And as I stepped into this particular brothel was the middle of the afternoon.

It was bright outside, but I stepped in.

It was so dark, the Mayes were adjusting to the darkness, and I noticed movement all around.

There were huge rats, just resting and leisure.

And as I made my way in a little bit further and started up these sort of warren wooden stairs as I got toward the top of the stairs, I could start to hear the sound of abuse echoing off the walls.

And if the walls could talk, as the saying goes, a few of us could actually stomach those stories.

As I got to the top of that staircase, it opened up in a long corridor with literally woman after woman just lined up in front of these little closet sized rooms with nothing more than just a mattress and a poor Kurt and I walked into that hallway and I couldn't realize what was in front of me.

I had never seen slavery face to face as I looked into the eyes of some of those women, it was lifeless, void place where life once lived.

As I stepped out onto the street, I left that place because I can.

I'm not a slave commercial.

Sexual exploitation is a significant issue in virtually every country around the world.

But in certain countries, the confluence of factors and systemic issues kind of coalesce to actually cause it to thrive in some places far greater than others.

The State Department's US trafficking in persons report reports, and some of these South Asian countries that millions of women and Children are sold for sex on a consistent basis.

When we consider how this process works, when we consider that it's it's those who are in a position of authority that are exercising that authority that power over those who are in a position of vulnerability, we have to ask the question.

How can things change?

We have to understand kind of how the process works, to understand how you bring solution, you see, ultimately, it is those in authority abusing nose in a position of vulnerability.

Here's how it works in some cases in our particular context, someone called the DL all will actually go out to the countryside and typically to the rural poor and begin to shape and tell all these stories of economic opportunity that exists within the city.

What happens next is that person will then bring that young woman into the city and oftentimes sell her to someone called the mailing.

We'll put her in the box, and it's in this place where this becomes for life, for existence, where she eats, where she sleeps, where she's forced to do things none of us would desire day after day, night after night until that may link breaks for at this point the mail and then hand her over to someone called the guard.

Wally the Gore Wally in in this hallway ultimately, is the one who's trying to help enforce this fact that she is never going to leave this place, and she has been brought here for a specific person purpose, and that is to earn money.

And if she doesn't, there will be severe consequence.

And it's at this point where the Gore Wally starts to peel back and strip any vestige of hope that remains ultimately, that car Wally then hand her over to street level pin.

And it's at this point when we kind of see an image where you know these women are on the street or something like that.

We think, Why doesn't she run at this point, the authority over her in the trauma that she's experienced, she's no longer a flight risk.

She's not going anywhere at this point.

The trauma has done its work, and she sees herself as a sexual slave.

And by the time she's handed over to that pimp, the pimp knows a matter of fact, the pimp will boast about it.

One pimp was quoted to saying, You do good or show up a day late and leave a day early.

He knows that those in authority have the power over those who are a position of vulnerability to beauty, to abuse them as they so choose.

And he's banking, literally banking on the fact that those from the outside who are in positions of authority and influence aren't gonna take the time to actually engage and engage in the need of those who are vulnerable.

What we do about it, you see, I want I want to suggest that the issue is not awareness.

The issue is action, those in positions of authority and power and influence exercising that power and authority and influence on behalf of the vulnerable nose in need, at great risk to themselves so that we can all together flourish.

But it requires risk.

A friend, Andy Crouch, has suggested this.

He's written a number of different articles and books on this topic.

The idea of authority and vulnerability and for our purposes of borrowed this and kind of constructed him for our purposes and consideration.

Tonight Authority authority is the capacity for meaningful action.

Where's vulnerability would be exposure to meaningful risk.

I want to suggest to you that the nexus of those two, when we consider high authority and high vulnerability this is the point at which we find human flourishing.

It's a point at which were ableto voice who we are.

We're able to use our voice, and that voice is heard and considered.

It's a place where we have influence or can actually speak into things and have helped bring about positive change.

It's a place where we have a relationship where we are known, where were challenged, where we're trusted.

Where were loved and vice versa.

Mutually beneficial relationship.

Now the opposite of this human flourishing would be in a position of very low for very low vulnerability.

This would be considered withdrawing.

And oftentimes we consider withdrawing its.

It's seen from those who have experienced enough success, maybe financially, to be able to step away from the risk of vulnerability and neglect the responsibility of authority and inoculate their lives in a place what might be considered safety.

Now, what's interesting is some researchers.

They kind of looked at this and they said these inoculated lives or the ones that seem tohave patterns of what seems to be a sense of purpose listening that leads to a sense of depression, lack of meaning.

Now, the real challenges we consider this is you move up the scale and start to consider high authority, very low vulnerability.

What we see in this quadrant is ultimately those who are are seeking to maximize power and get rid of risk at the benefit of themselves.

