September 2013. Las Vegas, Nevada.
I had no desire to be there. I had no business being there. Or did I?
As I walked down The Strip with my group one night, I saw out of the corner of my eye a beautiful young woman about my age. As we walked past her, three young men approached her.
“$100 for the three of us. Cool?” One of them said as he twirled her hair in his finger and the other two caressed her arm.
“All three together?” she asked in a shaky, disgusted voice.
I thought I was going to throw up. At the same time, heat flowed throughout my entire body as I was filled with rage.
“Not cool. I have to do something. I will give her my entire savings to reject that offer. Hell, I’ll even pay off those guys to leave her alone. She needs to know that she has so much worth and value. And those guys need to know the same is true for them.”
Turn around.
You can’t do anything about it. Even if you tried, her pimp is watching and he’ll just beat her or come after you and your family next. Keep walking.
Turn around.
Do you really think you’re capable of changing anything? If it’s not these three guys, it’s hundreds more after them.
Turn around.
There’s nothing you can do. But go ahead, tell them they have so much worth and value. Tell them how loved they are. They’ll all just laugh at you.
Turn around.
Keep walking.
Torn, I listened to the voice in my head… But I listened to the wrong one. I kept walking.
This week, as part of our ministry, we went on a prayer walk through one of the red light districts in El Alto, Bolivia. This red light district is not one you would easily recognize during the day; it’s no Vegas. No, this one is quite different. In the outskirts of the main city, La Paz, the area looks quite ordinary in comparison. Old buildings, tagging everywhere, trash on the sides of the roads, and metal doors just like all the others. Nothing screamed brothels, night clubs, bars… It just looked like everywhere else I had walked.
Our ministry host prefaced our walk by informing us that the brothels in which we’d be passing were in a poorer section of town where mainly middle-aged women are prostituted. The majority of those women have been involved in prostitution for decades. Decades of their bodies being used for a service. Decades of sexual abuse and violence. Decades of feeling worthless, hopeless, unwanted and unloved. Decades of men feeling worthless, hopeless, unwanted and unloved. It’s a vicious cycle. But will it ever end? And what could I possibly do to make a difference?
Over the years, Word Made Flesh has gone into these brothels, talked with the women, and built relationships with them; and once a week they walk through the red light districts and pray over them. The specific prayer requests given to us to consider were:
- Liberation and freedom for the women from false identities, false esteem, abusive cycles, and economic oppression
- Liberation and freedom for the men from sexism, false gender dynamics, and abusive cycles
- Open doors and opportunities for Word Made Flesh to plant their roots and build new relationships in this district
As we began our walk, the song “Light of the World” by Ashley Beckford popped into my head, and with it, a theme of light versus dark. In literature light is a common symbol of goodness and truth, while dark is iconic of evil and lies. And isn’t it ironic that areas high in their number of brothels are characterized by flashing [red] neon lights, yet they are the areas of greatest darkness? Society may try to convince us that red light districts are full of goodness, but I’m not buying it. With this in mind, I felt inclined to make “Light of the World” my prayer.
Light of the world come down, shine till the path is found
Light of the world come down, come down
Break through the dark of night, heaven and earth collide
Light of the world come down, come down
You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life
Shine on, shine on
You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life
Shine on, shine on
Jesus, come into this place. Break through the darkness and radiate Your light. I pray for overflow–an overflow of Your light, Your goodness, Your Truth, and Your love. I pray for liberation and freedom from darkness… from lies. Lies of identities, esteem, sexism, and gender dynamics. I pray for liberation from whatever abusive cycles that began in these men and women at young ages or old. I pray that this red light district would shut down. I pray that the women involved in prostitution would recognize your love for them through Word Made Flesh and that they would find employment opportunities with them. I pray that You would pour out Your love upon these men and change their hearts, that they would recognize Your love for them as well.
I did have business being in Vegas that night, just as much as I have business being here in the red light districts of Bolivia. The enemy will try to convince us that what we have to say is not important or that it will carry no impact. Don’t buy in. I’ll never get that night back in Vegas to make a difference in the life of that one woman or those three men, and that’s on me. But I’m not about to listen to the Enemy’s lies again. There is power in prayer and power in love, and this place is covered in it. Two women from this red light district now work with Word Made Flesh because their staff was not afraid to show them love. They were not afraid to turn around.
Prostitution and trafficking are real problems in most countries, and ours is one of them. How will you make a difference? Which voice will you choose to listen to?
