globe watched the olympic games in london. soon the torch begins its journey to the country hosting the next olympics, brazil. >> george: how much sporting events draw hundreds of thousands of visitors and create lots of excitement, but there is a dark side: the exploitation of children. it is called sex tourism. and as my colleague, heather cells explains, authorities in brazil are already planning to deal with it. >> reporter: in recent years, growing numbers of tourists have flocked to northern eastern brazil. they take advantage of the beautiful beaches, the colonial agriculture, and tragically, it's children. >> it is very easy to buy a girl. it is like buying chocolate. >> reporter: cbn news travelled to northeast brazil for a closer look at the area's child sex trafficking epidemic. this counsellor describes it as out of control. taxi drivers, hotel workers

and drug dealers supply an underground network, for supply and demand. after our interview, we walked to the beach across from our hotel. and he noticed children for sale right in front of us. our translator approached a young boy working as a transvestite. he agreed to tell us how the system works. >> they come in the car. they ask how much it is. i tell them, and they say if they want me. and if they want me, they take me. >> reporter: leah uses the 25 to $50 per trick to buy clothes and food for himself and his mom. he told us he started at age 14. his life and pain was clear. >> i don't like it. i hate it. i just do it because i need it. >> reporter: brazil may soon overtake thailand as the number one country in trafficked children. the united nations estimates that more than a quarter million are sexually exploited here.

much of it happens in the northeast region where child sex tourists arrive from europe and the u.s. >> we see kids start at age 12, 13. it is a way for them to have an income, to receive money easily. >> reporter: and if the problem of child sex trafficking wasn't bad enough, the worst may be yet to come. many fear the world cup games, to be held in the stadium being built behind me, will bring a flood of tourists eager not just for sports, but for children. >> we are trying to find a way to avoid this. >> reporter: he works in child services in the metro area of hasifi. and his research shows that kids are in danger. >> what we see before and after the world cup is trauma in the youth. >> reporter: the public officials and non-profits are teaming up to raise awareness and try to prevent a potential region-wide disaster. >> the social workers are

very concerned about it. so they are working in prevention now with educational materials in the city, and also giving worships in the schools. >> reporter: many in this region also recognize that a long-term strategy is essential to wipe out a tragedy that is deeply embedded in the culture. poor children here typically grow up in small, crowded homes, where they see sexuality that should be private, and often face abuse themselves. >> they start early to see sex in a distorted way, so it is easier to start in this kind of life. >> reporter: drug dealers also take advantage of kids addicted to crack and other illegal substances. it is also common for desperately poor parents to encourage their children to sell themselves. >> the moms, sometimes they put their children in this situation because they need help. >> reporter: in the case of sofia, a 15-year-old we met, her parents simply looked the other way. sofia says she stopped because she wants a better

life. >> i realized it is not good. you can get pregnant. and be unable to go on with your studies and get a good job. >> reporter: the u.s.-based ministry "compassion international" is in the sex trafficking fight for the long haul. compassion uses child sponsorships to fund ministry centres across the country. >> we are not only providing a place for them to come to avoid the streets, but we are concerned about giving them an education in a holistic way, so they can have a different opportunity than their parents. >> reporter: compassion partners with local churches to take care of children's physical needs, and it emphasizes academics, including a special curriculum that targets sexual abuse. and it also emphasizes decision-making for a lifetime. it is a tough concept for so many children who's families desperately need help now, but prevention, via

one-child responseships, may be the most effective strategy. in a recent survey, economists rated it number one in the long-term fight against poverty. >> i believe the best way to combat exploitation is the prevention we're doing in partnership with compassion. >> reporter: and for that reason, tuarez has become a regular at this project, building relationships with kids, in the hopes of helping them to realize their dreams. for these children, it is not too late. and it may not be too late for leah. after our interview, we prayed for him and for his dreams. >> i would like to get married with someone i'm in love with and quit doing what i do. >> reporter: leah told us he would like to become a nurse, a true miracle, perhaps, that one child in so much pain would dream of helping others. >> wendy: and heather joins us with more. you visited a number of compassion ministry centres in brazil. what were your impressions? >> that was the redemptive

part of the time in brazil for us is seeing hope. because we would be in the neighborhoods that are so incredibly poor, and you feel the darkness, and then you go into the compassion centers and we would feel joy and hope and see it on the faces of these kids and hear it as we talked with the workers there. i think their approach and what they're doing, just even from what we could see in a sensory kind of way is just a beautiful thing. >> wendy: how effective do you think this compassion ministry is in dealing with this horrific thing of sex trafficking? >> there are so many ways you can come at sex trafficking, but i believe prevention is so important. that's why compassion is emphasizing. they're hoping 38,000 kids in the country -- brazil is big, but they're working with 38,000 kids being sponsored, and economists are saying this is really effective. we're seeing that this works. >> wendy: a great report. thanks, heather.

