This will probably become my most viewed blog just because of the title. But itʻs true, sex really does sell. More than 40 million Americans are daily visitors to pornography websites , in 2010 over 11,000 women were arrested in California alone for prostituion , and HIV, AIDS is consuming entire countries. Sexual immorality, adultery, envy, it ruins the heart, mind and soul before the person even realizes it has consumed them. Within the last few weeks, I have seen and heard some of the darkest, most horrific places and stories one can even imagine. Currently iʻm in Talanga, Honduras. The country is known for itʻs corruption and darkness and is currently known as the murder capitol of the world, no joke. I canʻt tell you the amount of times I have heard "There is no hope for the people of Honduras" and it breaks my heart because the people believe it. As we drive to our ministry site our car is passing one bar after the other where known sex trafficking takes place. We slow our car way down and as I look out my window I can see inside an open garage door where later on tonight a man will park his car, get out, and then have his choice of which small room to enter. A young girl most likely between the age of 11-15 will be sitting inside waiting for the next one to enter. Tears filled my eyes as we drove past and just thinking about it now makes me sick to my stomach. These young girls are the targeted victims because of their young age. They are seen as pure, innocent and will be used until their bodies canʻt take it anymore or they end up pregnate. For most of the girls inside, this life was chosen for them. Either they were forced into it or sold into it by a family member, for just a small amount of money. For other girls this was a choice, but only because it's better than the abuse they suffer at home, physical abuse, starvation, sexual abuse, child labor, the list goes on and on. The girls that choose this life justify it in their heads by telling themselves "I finally feel loved." Their options aren't very good either way and i'm sure it does feel hopeless.
We arrived at the home of Lee and Gracie Murphree. They are originally from Alabama and after taking a ten day mission trip to Talanga they new God was telling them this was where they needed to be. Within the next year the two of them sold their home, all of their unnessarry possessions, packed up only the things they needed, and took their family to Honduras. The two of them have now been living in Honduras for over 10 years and the way God has been using this family is unreal. Gracie has a degree in criminal justice and is working with the local police department. Before she arrived less then 15% of all cases were taken to court and less then 5% were settled. Which meant that if you or someone in your family was raped or murdered it was very unlikely that anything would happen. The guilty would go free and the victim would find no help from the government or police for further safety. However, things for this town are different now, there is hope for these victims. Gracie is settling nearly 70% of all cases that are brought to her. She works both out on the field and behind the scenes. Lee and Gracie have also started an amazing ministry called Heart of Christ. They have opened up their home to the victims of rape, housing young mothers and their children. They also house abandoned children, left to die because of a deformity or disorder. Currently, the Murphree family houses 17 kids aging from 18 to just 4 months. All are given a safe place to sleep, food, education, and the love of God. Michell who is a 12 year old girl we met just gave birth to her beautiful daughter Katerin. Michell was raped by her father when she was 11 and once pregnant she was kicked out onto the streets. Hearing her story and the pain she has gone through already in life is hard to for me to understand but sadly its become very common here. Gracie told us hearing of new born baby being molested or raped is a weekly thing and the number of girls in the sex trade is unfathomable. I asked Gracie how she does it, taking on all of this pain and it's obvious just looking at her life it's by the strength and love of God. She and her husband rely on God for everything. They live day by day having just enough money to get by and some days where they really are both mentally and emotionally exhausted. But every morning as they wake up Christ pours into their life giving them the strength to keep pouring out into the children they have been given. This family really does have The Heart of Christ and it shines brightly in this Honduran town. To learn more about what we did this week click my next blog "The Big Picture" or to visit the Heart of Christ website go to www. heartofchristhonduras.org
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