Survivor Story: Sophia

I learned from a young age how wrong this world can be. At 14 years old, I met a man on Facebook and eventually he convinced me to let him come visit in Texas. He was from Utah. He told me he was driving from Utah to Pennsylvania, and that Texas was on his was there. I had no idea that he made everything up. That was the first time I was sexually abused. 

Unfortunately, this was not the last time that men traveled from all over the states to pay me a visit as a minor. I did not know how to process what happened, and it set something off in me where I felt like I was only valuable if grown men wanted me. I struggled heavily with suicidal ideation and I even tried to commit suicide on a few occasions. 

As embarrassing as it is to say, my journey did not exactly start with this, but my trafficking journey did. There was a Dr. Phil episode that I watched where he invited sugar babies and escorts to come onto the show and talk about their lifestyles. And the biggest lie that I heard was that they did not have to have sex to make money. All you had to do was go on dates and vacations with these men as their companions and get spoiled. So I joined seeking arrangements. I was underage and about to start making some very bad decisions that would continue for the next eleven years. Decisions that I no longer had control over. I don’t actually know if I ever had control of any part of it, I was in way over my head. 

My first date was with a 63 year old man, and after dinner I very quickly realized this was not something you get paid for without any touching involved. And I didn’t leave untouched. As much as I hated it, I could not deny that I felt powerful with the money and the illusion of freedom. An illusion of freedom that would soon become my prison.

I grew up in a healthy and stable family, but I was living a double life. I was using drugs and being reckless at age 14. My mom got sick with cancer and I was spiraling, she passed away when I was 18. By the time I turned 21, I lost custody of both my children, and CPS placed them with their father. I was determined to destroy myself. I had so much guilt and shame and nowhere for it to go. I was just holding onto it and it was too much to bear on my shoulders. I was in and out of jail for the next few years, living in hotels and even under a bridge at one point as an attempt to get away from my traffickers. I had absolutely no control anymore. I was so sick and tired of the physical abuse, mind games, starvation, drugs, jail, men, and fear for my life. 

My dad used to tell me this story about when he was in his twenties and his life was out of control and he broke down and cried out to Jesus asking him to take over because he couldn’t live like that anymore. After that his life changed forever. And every so often, I tried to ask God to change my situation and nothing would happen. I felt that there was no way God would let me suffer. 

In March of 2023, I was arrested on many charges, with one of them being organized crime. I was facing up to 99 years in prison. I felt like there was no hope in my situation. I tried to kill myself and was put on suicide watch. I was losing my mind. I was in withdrawals, I couldn't get out, there was nobody to help me, and I finally hit rock bottom. John 3:16 says, “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son , so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” And on 03.16.23, I felt this feeling like I have never felt before. A voice that said you need to pray but you need to get on your knees and put your hands together and put your head down first. So that’s exactly what I did.

And this time, I asked God to change me, and not my situation. I asked Him to take over my life. I promised that I would follow Him and whatever plans He had for me, that I would be obedient and do whatever it takes to live a better life. I felt this rush of peace over my entire body from head to toe . And I heard a voice that was definitely not my own, saying that everything was going to be okay and that I was exactly where I needed to be to get to where I wanted to be.

Ezekiel 36:26 says, “I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony , stubborn heart and give you a tender responsive heart.” I stayed in my bible every time I was awake. I was on a 23-hour lock down in my cell with only one hour out per day. The only thing I was allowed to have in my cell was my bible, paper and flex pen. I wrote to my dad about my cry out to God and the sense of peace I experienced, and I told him that I just needed a sign from God that He heard me. I finally understood what my dad was trying to tell me from his testimony. I finally believed in God. 

About a month later my attorney came and visited me and told me she was getting me out in the next few days. And she did. 

Back in the real world, my traffickers picked me up and we went to the hotel where there were drugs ready for me. I grabbed my bible and left everything else I owned including my phone and walked out. I was not going to live like that anymore. My trafficker followed me down the street, screaming at me and physically fighting me. I was able to hide inside a local motel, where I asked the lady at the front desk if I could please use her phone to call my dad to come get me. She agreed and pulled me behind the desk area where her bible was open to the book of Proverbs. While waiting for my dad to arrive, I was watching her work checking people in and out. Suddenly, she hung up the phone in the middle of a call and grabbed me by the hands. She said. “I don’t know why I feel like I need to tell you this, but God heard you and you came to the right place and you're going to be okay.” The sign from God was clear as day. Every hair on my body stood up and I just started crying. She turned on some worship music and we listened to it until my dad arrived. 

I had no idea what human trafficking was or that I was being trafficked. When I was staying at my dad’s house, my step mom asked me if I thought I was being trafficked, and I looked it up and I was completely shocked.Everything that had been going on in my life was finally making sense. My family suggested that I call somewhere to get help and healing from all my trauma over the years, so I called a human trafficking rescue and got placed in a temporary safe house for survivors. While I was there, I decided I needed to participate in a long-term program. All of my previous charges were dropped due to being trafficked, and I was able to make the decision to take a year off for me and my healing. 

After interviewing with three different places, I got accepted into two of them right away, but something was pulling me to the WellHouse. I waited on their acceptance and it was the best decision I think I have ever made. I am so grateful to this program and all of the staff. I have discovered myself again and I have never felt so free and healthy in my life. I know that every person who works here really cares about us. And not just us as a whole, but ME individually. The love and acceptance here is something I have rarely experienced in my life. There were a lot of things that I was not willing to talk about or work through when I first got here. And I can proudly say that I’m free from the baggage I was carrying around. I am free from shame. I’m so excited to share about the freedom I’ve experienced through Jesus, and I can’t wait to get involved and help girls who have gone through the same things as me.