george? >> george: wendy, there has been another attack to report on from central nigeria. this time 19 people died when three gunmen stormed the evangelical church building and opened fire on a prayer gathering. authorities are searching for the attackers who fled into the woods. officials say no one has claimed responsibility for this attack. the irradical group boko haram has admitted to several attacks. in manila, philippines, hundreds of thousands are homeless in the city's worst flooding since 2009. >> wendy: lucille talusin tells us about the christian ministry that is braving the floodwaters to help the victims. >> more than 800,000 people fled their homes as torrential rains battered the philippine capital of manila and 17 nearby provinces. it caused widespread flooding and triggered

landslides, leaving at least 19 people dead. using a rubber boat, cbn disaster relief helped rescue those stranded by the floodwaters. >> yesterday we rescued about 38, plus 13 people. as we go into the face of relief, we will be putting up teams like medical teams and relief teams. we need to give them food. we need to give them medical assistance. we need to ask them, do you need to clean up the places? >> reporter: cbn partner, pastor yaga sought help from cbn. >> we can see people evacuating their places and they're on the way to evacuation centers. and here you can see men, residents of this village, trying to make a makeshift bridge so they can pass and go to their respective

homes. the rest of them really have to endure this kind of situation because in the coming days, more rains are expected. despite their difficult circumstances, most residents clues to stay in their flooded houses, rather than the crowded evacuation centers. and they also fear leaving their homes unprotected. >> we cannot leave our house because wer if we do, robbers will take all our things. they don't care at all. >> reporter: pastor diego worked with cbn disaster relief to bring much-needed assistance to his community. the ministry handed out rice, noodles, and canned goods to the victims. >> thank you very much. this is really a big, big help. as you can see, it is very difficult to go out and get supplies, but now we have food for the next day. i really hope you can help more people. >> reporter: pastor diego is happy he can help. but what gives him more joy is the opportunity he had to

share christ's salvation to the people. and he is grateful for cbn's help. >> i apply what i learn from them. they not only cater to the material needs, but most especially to the spiritual needs of the people. every time i help in a disaster, i see to it that the people will know about jesus. one time a flood victim approached me crying. she said, now i realize it is not the material things that is important, but our relationship with god. >> reporter: tens of thousands of people are still in evacuation centers. many communities are still deep in floodwaters. in the midst of all of this, cbn is there to extend all of the physical and spiritual help they can give. lucille talusin, cbn news, manila. >> wendy: and lucille's home was also hit. folks, please be in prayer for the philippines. >> george: coming up, running for life. as a child, he ran to escape the horrors that surrounded him.

and now this olympic athlete is running to help those still suffering.

>> wendy: one of the toughest olympic events is the men's 5,000 meter race. it requires loads of stamina and mental strength to get the gold, and those are two skills that american runner lopez lomong developed as a by. >> george: he didn't get them training inexpensive facilities with coaches and doctors, he gained thim in a desperate attempt to survive life in a refugee camp. tom has the story. >> i'm running this way, not for me. it's for them. i'm carrying their flag. i'm running for the children that don't have even moms, don't have parents. don't have anybody to take care of them, to clothe them. to feed them when they're hungry. to give them a shoe. i am running for those kids. for those parents who can't

come here. >> reporter: lopez lomong was born in a small village in sudan. when he was six, rebels snatched him from his mother's arms during a church service. >> i was dragged with a big guy and there were a lot of guns and bullets around him and thrown in a truck. >> reporter: he was imprisoned at a rebel camp where he watched other young captives die. that's when he and three other boys planned their escape. >> they told me, hey, tonight we're going to see your mom again. >> reporter: in the dead of the night, lopez slipped through a prison fence and ran for his life. >> we were trying to, like, run into the woods, through the savannah, in the tall grass, like that. because we don't want anybody to be able to see us above, or on the hills. and we never had any food along the way. we just had fruits. >> reporter: three days and 40 miles later, the kenyan border patrol found little lopez and took him to a refugee camp.

it was his home for the next 10 years. his new enemies became disease, hunger, and dispair. lopez attended church services. he longed for a deeper relationship with god and wanted to be baptized. during a christmas eve service, he made a commitment to live like jesus. >> i've been chosen, and god wanted me to follow the cross and follow him. and how jesus appointed his disciples, called them by name. and that's why i'm doing god's work. >> reporter: he began running the 18-mile perimeter of the refugee camp to meet the kids' self-imposed requirement to play in the soccer games. it served as a distraction. >> it is going to keep me away from thinking about my meal. it is very tough to see that little rationing, and you know you only can eat one meal a day. so running became something like i have to keep myself away from hunger. >> reporter: when lopez

