Greetings from Cabarete, Dominican Republic! It is 6:30 AM and I have had about 3 hours of sleep. I could have slept in on my off day but I didn’t want this day to continue without updating my friends/family about the past 24 hours here in Cabarete.
Myself and two girls from my squad (Lexi and Katie) left our ministry site in Lajas around 4 PM on Friday and took a two hour journey to one of the top kite surfing beaches in the world, Cabarete, to meet a few friends from our squad (Becca, Paul, and Tim). After three different bus rides and a ride on the back of a motorcycle, we arrived at the hostel around 6 PM. Staying in a hostel is a new experience for me. I had no idea we would be sharing the same room with complete strangers (guys included) so I was a bit nervous about it but the Lord knew exactly what He was doing. After paying $10 for our stay, we made our way up to dorm #7. We met a girl named Kim who is from California. Kim is staying in the Dominican for a week on vacation and then traveling to Jamaica for a week. Tony was the second stranger in our room we met. Tony is a missionary from New Mexico who had just wrapped up serving in Puerto Rico and was spending a few days in Cabarete on vacation. Josh was the third stranger we met. Josh was homeless and travels the world, living day by day. All three strangers were very welcoming and invited us for a night out on the beach town.
After showering in a semi warm shower, Becca, Lexi, and I got ready and walked a few miles to get some dinner at a pizza joint and kill some time before Becca, Paul, and Tim arrived. Upon their arrival around 10 PM, we met in the hostel lobby and decided to go out with the others staying in our same room. What better opportunity than a bar ministry opportunity, right?
The beach was lined up with bars and the nightlife was hopping. The scene looked oh so familiar, however, after nearly two years of being sober and receiving Christ into my heart, this time I played a different role in the bar scene. Prostitute after prostitute passed by me. Our small group sat at a table for 2 hours and chatted. As some decided to go to one of the bars to enjoy some dancing, I sank down in my chair and quietly prayed for the Lord to show me what to do and where to begin this ministry. I didn’t want to go dance because I wanted to be obedient to the Lord’s voice telling me not to do so. After some time spent in prayer, I quickly began to see these prostitutes as God sees them; beautiful daughters of His. I no longer saw them as women flaunting their bodies to every guy in sight. I only saw beauty and love in their eyes. I knew right then that I couldn’t sit in my chair one minute longer and do nothing.
As I got up from my chair everyone else in our group was walking by and as I look to the left two prostitutes had Paul, Tim, and Tony cornered. The four of us girls stayed back and I began to pray for God to give me the right words to speak to these women and for His spirit to speak through me. One of the prostitutes, Andreana, wanted to know more about Jesus so Katie began to share the Gospel with her. Andreana spoke enough English where we could understand bits and pieces but Josh (the stranger in our hostel) played a key role in the night because he was our translator to minister to these girls. God is pretty amazing how He pre-orchestrates things, huh? Andreana proceeded to tell us that she wasn’t ready to give up her lifestyle. She loved the money, sex, attention, and everything that came with her career. I then gave her a brief version of my testimony and asked if I could pray over her. As I placed my hands on her and asked the Lord to fill her with His spirit, she began to smile. No longer did I see a hopeless face, I saw Jesus in Andreana’s eyes. Even though she didn’t want to receive Christ into her heart last night, the Lord is working in her and I am so grateful to have played a small piece of her story.
“The Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be prepared fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.
And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!” 2 Timothy 4: 17-18
The second prostitute was Sandra. Paul, Tim, and Tony had gotten to know Sandra and Sandra was very receptive. Sandra was 48 years old and was once a Christian. However, after her husband left her a few years ago for a younger girl….Sandra turned from the Lord. She left her two children behind in Puerto Rico and moved to the Dominican and quickly became a prostitute. We offered Sandra to come back to the hostel with us to have a shower and a good nights rest. Sandra gladly accepted. This morning after I woke Sandra up, Paul and Tim ordered her breakfast. Paul had originally planned to go kite surfing today but plans fell through so he decided to take Sandra shopping for some new clothes since all she had to her name were the skimpy clothing she had on the night before. Sandra told Paul that she was done with the prostitue industry and she wanted to go home to her family. After Paul provided her money for the bus ride….Sandra is officially on her way out of the lifestyle she has been living in Cabarete and into a new life with Jesus!
“If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” John 8:36
It’s true that social conditions lead many women to prostitution, but these girls are bound by so much more than limited options. The chains that bind these women are not just social; they are physical, mental, emotional, relational, and spiritual. This captivity reaches every aspect of who they are.
The world tells us that we find value by gaining: success, money, beauty, power, and popularity. That we are worth only what someone will pay for us, spend on us, or sacrifice for us. Because of this, millions of women walk around with downcast heads and broken hearts on a quest to become something the world sees as valuable.
As I realized that I can’t save these girls, but God can, I discovered where my true power lies, and it’s not in what I can buy for them or say to them. No, my true power lies in worshipping and praying to the only One who can set them free.
For a moment, it was discouraging to realize that I couldn’t set all of these girls free, but now I’m seeing the beauty and freedom in inviting God to do what only He can do.
I am beginning to see just how powerful prayer and worship truly are, for they are our means of connecting with the only Solution to the problem, the only Light that can shine in this darkness, the only Freedom that can break every last chain.
I am letting go of what I thought I could do or say to change the world and instead spending hours sitting in the presence of the One who already has. As I worship and pray, I have faith that He is going to respond.
He is going to pursue these girls’ hearts long after I’m gone. He is going to bring light and life to the dark and dying. And when the chains fall off and lives are changed and Hell is shaken, God will get every bit of the glory, for it will be so clear that He is the Power at work.
God is writing a beautiful story here in Cabarete, a story of victory and redemption. He is the Author and the Hero, and I…..like the many girls He is going to save in this city….am simply a recipient of His love and grace.
