Reynolds Plantation resident Mary Elzy would go anywhere with her 15-year-old granddaughter, Haley Vincent. “If she asked, I would go to the moon with her,” states Mary. So when Haley, a ninth grader at Westminster School in Atlanta, asked her “Grams” to accompany her on an adult women’s mission trip to Kolkata (Calcutta), India in March, Mary agreed.

One of Mary’s concerns about taking a trip to India at her age was staying well and not compromising her health. Several of her friends told her about TenderCare’s International Travel Clinic, so her husband, Gene, and she set up an appointment to consult with the travel clinic experts. Pam Luke and Brenda Oulsnam spent over an hour and a half talking with Mary and Gene about the vaccines and medications she would need to ensure that she would remain healthy on her trip. They also spent considerable time discussing the “dos and don’ts” of travel within a developing country. During their trip, she and Haley followed their advice regarding food, “peel it, cook it, boil it or don’t eat it.” Mary says that Pam and Brenda were so thorough in researching the specific location in India that by the time the date of the trip arrived, she felt quite confident that she was doing everything she could do to remain healthy during and after the trip.

This mission trip was organized and sponsored by Haley’s church, Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta. Peachtree Presbyterian partners with International Justice Mission (IJM.org). IJM is a human rights agency that rescues victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression.  The team of 10 women visited and worked at aftercare homes that have been set up to protect and educate girls who had been rescued by IJM. They also visited, had devotions with and heard talks given by IJM staff members. Through art, music and love, souls touched souls between the mission group and the girls and staff in the aftercare homes. The mission team was able to put faces to statistics and left admiring the courage and resiliency of these beautiful women who have experienced such cruelty in their young lives.

This human trafficking problem hit very close to home recently when Mary met the Greene County deputy, Patrick Paquette, who along with his fellow officers, rescued a 17 year-old girl on I-20 who had been trafficked for three years. This is a reminder that human trafficking is a local and global issue that must be addressed by all of us. Mary stated that the statistics are grim. 300 people are sold in Georgia each month. There are 27 million slaves worldwide, the highest number in world history.  One of Mary’s favorite quotes is, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” She feels that as global citizens we have the responsibility to become informed and involved in combatting this most serious problem.

Mary and Haley have been filmed for a video on their experiences in India that were shown on Global Sunday at Peachtree Presbyterian Church on May 19. They will also be giving a talk and slide show on June 5, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Mary’s church, Lake Oconee Community Church, 1001 Village Park Drive, Suite 107 (in the former “Sprouts” location near Fishtales). This talk is open to the public.