There is a new movie out called Sound of Freedom. In full disclosure, I have not seen the movie.
I went to see Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and the preview for Sound of Freedom played before the movie. Honestly, I knew it was coming out. I purposefully did not watch the preview because the topic is sickening to me. There I was, stuck in the movie theater watching the preview. I was so moved by the preview, I started to tear up. It was so much more powerful than I ever expected it to be.
The story is about Tim Ballard, the founder of OUR Operation Underground Railroad and his efforts to save children from human trafficking.
It is hard to imagine something like this happening. I’ve periodically heard of these things happening. So, I know they do happen.
I wanted to share two stories that I feel tie into this.
Story #1 – I was serving as an LDS missionary in New York City. We had just exited the subway. As soon as we reached the street, we happened upon a woman frantically searching for her child. She was completely hysterical. We tried to help search for the child. Looking between people, in shops, up and down the street. It didn’t take long to realize the situation was utterly hopeless. I could feel the desperation of this mother and at the same time, I knew she would never see her child again.
Story #2 – My young family and I were in Japan visiting my parents who were working for the Department of Defense in Sasebo Japan. We had taken a day to go sightseeing. We had just visited the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Site and Peace Museum. My mother wanted to take us to the Nagasaki Chinatown marketplace. As we were driving there, this uneasy feeling fell over me. As we drove closer the feeling increased. Simultaneously my mind was filled with thoughts of my daughter being kidnapped. A feeling of utter despair fell over me. The feelings grew so strong they began to overwhelm me. I finally spoke. I told my mother; we cannot go to that market. She asked why? I said because my daughter will be stolen from me. It had all played out in my mind, staying in Japan, searching high and low, not knowing the language, not knowing the area, she easily could be hidden or swept out of the country, ultimately my precious daughter would never be seen again. We did not go there. As soon as the decision was made to not go there, the feeling disappeared and has never returned to me again.
In that brief moment I had a glimpse of the excruciating pain, hopelessness, and despair a parent feels when their child is abducted. No parent and no child should ever have to go through that experience.
God bless Tim for embarking on this courageous journey. God bless Angel Studios, Jim Caviezel and the other actors for creating and sharing this message. God bless all those who are taking the message and sharing it. Last of all, God bless all those families, parents, and children who have been victims of these heinous crimes. “God’s children are not for sale.”
I would like to add, Jim Caviezel has not ceased to amaze me. I think he is an incredible human being. There are more and more posts, interviews, stories, and videos about this movie and statements by those involved. It is truly heroic.
Here is an interview with Tim Ballard and Jim Caviezel by Jordan Peterson.