The agenda for the day listed “painting”. I assumed that our host was asking us to paint the women’s shelter or another TAMI Asia building, but instead we were handed paint brushes, water colors, and sheets of paper. Our host explained that we would be taken to the red-light district of Nepal and handing our drawings to women in caverns.
I see you dressed in white
We spent about 30 minutes in prayer deciding what to draw on our sheets. I feel like God speaks to me through literature and lyrics, so I turned to my IPod for inspiration. The song Priceless played and the lyrics spoke perfectly to women’s ministry. I dipped my brush into the red paint and started drawing.
Every wrong made right
The product was a bright red rose in the center of the page surrounded by lyrics to Priceless in green. It was beautiful to look at the drawings of squad mates to see what God was prompting them to say. Before we left, we prayed over the women who would be receiving the paintings and asked for opportunities to share Gospel.
I see a rose in bloom at the sight of you
We started walking through the red-light district in prayer. Within a few minutes, one of my squad mates felt called to enter a brothel and talk to the women inside. We waited and eventually she came out and asked for two more people to join her. My squad leader Amanda and I walked into the brothel, which was a small bar area in the front and partitioned sections in the back.
Oh so priceless
Questions like “Do you have any sisters?” and “Do you live close to here?” were asked so that we could have specific prayers for the three women. Eventually, I shared my picture with one of the women.
Darling, it’s beautiful
Through the translator, I told her that when God looks at her He can see her perfectly clean and “dressed in white”. That Jesus is a God that takes the shame and dark moments of our past and will throw them away if we ask Him. Even if we feel heavy and overwhelmed with guilt, Jesus wants to see us as a rose growing in Him. As the translator spoke, I could see her eyes water and posture lighten. The Gospel is a freeing gift, and this might have been her first time hearing it. The picture she keeps is a reminder of the glimpse of Jesus she felt during the conversation. Our translator will continue to go into the red-light district and have Gospel conversations with the girls there, and I pray that she can continue to feel freedom in Christ.
Prayer Request: Please pray for TAMI Asia’s red-light district outreach. Pray that funding is available so women can be offered escape from prostitution and job training. Also, pray for teams that go into the district weekly to have Gospel conversations that bring hope into such a dark area.
