Tattoo Artist Uses His Talent to Fight Human Trafficking

When tattoo artist Chris Baker became a born-again Christian, he began to question his chosen profession as a tattoo artist.  Though he loved his work and had a great talent for it, he wasn't sure if this was a path that God would want him to continue on.  Like many who are unsure about which direction to go, Christ prayed to the Lord for guidance.  A few days later, Chris went to work at his warehouse job and a few of his coworkers complimented him on his tattoos while complaining that the only tattoos that they have are leftover gang tattoos that they desperately wanted to get rid of.  It was at this moment that Chris realized that the Lord was answering his prayer.  

Chris approached law enforcement officers about using his talent to help former gang members (Link to Video).  He learned during his work how these former gang members were having such a hard time leaving their old lives behind.  Their tattoos were a sinister mark of their previous destructive past that continued to haunt them.  They prevented many from being hired for decent-paying jobs and also made them target from attacks, both by their former gang rivals and also by members of the gang that they left, members who saw their departure as an act of betrayal.  

With the assistance of local law enforcement agencies, officers began referring former gang members to Chris, who offered to cover up their gang tattoos for free.  For these former career criminals, these coverups became more than a free service that helped protect them from scrutiny and physical attack, it became a powerful symbol of how they were leaving their old lives behind and starting anew.  Many of these career criminals openly wept when they saw how their former gang tattoos no longer scarred their bodies.  They were not longer a prisoner to their past.  As a final act to symbolize their triumph, the former gang member would hang a handkerchief of the color representing their gang, knowing that at this moment, they are finally free.

The law enforcement officers were so moved by Chris's work that they approached him for his help to fight another endemic in our nation: human trafficking.  As these officers filled Chris in on this terrible travesty, he, like many, was stunned to learn that this atrocity was not only occurring in his country, it was happening in his own community.  When Chris asked how tattoos played in all of this, officers showed him images of trafficking victims who had barcodes tattooed on them, the names of pimps inked on them, and other vulger images tattooed on their bodies which showed that they were property, owned by their pimps, and sold for sex.  

When asked if he would extend his ministry to help these victims, Chris immediately agreed and promised to do everything in his power to fight this epidemic.  Many trafficking victims came to Chris once they were able to escape from their pimps and he covered up the tattoos of "ownership" placed on their bodies, free of charge.  To symbolize their new freedom, Chris created a new memorial in his shop where the trafficking victim would leave their handprint on a tree, to show that they are no longer slaves to their pimps.  They are liberated.  

Chris Baker's work shows us how God works through all of us.  We may not immediately understand his ways.  We may think that the talents we are granted could never be used to serve the Lord, but God can take anything and use it for good.  God gave Chris this gift for a reason, and Chris is using this gift to do God's work.