turned 16, a remarkable opportunity opened. he was among 3800 displaced kids chosen to live with families in the united states. robert and barbara rogers became lopez's american parents as part of the lost boys of sudan program. >> i'm so blessed to be in this country. me and my mom went to shop for school supplies. to have that backpack, to have that pencil, crayons in my backpack, at 16 years old, so i can be able to write something i remember afterward -- it's just incredible. >> reporter: lopez graduated from high school in nearby tully, new york, where he ran on the track team. he earned a scholarship to arizona university and became an american citizen. he qualified in the 2000 olympics in the men's 1500-meters, and carried the u.s. flag in the opening ceremonies. he won his first national

title a year later, at the 2009 u.s.a. outdoor track and field championships. he competes year-round internationally, never forgetting the thousands of remaining lost boys of sudan still searching for homes. >> now i'm running towards something. to be able to give back to those kids. to give them opportunity. to give them that light, for them a future. you went to the united states and you told your story, basically now you rescued all of us. god put us here for a reason, and put me here to survive all of these obstacles that i went through for a reason. basically to go out and help. >> reporter: lopez lives and trains in portland, oregon. his newly released book "running for my life," is raising awareness of the plight of displaced children in southern sudan. >> put everything in god's hand and follow what your heart and god relationship tells you to do. we all have different things

that go through our lives. we are all racing in our hearts in different ways. we all have things we need to overcome. you just have to step on that line and race. get there. call god. and say, hey, i'm here. help me. forgive me. that's the way we all need to do. >> reporter: the olympic 5k runs 12.5 laps. the next four require perseverance, but it is in lopez's last lap and a half when he prepares to strike. then, in the final straight-away stretch, the focus is his alone. >> oh, god, help me. just give me one more strength. 80 metres to go, and then you strike. strike hard. basically that's when you say, hey, i'm doing this for joy. i'm doing this for god. i'm doing it for everything

that means so much to mean. i'm running, closing my eyes, visualizing everything, how i went through, running away from people, like rocks, sticks breaking into my skin. while i was running barefoot with my sunday best clothes that i had, jesus did help me. and jesus did help me with my race. i'm not at the finish line yet. i'm just in the middle of the race. >> george: that's great. lomong's foundation works with the christian ministry world vision to bring clean water, health care, and education to south sudan. you can help spread his inspiring story and help in his work. go to our cwn faacebook page and share hisis story with y yur f friends. we'll be right b back after this.

>> george: as you all know this month, visitors from

across the globe descended on london for the 2012 olympics, and some were very concerned the city of london couldn't handle the pressure. >> wendy: as it turns out, london did just fine, and as peter reports, officials had a little help from christian chaplains. >> reporter: as london is being swept by olympic fever, a team of more than 300 dedicated games pastors are practically de demonstrating their christian faiths by helping the thousands travelling through this bustling city. with 800,000 people pouring through london for the olympics, the games passes, and there were stations at several locations providing practical and spiritual support, including here at the tower of london. >> in this area, we have four teams going around. we're here because god has sent us here and sent all of these pastors here because everybody has got divine appointments and we've got to be here on our beat to

get those die vine appointments. >> reporter: as a member of the billy graham response team back in the states, they have a particularly heart to encourage the local police officers on duty during the games. >> 9/11 made us appreciate the first responders. >> reporter: they offer to take photographs for tourists at the games as a way of meeting people. >> a lot of international people here, and they're coming in from countries that are closed to the gospel. and so they're free now for this two weeks of opportunity to come to the u.k., where they can freely hear the gospel of jesus christ. >> reporter: each day audrey and the rest of the games pastors' team pray for god to lead them to the right people to share with. >> one of my favorite countries is iran. we have met persians and moroccans. >> reporter: many of the games pastors are stationed at public transport stations, helping people deal with the busy stress.

>> we had a lady who came off a very serious accident, and she just wanted someone to talk to. she was a bit nerves, and she asked us to pray with her, which we did. >> reporter: it is vital for the games pastors to make the most of this tremendous opportunity during the games. >> we know this window of time is very special. and we know we are absolutely in the perfect will of god being here. >> reporter: so it is this dedicated team of games pastors continues to take to the streets of london throughout the rest of the 2012 olympics, it is hoped that christians here in the capital will have made every opportunity to share with the thousands of people here at the games that life is certainly more than gold. cbc news, london. >> wendy: cbn news has a whole page dedicated to the olympics. there you can see interviews with christian athletes.

>> wendy: our viewers in india can watch a hindi version of the flagship program, "the 700 club." >> george: it is called achema zin digi, which means "new life." and since january, the program has reached more than 10 million viewers with the gospel of jesus christ. that's pretty good. >> wendy: i speak hindi now? >> george: maybe not. >> wendy: thanks for joining us, everyone. >> george: until next week, good-bye and god bless you. >>

>> in america, we have had a constitution for more than 2 centuries. we still operate under that constitution. we have three branches of government signed by the constitution, and if the founding fathers were to come back to see what it looked like now, they would recognize the presidency. they would recognize the congressional side. they would scratch their heads at the judiciary and say who are these guys? where do they come from? where do they get these powers