonder
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  Speaker 3: of sharing my whole life with you. In your comforting name, Jesus. Amen.
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  Speaker 2: To learn more about the story of Chris Edmonds' father,
• 16:48
  Speaker 2: visit RoddyEdmonds.com. And be sure to check out Chris' book
• 16:53
  Speaker 2: about his father's legacy, No Surrender, a father, a son,
• 16:57
  Speaker 2: and an extraordinary act of heroism that continues to live
• 17:00
  Speaker 2: on today at your favorite retailer. Stay tuned to Caleb
• 17:04
  Speaker 2: Altmyer's story after a brief message. For adults, check out
• 17:11
  Speaker 2: the beautifully illustrated Jesus Listens for Advent and Christmas. Jesus
• 17:33
  Speaker 2: Calling for Christmas, and Jesus Listens, Prayers for Every Season.
• 17:38
  Speaker 2: The children in your life will love opening Jesus Calling
• 17:41
  Speaker 2: Advent and Christmas Prayers, Jesus Calling, The Story of Christmas,
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: and the brand new seasonally illustrated Jesus Listens for Christmas.
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: Whether you're seeking personal renewal or the perfect meaningful gift,
• 17:54
  Speaker 2: these books remind us that Christmas isn't about the rush.
• 17:58
  Speaker 2: It's about the peace that comes from God's love. Give
• 18:01
  Speaker 2: the gift of quiet moments, spiritual comfort, and the true
• 18:05
  Speaker 2: joy of Christmas. Find Jesus Calling Christmas Books at your
• 18:09
  Speaker 2: local bookstore or visit Amazon.com slash Jesus Calling. Our next
• 18:23
  Speaker 2: guest is Kayla Altmyer, who has spent the past decade
• 18:26
  Speaker 2: working to help people escape sex trafficking and rebuild their lives.
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: He shares what first opened his eyes to the problem
• 18:32
  Speaker 2: and why so much of it happens closer to home
• 18:35
  Speaker 2: than we might think.
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: My name is Caleb Altmyer. I'm the founder and CEO
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: of Helping Captives, a Christian anti-trafficking organization in the Pacific Northwest.
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: I'm also a husband, dad, and a speaker. I grew
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: up in Spokane Valley, Washington, and I My story really
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: doesn't begin with my childhood. It starts a bit earlier
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: because my mom and dad, about five months after they
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: got married, they got a horrible car accident, which left
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: my mom a quadriplegic. And so I was actually raised
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: by a mom in a wheelchair. But instead of... My
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: mom becoming depressed and deciding that there was not much
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: to live for. Her and my father decided they were
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: going to give their whole life to the Lord and
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: they would begin to do ministry. And my dad began
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: working at the Union Gospel Mission, which is a homeless
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: organization up in our area. And that was kind of
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: their life for a long time. And my mom, all
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: she wanted to do is be a mother, but they
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: didn't know if they could have kids. They didn't know
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: if it would be too hard on them. be too
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: hard on her. Sure enough, they get pregnant with me.
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: And so here I come into the world and what
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: a crazy childhood that I had. It was a lot
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: of fun because my mother wanted to be a mom
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: so much. She would be kind of like a mother
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: to the neighborhood. And before I even showed up, she'd
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: always be hanging out with people and So as I
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: came into the world, we always had neighbor kids coming over.
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: It was always the place in the neighborhood that everybody
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: would come and spend time. But one of the girls
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: that we knew growing up, she would come over to
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: our house quite a lot. She was a few years
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: older than us. And the one memory that I do have, though,
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: that I remember is walking to her house to go
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: get a Disney movie and VHS tape. And I remember
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: walking into the house and her brother turning around with
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: like a look of terror on his face and saying,
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: what are you doing? Get those kids out of here.
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: And her saying, it's okay. Mom and dad aren't here.
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: And his dad's outside. I don't know about you, but
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: when you're four or five years old, you usually walk
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: into somebody's house and you're greeted with joy. You're greeted
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: with a hug. Everyone's excited to see you. And that
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: always stuck out in my mind. My dad got new
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: direction for the next season of his life and started
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: a church and And it was because he started that
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: church that we're in the fight today. Because that lady,
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: that young girl that I was friends with, 20 years later,
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: she found out about my dad's church and she came
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: in and told him her story. She told us that
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: her parents had been selling her from the age of six.