And it's in this short 1/4 there's often driven by fear of being vulnerable, so seeking a maximized risk or maximized power and reduce risk, it all costs regardless of who it effects and who it hurts.

This is potentially the way that a company cuts wages in the developing country.

So those who are actually producing a product or are left and significant dire consequences just so that they can increase the profit margin for the ultimate end of a select few shareholders receiving more.

And oftentimes we maybe complicity in it in purchasing the product and not even realize it.

Now, I'm not against competition.

Rather, I think it's a great thing as long as it's for the benefit of the whole not just a select few, not just those in authority at the sake of the Volga, because it's ultimately the vulnerable, this place of suffering, where there's virtually no authority and exposure to significant risk.

That's in this position where people like those who work in the fashion industry, who are paid pennies to produce things to make the affluent look good.

It's exploited young boys who were working in the fishing industry and exceptionally hazardous conditions to make sure that the catch of the day and lands on that great plate in that great restaurant, it's the women in the box in the hallway and on the street or silenced who are isolated and rendered powerless.

And so the question is simply this.

If the suffering exists.

And yet, if we consider where we are positioned in this world today, we must ask the question, What do we do about all this?

Do we withdraw or do we double down on the power and the authority that we have regard to support facts or at great risk?

Do we step in for the sake of the vulnerable?

Do we step in to their needs?

This is authority, reimagine, expressing authority and influence for the sake of those we need at great risk to ourselves.

Subic.

Together we flourish, and it's not just a philosophy or an idea.

It's the heart that drives Aruna.

We got exposed to that need in that red light area.

We dug in and did tons of research to simply try and understand from those in the community.

Why's this thriving?

And we established a Runar to simply be an option and a solution for those who are in a vulnerable position and in desperate need as an athlete, her lifestyle brand, we create functional luxury product that competes here in the open market.

But what drives it is creating lifelong freedom for the vulnerable on those in need, specifically those who've been trafficked for sex.

It's this system that we've sought to create to empower those who are in need.

We've got a training center in the heart of the red light area where we go into that brothel system on a daily basis to try and help empower the women's.

They can step into that training center, where they receive hot meal where they receive trauma focus kind of behavioral therapy to help them move through him.

Process some of the trauma they experienced financially incentivize skill and trade development to equip them with the skills necessary needed to move out from that situation.

In addition to that, then that we offer them transitional housing and a job opportunity within the freedom business.

It's in this business where they're financially incentivize.

They have a living wage, they have retirement, they have health care, all wrapped in a community of care by others who have overcome.

And what we're seeing is these women are doing incredible things.

They're creating incredibly beautiful products and they're challenging us and saying give us something harder, Give us something more beautiful.

Products that are blue signs certified fabrics, which means equal friendly for the culture supply chain.

Check for questionable labor practice from those who were sourcing from the aluminum.

Trends are all strength tested.

The designs are all day functional, and what's beautiful is the women are driving this vision.

In addition to that, we're seeing an incredible amount of people starting to step in and utilize their authority and their influence.

Thousands across the U.

S.

We're getting involved in Aruna runs where they run for a particular woman by name who's still enslaved to try and help secure and bring about her freedom.

And what's incredible is to consider where these women are today.

It's these women that are driving the vision of Aruna.

They're the ones who are using their voice and their influence and their relationships.

Now that they're freed and empowered and employees one young woman will refer to her as Farida.

Born into the system, basically was turned out and abused, set free, and then, as she worked with in our production facility, none of us knew this.

She was saving up her money and as she saved up that money over Christmas time.

She went back in and purchased her own mother's freedom a couple of months ago.

As we're sitting in their apartment, we're having team.

We're spending some time together to other women.

Walk in.

We have a great conversation and two other women leave.

And as we're getting up to leave, we come to find out that is.

Farida had freed her mother.

Her mother then freed those two women.

They are exercising their voice, their influence, their relationships, its authority reimagined as they exercise that authority on behalf of the vulnerable, at great risk to themselves so that together they can flourish.

They're leading the vision.

They understand it because they've been in that position of suffering.

And once they taste freedom and step into that position of authority, they know how could they withdraw?

How could they step up to exploit others?

No.

Instead, they exist in that position of a flourishing where they're stepping in for the sake of others were in need.

Drive in the vision and it's beautiful to see.

The question is for us.

How will we respond?

Will we prove the pimp wrong?

He's banking on the fact that you won't.

We can choose to withdraw.

We can choose to double down and maximizing our power and eliminating risk and potentially exploit.

We can choose to step in to flourish and reimagine authority, exercising that authority on behalf of the vulnerable at great risk to yourself so that together we can flourish.

Let's prove the pimp wrong because lives depend on thank you.