Every night they come. Young women in trendy short skirts
walk towards the door with childlike giggles. If I didn’t know better, I would
think they were going to dinner or a night out with friends. But the reality is
much different. They may be young and their laughter may seem innocent, but
their eyes tell another story. If you look into their eyes you see an emptiness
and innocence stolen. Every night they come here to the Truc Mai hotel where we
are staying. There are 30 women who work each night selling their bodies. The
stream of men seems endless. There are 11 rooms on the bottom floor of our
hotel where open prostitution occurs each night. It’s heartbreaking to watch.
The rooms are rented by the hour, half hour, and quarter hour. Money is
exchanged at the front desk for more than just room keys. A man enters the room
quickly followed by one of these women. Two young men are in charge of knocking
on doors when time is up, cleaning up the room, and preparing for the next customer.
This happens all night from 8 p.m.- 8 a.m.
You
may find yourself wondering: how did 33 American Christians find themselves
a floor above a prostitution ring in southern Vietnam? The answer: We prayed dangerous prayers. We prayed
on the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-20) and then we prayed for that armor to
get dirty. We prayed to move to the forefront of spiritual battle. We prayed
and the Lord led us here.
Yes,
this is a place where darkness abounds. It’s heartbreaking to watch the women
who don’t know their worth selling themselves short and it’s sickening to watch
the endless stream of men taking advantage of them. However we hold on to this
hope: “In [Jesus] is life and that life is the light of men. The light
shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” –John 1:4-5 Darkness may abound, but it cannot overcome the
Light of Christ.
We
were brought here for a reason. We were brought here to bring light to dark
corners. We meet and worship and proclaim the Lord’s truth over Vietnam, over
Ho Chi Minh City, and over this hotel. We are covering this place in prayer
each night- two people every hour all night long. We are praying and the Lord
is moving.
Join
us in prayer.
Pray for…
- The
Lord’s light to pierce through the darkness. - Pray
for Jesus to reveal Himself as the True and Living God. - Pray
freedom for the captives (captive to the sex trade, to greed/money, to
drug addictions, and to false gods) - Pray
for an end to prostitution in this place. - Pray
for us that the Lord will continue to strengthen us day by day in the
midst of this battle.
