Our first couple of weeks of ministry have gone by so well. I’m really enjoying being in the classroom again, feels like going back to work at home. I am loving my teaching crew, "Extreme Discipleship!” and our contact Luis is becoming a friend and not just our ministry contact. Riding in his car, affectionately named Butch, and our talks on our way to and from ministry are some of my favorite memories, apart from being with the kids in the classroom of course
Our ministry this month is teaching kids from 5th grade to 12th grade sex education, abstinence, God’s view on relationships and marriage, STD’s, teenage pregnancies, abortions etc. Thankfully I have experience in this realm from the 5years working at the high school & middle school back at home. We’ve gotten to meet some great kids and hear some of their stories…..
Erin- “Hey will you come and interpret for me?”
Me-“Sure”
Erin- “There’s a girl I need to talk to”
Me- “Yeah totally” (I’m used to being the interpreter here in the Latin American countries we’re inJ
[We walk over to talk to, we’ll call her Justine and her friends, her friends end up leaving, which totally helped her with being so open.]
Erin- “So what did you think about today’s lesson?”
Justine-“Yeah it was good”
Erin- “Do you struggle with the issues we talked about today?”
Justine- “Yeah……..me and my mom don’t have a lot of money, and some guys have offered me money to have sex with them sometimes, I think about it because I know my mom and I need the money and I want to help her out, it’s just hard”
What?! Are you freaking kidding me! That really threw me and I was shocked, and so frustrated and pissed off with the whole situation. At the end of our conversation Erin and I both prayed for her and her mom and gave her words for encouragement. It just so upsetting to think that instead of thinking of her studies and what she’s going to wear to school the next day or which boy she and her friends have a crush on, she’s fighting off men offering her money for sex. Offering her money for her virginity, something a girl should hold so precious. I know I’m going to come into contact with so many more Justines on this Race, don’t think it’ll ever get easy to hear those kinds of stories. I actually hope it never does, I don’t want to be “used to” hearing those stories and become numb to the injustices. The sad thing is it’s not just a Latin American problem or a foreign country problem. We have this happening every day in our own backyards. But we mask the problem as not our own and just to those prostitutes. I ask you all to pray for girls like Justine and for the prostitutes in our hometowns, also pray for the men soliciting them, they need just as much saving as the young girls and women do.
