I had just gotten back from grabbing some water from the Liquor Store (cheapest place to get water for some reason) and I walked up on my team leader Paul talking to an older lady. At first it seemed as if she could fluently speak english but it didnt take long to realize that she only knew a few key sentences that she used to get customers. In spanish we asked if we could pray for her but she would only resond in sentences that made no sense at all as she tried to get a customer. Paul and I were talking about how we could better communicate with her when 2 more prostitutes walked up to us and praise The Lord, these girls could actually have a conversation in english. Paul started talking to one of the girls while I started talking to another.
The conversation started off with me basically explaining how I didn’t want to know her as a prostitute but as a human being. However things went downhill fast as soon as I said the name of Jesus.
We are from God. Anyone who knows God listens to us; anyone who is not from God does not listen to us. From this we know the Spirit of Truth and the spirit of deception. 1 John 4:6
As soon as Adrianna found out that we were here serving The Lord she started freaking out. She began to mock the gospel and would say things like “god is money” and “Jesus says in the bible he wants you to have lots of sex” and several other things that all just seemed to be things that the spirit of deception had not only deceived her with but was also trying to use her to deceive others who don’t know the truth. I was getting to the point where I just didn’t know what else to do or say when my good ol’ catholic friend Tony whom I had met earlier that night came up and asked if I would like some help. Awesome! This is just one example of the many times that God has provided us with a translator when we needed it most! He was able to speak more fluently with Adrianna and although she still didn’t seem to be receptive to any of the truth we were speaking it was still good to know that the truth was communicated to her as we showed her grace, love and mercy and we were still able to pray for her.
Pauls situation was going a lot differently with the girl he was talking to. He was talking to a sweet lady named Sandra who shared a bit of her testimony with Paul. It turns out that Sandra used to have a great relationship with The Lord and God had even blessed her with the gift of healing. However her husband left her and when that happened she ran away from God with the hurt her husband had caused and one bad decision after another eventually lead her into a life of prostitution on the beach of Cabarete. God being the loving Father that He is though had not forgotten about her and wanted her back resting in His arms. I can’t even tell you how humbling it is to think about how God used us to bring her back into His arms.
We saw some of the ladies from our squad so we decided it would be good for them to be able to pray and talk with the girls. As we were praying there was another prostitute that saw us and decided to come and see what was going on. When she learned that we were praying she got excited and asked for us to pray for her as well. Paul then asked Sandra where it was that she was staying that night and I could see the wheels turning in his head as he thought out how we could get her a nicer place to stay. So we invited her to join us back at the hostel for a good nights rest with the girls of our squad. She excitedly accepted.
That night Sandra was able to get what I assume was a much needed shower and some much needed rest as she slept later than anyone else the following morning. After a delicious breakfast Paul began to talk to her about any other options she had outside of prostitution. She expressed how much she hated the life of prostitution and wanted more than anything to go back to the way things used to be. That morning they were able to work out plans for her to go live with her Aunt in Santo Domingo and after going shopping for her to get some clean clothes she boarded the bus that would take her home to the capital here in the Dominican Republic.
But while his son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him – ‘Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then bring the fattened calf and slaughter it, and lets celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ Luke 15:20,22-24
Hearing about her departure from Cabarete with a one way bus ticket, I couldnt help but to think of the story of The Prodigal Son. God ran out to her even when she was still far away but instead of a ring he gave her a shower and a nice place to stay, instead of a robe he gave her a new outfit and instead of killing the fattened calf he gave her a nice American breakfast.
“What man among you, who has 100 sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the 99 in the open field and go after the lost one until he finds it? When he has found it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, and coming home he calls his friends and neighbors together saying to them ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!’ I tell you, in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who don’t need repentance.” Luke 15:4-7
I hope this story of how God doesn’t leave behind even just a single sheep touches you and I know that it is just the first of many sttories to come. After writing this I was able to head back out to the bars where I had yet another awesome night of telling people about God and with my dear friend Kerry. Thank you to all my supporters once again who made it possible for me to be here for God to use. I pray that you will continue to support me so I can finish out this trip God has called me to. I know God has much more to do and I can’t wait to share it all with you guys.
