Continued… [click here to read Part I]
As we prayed and walked on,
I started to question the reason these girls were in this place. Why were these girls putting themselves in
this position? Why did they allow their
bodies to be treated like this? Why not
get a different job? I longed to hear
some of their stories yet was frightened of what I might hear. As I asked the translator questions, I
realized that many of these women were the ‘bread winners’ for their families
and were expected to make enough to support their family. Some were divorced or their husbands had just
abandoned them with children and this was the only job that paid enough to
support their children. Others needed
the money and were looking for a white husband to care for them for life. But this was almost always the only ‘job’
that made them enough to live. My heart
went out to them and I wanted to protect them; I wanted to save them from this
situation and let them know they could be forgiven and pure again in God’s eyes
and that they could find a love in Him that didn’t depend on their past.
We asked God to bring to
light who he wanted us to talk to. Haley
and I were with a wonderful Thai translator who has a heart of gold and has a
story to tell. We felt God leading us to
stop and talk to a table of bar girls eating dinner before the night got
started. As we were getting to know them
a bit and asking questions about themselves, one girl in particular seemed to
stick out to us. She was a divorced
woman with three kids trying to raise her children and looking for a ‘white’
husband who could support her and her kids; a guy who wouldn’t leave her. A quote by Maltbie Babcock I had read the
other day came to mind, “Life is what we are alive to. It is not length, but breadth. Be alive to…goodness, kindness, purity, love,
history, poetry, music, flowers, stars, God, and eternal hope,” and it just
seemed like this woman had lost all hope of being alive again, yet longed for
that.
She started asking more
questions and seemed interested in why we might be there. Our translator was able to tell her story
about how God had rescued her from the same situation and how God has given her
an alternative to prostitution through a specific organization. She told of God’s redeeming love and how it
had changed her life. As we talked I
could tell she was thinking and wanted to know what this life with Christ was
all about and what this organization might be able to do for her. She seemed skeptical but we gave her the
information and by the end of the conversation, she seemed to have built trust
in us and we had a peace that she would call the organization the next day to
find our more information. We each
prayed for her before we left, gave our hugs, got a picture with her, hugged
again, and said our good-byes letting her know how much we cared about her and
how much God loves her.
The next day, we heard
incredibly encouraging news that this girl had shown up at the organization,
interested in joining and hearing more about God’s love. She desired a true love and an alternative to
her current lifestyle. Praise God for
His working in this woman’s life!
…just one night talking to
some of these women and God used it!!
“If we confess our sins,
He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” -1 John 1:9
[check out more about the ministry on Renee’s blog]
