What is
the Cost?
It took me 6 months of battling my own fears to step into
the call that God had for me in July of 2009- to follow His will into serving in the nations. To come to a
final decision to go on the World Race, I had spent many hours calculating the
pros and cons of this decision; performing my very own financial risk analysis,
weighing out my career risks and sacrifices, worrying about my future
relationships & marriage, desperately trying to make a responsible,
educated decision & find the formula for making the right choice. Could I raise enough money? Would I be
stunting the trajectory of my career? Could I get past my pride to ask others
for financial help? Would the man I love abandon me? Would I be setting myself back from achieving all the goals
that had been placed upon my shoulders?
I found
myself asking the one question that so many of us base our decisions on…..
What is
the cost?
“If it doesn’t cost me too much; if it is safe….. then
maybe I will invest…..?” – this is a common theme I see at the core of many people.
I have spent the majority of my month ministering in the
Red Light District of Phuket, Thailand, where daily I see women and children
who
are entrapped in sex tourism and human trafficking. Bangla Road is the main
drag where you can see many blocks lined with bars, clubs, and massage parlors.
We have been exposed to some of
the ugliest things I have ever witnessed- things that feel as though they might
stop your heart from beating, that make your stomach hurt and give you the
sense that you are drowning in darkness.
Last night a man said,
“I don’t understand why you would care, why you would serve
here?…..you aren’t going to change anything, this is just the way things are;
it is a lifestyle… It’s like spitting into the ocean and trying to change the
consistency of the water…. It’s pointless and won’t have any effect.”
When processing what this man had said, it took me back to
when I was making the decision to go on the World Race…. What’s the
cost?
So I asked myself,
Is there
a price on ONE life?
How much time would you spend, how much sleep would you
loose, how far would you travel, how much money would you spend, how much effort
would you put forth to save ONE life?
At what point would you determine it was no longer worth it to have hope
that all people can live a life of justice, a life where they are loved and
free from the bondage of slavery?
After meeting the people of Bangla Road, God has shown me
the answers to this question….. There is
NO price you could ever put on someone’s life. I am embarrassed to admit that I ever considered that there
was a risk too great to get involved. I lived in a place that was so selfish that
I wasn’t sure if I could give up my own life to save someone else’s.
I now know that I would give everything I have to restore
hope in these people. I would give them all my money, I would give them all my
time, all my love…… but God has revealed that this still isn’t enough. That He is the only one who can truly
meet their needs- The One that can redeem, the one that can love infinitely,
the one who’s grace will cover them.
So, we have set forth to share this love to Bangla Road.
I look forward to introducing you all to the individuals I have met on
Bangla Road….
