When I think of a prostitute I picture a scantily clad middle aged woman with too much makeup, standing on the corner of the street yelling things at the men who walk past. But the truth is, not all girls who prostitute themselves have that look about them. Most look similar to girls you might know, girls you see at the mall going to the movies or shopping with their friends.
Last night we had the opportunity to take three girls out of the bar. Two of them are 16 year old cousins that came here from the north. They were forced to come by their aunt to make some money. And if you saw them, you would see the shyest, sweetest looking girls, afraid to smile because of what they are involved with now. But you can see that they were once full of life. We took them to a very bohemian/hippie part of town with cool shops, shoes, belts, clothes and sunglasses. As they walked down the street you could see them take off the mask of shame and reveal the “teenage girl” inside. Funny that out of all the options of events for the evening they chose to go dancing! But during that precious time, I could see why they wanted to do it. God really had his hand on that night because we went into the first club and realized they were too young to go in. So, we went to another down the street. When we walked in, there was virtually no one in there. There was a dance floor on the opposite end and no one was on it. The music was loud and fun and I led the girls out to that floor and that is where we stayed for the next hour! There was no threat of any men approaching them or us. It was just the girls. 🙂
The girls unleashed and danced their little hearts out. But it wasn’t for any man. It made all the difference in the world. It was like they were set free from their prison for a night, and they were safe to be who they really were inside…teenage girls! I smiled all night long because I could visibly see the freedom they felt. Earlier in the night, Hannah put glitter on their arms and they lit up. They loved it and kept asking for more. It made me mad that they are deprived of their youth. Instead of selling their bodies to men, they should be drawing hearts around the pictures of the boys they have crushes on. They should doing their makeup and nails… not for 50 year old foreign men but for themselves. It continues to outrage me that they are imprisioned. They aren’t behind actual bars, although sometimes I think that would even be safer. But I long to see them be set free from the life they are entrapped in.
Right now, I am sitting next to Morgan at the Internet Cafe and she just pulled out the receipt we got to buy the girls out of the bar. It feels really weird and tragic that they are only a price. While at work they have to wear numbers, like cattle. They are in bondage and I beg you to pray with me that they would see freedom and truth. For so many of these girls, especially the younger ones, this isn’t something they have chosen for themselves! I wish you could have seen the looks on their faces as we dropped them off at the end of the night back to Nana. The smiles were gone. The laughter ceased. Back to darkness.
But there IS hope. I promise.
