A nightmare jerks you awake. You slowly roll over to look at the clock. No! You’re late.
You stumble to the bathroom to do a quick “freshen up” before running out the door. You stop in the kitchen for a breakfast to go. Your favorite pop-tarts are gone…you have to settle for that weird granola bar your mom wanted you to try.
You slide into your car, just long enough to find a parking violation on your windshield (the third one this month). You merge onto the highway AND…traffic jam.
You get to work and your boss immediately calls you into his office. He gives you a written warning and a twenty minute lecture on punctuality.
You push through the day, and just as you see the clock turn 5:00, your boss tells you he needs you to stay another hour.
You finally break free, and are heading home to a nice, relaxing evening. You sit down to watch your favorite show, and the thunderstorm has knocked out the cable. You decide to give up, and just go to bed. You stop in the bathroom to brush your teeth and cringe in the mirror at the newly formed pimple on the tip of your nose.
You go to your room, and after stubbing your toe on your nightstand, you crawl into bed.
You stare at the ceiling and think to yourself, “That had to have been the WORST DAY EVER”.
Half way around the world, a girl your age just had the same thought, only her story is different.
With parents who won’t claim her as their own, she was forced to find work away from her family.
She found a nice man offering her easy work for a good pay. Her first day is simple house work. But then her boss calls her into his office. He says he has a job for her at a place down the street. She assumes it’s more house work, but soon finds out she was mistaken. A man twice her age greets her at the door. He escorts her to an empty room with a mattress on the floor. She starts to resist until he flashes the wad of cash in her face. He says, “You belong to me for the next hour, and then this is yours”. She stops resisting. He has his way with her, beats her and throws the cash by her face.
She hurries out of the house.
She goes into her bathroom and cringes at the bruises he left on her face.
She swears she will never do it again.
But a week later, she runs out of cash. She walks around her house… no food.
A month later, she finds herself sitting on a cold exam table. The doctor hands her the papers. The three letters jump off of the page, and strangle her… H.I.V.
She thinks to herself, “This has to be the worst day ever.”
Today, my team and I spent time with 20 women with stories similar to this.
Instead of telling us they were H.I.V. positive, they would tell us that their lives were over.
They told us they had no hope, no joy and no peace.
Danielle and I shared with them. We both talked about God’s acceptance and how much He loves them. We told them you don’t have to be perfect to be friends with God and that He wants a relationship with them today.
The pastor asked them if any of them wanted a relationship with God. One of them started to speak up. “We can accept Him today, but what happens tomorrow when there is no money and no food?”
The pastor talked to them about God being our provider, and then he asked them again.
Three of them raised their hand under one condition: we must pray for them.
So I am asking for some help. Please keep these women in your prayers. Pray that they will not go back to their former way of living. Pray that God will provide the money they need to survive. Pray for their health and that their H.I.V. won’t advance. And pray that these women will be a light to their community.
But promise me that when you pray for them, don’t pray for “the prostitutes in Rwanda”. Pray for my new friends…my new sisters.
Here are their names:
Mutezumomo Knemonteine Mukeshimona Jnimine
Umutese Liniyone Mukoshyaka Lejina
Mukatesi Solonje Mukankuko Esipenonse
Muawaneza Flloronce Unineza Fronesinse
Nainumpetse Fransina Buiza Scaviya
Mukandoyisenaa Joni Koaoyine Diyone
Mubenonuao Knemanse Nyinesminoni Eveine
Nikuze Epifoniya Nyinesnsekonobo Tomoni
Dnaobine Nadine Mukomwezi Nadine
Snaobine Nadiyo Luzikiyamunau Juona
