I just got back from my first day of bar ministry. Bar ministry is actually called cabin restaurants here. We do not call the girls prostitutes because their lives should not be defined by that label. They are women just like you and me. My heart is heavy. My mind is swirling with so many thoughts and emotions. I knew this ministry would be tough but it is so much harder in ways I never expected.
Let me paint a picture:
Roshni, a staff member at Agape ministry in Nepal is the main translator and “rescuer” for women in sex trafficking. She goes to different cabin restaurants each week to sit and talk with the girls and get more insight on their life. From there she sets up a separate outside meeting for another day to help these women understand that they have other options to make money. Sometimes the women are eager to take an alternate route, sometimes they have no desire to leave because they feel stuck. Before starting this ministry I asked Roshni so many questions about her experiences. She said she tells God all the time that she doesn’t want to do this anymore but he continues to pull her back because she is doing such amazing things. Roshni says she never knows what to expect, everyday is different. Somedays the bars kick her out or close the door on her and other days they welcome her in and are intrigued by her presence.
This particular day we took a bus across town and started walking a couple of blocks until Roshni recognized a new cabin restaurant that she had not been in before. I am not sure how you can see these places for what they really are because there are pictures of Asian food and eating tables inside. The difference being that you can order the “special” which comes with food & a girls body. We walked in and sat down ordering sodas and purchasing them for the girls as well, so that they were required to sit with us. The did not speak English but we sat and laughed over videos of Justin Bieber, makeup and typical girl things. GIRL things because these are 16-25 year old girls. There is one story from this day that I want to share in particular…
This story is about a girl named Isabel.
She is 22 years old and has a husband and a son. Her husband recently became paralyzed and with no money to bring him to a hospital he is at home unable to provide. On top of that her baby son is sick. She feels as if she has no other option, she is stuck. We prayed for her and agreed to come back on Tuesday to go to her home and pray for her family.
Fast forward to the next week:
Tuesday we took a bus two hours across town to meet with Isabel. Three of four of us were sick and held on for dear life to the bumpy, polluted and crowded bus ride. We got off the bus and walked about a mile to Isabel’s “house’. Her home consisted of one bedroom with a small stove, clothes rack and one bed. We shared some snacks and tea and held her baby who had a broken spine. Her baby was not just sick, he was unable to sit or crawl or move properly. He had fallen from a floor of concrete stairs. He needs surgery but again, there is no money to support him with such a big financial and time consuming procedure. Isabel’s husband limped into the room and I thought he could have been 18 years old. He was 30. He had been in bed for months because of something going on in his foot and had lost all muscle and weight. He still sat with us with a smile on his face and tender care for his family. I sat there in such sadness and frustration. We realized after a couple of hours together that even if we offered her another job it would be a couple thousand rupees less than what she makes and the hours would be significantly less. We felt stuck too. Even Roshni left with a withered spirit because of the situation. We paid for some groceries and rice that might last her family a couple of months. I wish I could say we had a solution. I wish we could say that we were able to save her and take that weight off her shoulders but we weren’t.
This is where Jesus walks in. What we were able to do is highlight scripture in her bible. We encouraged her with our testimonies, we shared verses and told her about how Jesus can heal the sick and the paralyzed. Jesus provides and the more she leans on him the more he can do to lift her weight. It may not be financially but he is there to walk with her in the pain. He is there everyday she goes to work. He is there to watch over the health of her husband and son. I know that Roshni will continue to stay in touch with her because we left with hope. We left knowing that our God will continue to pursue sweet Isabel. He will redeem her story and it does not end there. I have hope that she will know God’s love and deep care and that she will find a job where she does not have to sell her body. It is so hard for me to think about being stuck in that position at my same age. But I can hope and dream for her just as I hope and dream for my own life. I know God will finish her story with a healthy family and a job that pays double and respects her as a woman.
I started writing this blog last week and I am not sure why I felt called to write about Isabella when we experienced so many stories of redemption, but I think she stands out to me the most because of the reality of life. A part of me wishes that I would have shared the stories of the three women who we followed up with over two weeks and were able to give them all new jobs, pay their kids school debt, and pay to get them out of the cabin restaurant. We were able to sit and share many meals with these women, to share the gospel and present them with a fresh start. I could have written about another woman we met and followed up with who was left by her husband with their newborn child and now takes him to the cabin restaurant everyday while she works. She does not believe in God but she felt like he brought us into her life to show her love and friendship, something she longed for. This is another story that God is redeeming right this very second as we search for a job for her. We are looking for a job where she can also take her baby so he does not grow up in a brothel. I can leave Nepal having experienced so much of God’s goodness but still saddened by the weight of Isabella’s situation and millions of other girls situations. Sometimes we cannot see the fruit right here, right now. Sometimes we can’t help people immediately and this is when I have to trust in God more than ever. I have to leave Nepal knowing that God will keep moving in her life. He will not forget about her, he will pursue her until a new chapter is written.
