Prostitution. We know it happens. We have heard about it. But up until now, I have never actually seen woman selling their bodies for the night and men snatching them up. In a public place, with absolutely no sense of wrong. Walking through that dark alley to get the the casino was erie. I felt a darkness start to weigh on my shoulders. I can’t describe it but to say it was a heavy feeling. The lightness and laughter we had shared just a minute before was gone. Everyone in my group of four had gone silent. They felt it too. We were walking into a battle.
At once we saw beautiful girls dressed in a way that left very little to the imagination walking into the casino. Greedy men with no guilt or shame about what they were about to do wandered in one by one. Taxis were constantly making a loop bringing more and more girls to and from the front entrance. I sat on a bench by the front watching and praying. The place was packed.
This was a Wednesday night.
I am hurt. My heart hurts for these women. They are friendly and beautiful. And so loved by our father in heaven. They don’t understand their worth. They have been raised on the idea that they have a limited future. No room for dreams of better things. They have accepted this life as their past, present, and future.
As I sat outside the casino I prayed for those girls. I prayed they would latch onto a dream for their life. They would open the door that God has been knocking on. That they could realize there is more and walk away from this life forever. There was nothing but overflowing love and sadness in my hearts for these girls.
I prayed for the men too. I would say hello and I prayed they would look at my face and see a wife, a daughter, a granddaughter, a niece or a neighbor girl. I hoped they would look at my face and see someone who would make them feel ashamed to even show up at this place.
The more I tried to pray for these men the more angry I became. The men passing me were all middle aged Americans. Some had wedding rings. They were flooding the casino. So this is what Costa Ricans thought of Americans? I thought they were disgusting. What kind of man would do something this horrible. They have no right to buy those girls and to walk around guilt free. In my mind they didn’t deserve forgiveness. They didn’t deserve any kind of love. I found myself hating them. I was furious.
I struggled and wrestled with my feelings for the next few hours. I prayed, I cried, I watched woman by woman enter that dark place. I felt helpless.
Later that night during debrief I shared how angry I had become. I was gently reminded that hurting people hurt people. These men are broken. I am still angry. I do not condone their actions by any means. But I have no right to condemn them. They are also loved by God. They are also broken. They are looking in the wrong places to fill an emptiness in their life. A void they need God for. So I am asking you to join with me in prayer for these women. But also for the men in this situation.
It may not seem like we did a lot. But I learned so much. And by being there, by taking a step into that dark place, we brought God. We brought the light to the darkness. We put cards telling the girls how loved they were in the bathrooms. We said hi and asked them how they were as they were passing us. A few girls from our team had conversations with a couple of the girls.
Prayer is a powerful thing. I strongly believe those cards had reached at least one girl who needed to hear it. I believe that at least one man looked down and saw the ring on his finger and walked out of the casino that night. We covered that place in prayer and Satan had no where to hide. And we will do it again. Because as hard as it is to walk into a place like that, now that we have experienced it, it would be harder not to.