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: And the only reason she'd come over was the only
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: safe place in the neighborhood that she knew of. That
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: obviously broke my dad's heart. He came and talked to
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: me about it. At this time, I'm running a youth center.
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: And so I start talking to my staff about it.
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: Then I'm going to go up and meet with her.
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: I go up and meet with her. She tells me
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: her story. It breaks my heart. I'm not really sure
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: how to process it all. So I go back to
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: my staff meeting the next week. They asked me how
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: it went. I tell them that one of my coworkers
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: starts crying. She had a very similar story. And her
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: dad worked at a prison and would sell her to
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: his prison guard friends. And this is when everything... I
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: think began to shift and change in my dad's heart
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: and my heart from how do we help her to,
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: oh my goodness, there's a lot of people in this
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: situation that need help. And that's when I was like,
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: no matter what, we want to do something to fight this.
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: And that's when we decided to get into the fight
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: to stop sex trafficking. My dad retired from the mission
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: and we opened up the first safe house in our area.
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: We thought we'd help two or three women. We had
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: 21 women go through our house in nine months. And
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: fast forward 10 years, we just helped 412 women last year.
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: So it has been quite the journey. We have an
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: extremely horrific problem. When you look at the United States,
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: there's statistics out there that say about 50% of all
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: sex trafficking happens in North America, which they consider Greenland
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: and Canada part of that. So this isn't just something
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: that happens overseas. This is something that happens here in
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: our own community. And that's why it's the church's job
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: and the believers and followers of Jesus to fight this.
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: One out of three girls is sexually abused now by
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: the time they're 18. And one out of five boys
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: is sexually abused by the time they're 18. The majority
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: of them are abused by somebody they know. So I
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: want to break this idea that it's just girls that
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: are being kidnapped and and thrown into the back of vans.
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: That's not what this looks like. I think, unfortunately, sometimes
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: the movies just help us reiterate in our head, oh,
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: this is kids shipping containers and this happens overseas, when
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: the reality is that a lot of human trafficking is
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: happening in your own community. 80% of trafficking grooming now
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: happens online. All they have to do is go onto TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook,
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: and they just scroll down and they start looking for
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: young girls that are looking for attention. And then they
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: start hitting them up and DMing them and telling them
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: they're beautiful and start trying to build trust with them.
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: And then what will end up happening is that they'll
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: start isolating them from their family members and they start
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: desensitizing them to the sex industry. That's how it always works.
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: It's always those three things for grooming. It's always build trust, isolate,
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: and then desensitize. traffickers exploit unmet needs. And I think
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: one of the greatest needs that we all have is belonging.
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: And when somebody is lonely and they want to belong,
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: it makes them an easier target because they're willing to
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: do whatever it takes to fit in. They're willing to
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: have the conversation. They're willing to have somebody say, you're
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: so beautiful and Let me talk to you. And you
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: know what? Send me this picture. And then all of
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: a sudden they're sending a photo to them. And now
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: it's like, hey, keep sending these photos to me or
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: I'm going to send this to your parents or your
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: youth pastor. This extortion stuff that we see all the
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: time is unbearable. But I think a lot of it
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: comes out of loneliness of just wanting to fit in
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: and wanting to belong. And I think it's easy for
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: men to get into the homes of these young girls
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: through technology. There's going to be men that are looking
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: for girls that are wanting attention and wanting love to
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: exploit them and lie to them. Because most of trafficking
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: that we see is not kidnapping. It's through the lover
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: boy method, which is a guy meets a girl, makes
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: her think he really loves and cares about her only
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: so that he can build a relationship with her so
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: that he can sell her and get her into commercial
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: sex work. And if you're a young person and you're
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: listening to this, stop talking to people online that you
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: don't know, because it's very, very easy for somebody to
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: make a fake profile And act like there's somebody that
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: they're not. And then the other thing is be very,
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: very diligent in understanding who your kids are spending time with.
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: We just have chosen we're not going to do sleepovers.
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: And that's very strange for somebody that grew up in
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: the 80s and 90s where that's all we did was
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: have sleepovers. But most of the trauma that happened to
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: me and the stupid stuff that I got into was
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: never at my house. It was always at somebody else's house.
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: And you might trust somebody, but you don't know their uncle.
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: You don't know their aunt. You don't know their cousin.
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: You don't know who's coming in and out of the house.
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: You don't know what your kids are watching and what
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: movies or if they're watching pornography at the neighbor's house.
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: These are things that I wish parents would just know
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: and understand. But all of that isn't possible if you're
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: not actively engaged in their life and you don't have
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: a relationship. And that's why if you have a relationship
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: with your kids and you're actively engaging parenting them and
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: you have a good relationship and know who they're talking to,
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: the chances of them being trafficked are much lower. I
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: can't say this enough. Build relationships with vulnerable young people.
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: Traffickers are really good at finding vulnerable people. The church
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: should be better at finding them first. When we look
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: at the life of Jesus, he gets... baptized. He is
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: filled with the spirit. He goes out into the desert.
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: He gets tempted. He goes and gets his disciples. And
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: the first place he heads is Nazareth. He's heading home.
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: I'm going home. I'm telling the community, this is what
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: my ministry is going to be about. And of all
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: the things that he could say, he goes into the synagogue.
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: He opens up the book of Isaiah and he reads,
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: the spirit of God has anointed me to preach goodness
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted and to
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: set the captives free. Boom. These are the first three
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: things that he says, this is what my ministry is
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: going to be known for. We want to be about
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: setting captives free. And the perfect example that I could
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: say to you about this is our new building, the
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: Freedom Center that we just purchased and that we're building.
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: And the reason why this is a perfect example is
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: because Spokane is where I'm from, is the city that
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: founded Father's Day. And so in that city was a
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: gentleman's club or a strip club. And basically what you
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: would do with the gentlemen's club is you would tell women,
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: if you want my attention, come take your clothes off. Right.
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: And so what we did as a community is we
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: actually bought the club and it shut down and we
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: wanted to make sure nobody could reopen it. So we
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: purchased the strip club and we essentially shut it down
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: for good and are now turning that strip club into
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: a freedom center for Because the men in the community
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: are saying, hey, we don't want to be known for
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: objectifying our women and kids anymore. We want to be
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: known for healing our women and kids. And so we're
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: actually building the nation's first freedom center for sex trafficking survivors.
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: And it happens to be in the city that founded
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: Father's Day. And it happens to be the only strip
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: club that is no longer around. And so the Lord
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: has been doing some incredible things. Because when you understand
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: that this is happening in our communities and you understand
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: what it actually looks like and you're filled with the
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: Holy Spirit, you start to see things that other people
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: just don't see. You start to pay attention to vulnerable
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: people around you.
• 29:07
  Speaker 2: To learn more about Caleb Altmyer and his work, visit
• 29:11
  Speaker 2: helpingcaptives.org and be sure to follow him on social media.
• 29:15
  Speaker 2: If you'd like to hear more stories of incredible courage,
• 29:18
  Speaker 2: Check out our interview with Johan Werfel. Next time on
• 29:28
  Speaker 2: the Jesus Calling podcast, we'll hear from actor Giovanni Cairo,
• 29:32
  Speaker 2: who plays Thaddeus on The Chosen, about finding confidence through
• 29:35
  Speaker 2: acting and how the character he plays has changed the
• 29:38
  Speaker 2: way he sees his own life.
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: I want to be a part of projects that have
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: an impact in the way God has had an impact
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: on me.
• 29:46
  Speaker 3: So I see my work differently now.
• 29:52
  Speaker 2: Thanks for listening to the Jesus Calling Stories of Faith
• 29:54
  Speaker 2: podcast on the Life Audio Network. Every week we'll bring
• 29:58
  Speaker 2: you stories from people who share their journeys of faith
• 30:01
  Speaker 2: and how prayer and a relationship with God transformed their lives.
• 30:05
  Speaker 2: Be sure to follow us on Apple, Spotify, iHeart, or
• 30:09
  Speaker 2: wherever you listen to podcasts. And leave us a review
• 30:12
  Speaker 2: so others can be inspired weekly by these stories of faith. Finally,
• 30:17
  Speaker 2: you can find encouragement, resources, and more on the Jesus
• 30:20
  Speaker 2: Calling website at jesuscalling.com.