This is why I signed up for the race, I thought to myself.
I am passionate about empowering, loving, and speaking truth to women, and the opportunity of going into the streets of San Jose to meet with women who were prostituting themselves was unlike anything I had ever done. The thought of partnering with an organization like Face of Justice– who serves prostitutes in San Jose, Costa Rica– gave me a pronounced eagerness, and my mind was filled with daydreams of excitement for what the night would look like.
I decided to pray over the night.
“God… what do you want to show me for tonight’s ministry?”
Suddenly, I was met with a picture the Lord gave me.
But it wasn’t what I expected…
God gave me a picture of a man in a turquoise blue fairy costume with wings and long, golden blonde hair.
“Hmmm…. Okay God? Not sure about that. Maybe I’m supposed to meet a woman in a blue dress with blonde hair…?”
When I asked God what He wanted me to say to this man in the blue fairy costume with the blonde hair, He gave me a picture of an arrow and unfolded a message that the person had been betrayed and burned. They were experiencing deep pain and anguish. God told me to tell that person that the Lord saw their pain, and He weeps with them, and yearns to hold them close. He doesn’t like to see His children in pain, but He sees them. The Lord called the person strong, and He kept filling my mind with words of strength and resilience. He saw the person, and He told me He loved them deeply.
When we got to our ministry site, we were met with open arms as we joined a team of individuals who had been a part of this ministry for a while now. They had great relationships with the community and the prostitutes they were ministering to, and we heard stories of how incredible the people they ministered to were.
As we made our way upstairs, Ashely, one of the directors of Face of Justice, asked us a simple question, “What comes to mind when you think of this kind of ministry—of ministering to prostitutes?” My team answered with statements ranging from ministering to young girls in sex trafficking and ministering in dark alleys, to meeting women who were drunk or high to numb the pain.
What came next shocked me.
Ashley told us that around 70% of the people Face of Justice serves are men.
What? I thought I would be ministering to young girls who were trapped in sex trafficking… women who didn’t know their worth and value… women who were trying to make income to provide for their families…. MEN?
Come to find out, we would be serving transgender women (people who were born male who identify as women), people who are transvestites, young women, and teenage boys who were gay.
*to honor where people are in their process, I will be using the word women to speak about the transgender women for the rest of the blog post.
As we were in the middle of a bilingual worship session at the Face of Justice house, I remembered the picture the Lord had given me from earlier that day.
God knew what He was doing when He gave me a picture of a man in a turquoise blue fairy costume with wings and long, golden blonde hair.
So, at 9pm 15 of us piled into the van and hit the streets. With full jugs of hot coffee and an array of cookies, we drove down dark-lit streets to find the people Face of Justice serves.
On our second stop, one of the Face of Justice leaders asked for three people to volunteer to go with her to serve two women she knew on the side of the road. I eagerly volunteered.
There, we met two women named Christina and Victoria.
They were both tall trans women with the highest heels I had ever seen (*props to them… I would fall over like a deer on ice if I ever wore those!).
Christina and Victoria were dressed in short, tight dresses that revealed the majority of their breasts and ribcages. Their faces were caked with foundation, thick sparkly false eyelashes, and hot red lipstick.
As they twiddled their long strands of hair between their well-manicured fingers, we asked them how their days had been going and offered them some hot coffee and cookies.
We had the most normal conversation… we talked about food for 15 minutes.
We found out they were both from Honduras, and we talked about food they missed from Honduras—from street food, to empanadas, to pupusas. I don’t know why I expected to talk with them about something farfetched, but being there with them allowed me to humanize them.
These women are people. People who love food and who work.
Maybe their work is something I can’t understand, but they are people who are deeply loved by God.
As they stashed the cookies in their purses and sipped on their coffee, I couldn’t help but notice Christina’s attention was drawn to the cars that were driving by. Every now and then, she would step out of the conversation, moving her body in different poses to get the car’s attention. As she did her dance moves, blew kisses, and waved to the cars, I realized she was working. We didn’t want to interrupt the women and make them turn down clients, but we wanted to pray over them and let them feel seen and heard.
They asked us to pray for their families, their friends, and for provision while traveling. In the middle of the prayer, the Lord said, “Hold her hands.” As Victoria’s hands were cupped to pray, I placed my hands around her hands and held them tightly. I prayed that she would feel the love of Christ—that no matter what she has done or will continue to do… no matter how many people she had slept with… no matter how much she denies God… I prayed that she would know that God loved her deeply.
That night we saw 16-year-old boys prostituting themselves on the side of the roads, hoping to get picked up by men driving around. We met trans women who were living in fear because they had friends who were shot, stabbed, or hit by a car by people who didn’t agree with trans lifestyle. We met trans women who were recently attacked by men who started cutting up their arms. These women have to say yes to their clients out of fear for their lives. We heard horror stories of women being killed because they said no.
The hate crime is so real. But these are just a few of the stories we heard. They return night after night to the streets because it’s all they know.
We drove past a brothel and I felt my blood boiling. I couldn’t stand to look at the men who paid for prostitution. A righteous anger developed within me.
What kind of man can pay for a young prostitute and go back to his home to look at his wife or his daughter in the same light?
I was reminded that my righteous anger was wrongly placed.
It’s not a fight against flesh and blood, it’s a fight against the enemy.
Ephesians 6:12
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
It’s a good anger—a just anger—but it’s not directed properly.
I had to reframe my perspective. These were men who were just as broken. Most of the time, they have pasts of abuse, went too deep into porn, and have a lot of self-hate.
I needed to direct my anger towards the enemy, and how He was seeking to steal, kill, and destroy people’s lives.
When I was processing the night at our debrief and brought up the picture I got from the Lord, Ashely said that the picture the Lord gave me earlier that day was representative of the people they serve.
Maybe it wasn’t specific, but it was what God wanted me to see.
I feel like the Lord was asking me to write this to speak to you, my readers and friends.
It’s a reminder to not take things as face value.
It’s a reminder to not make judgments about people based off of something you’ve previously heard.
It’s a reminder that you don’t have to have someone “figured out” so you can feel secure.
I think the Lord is calling us all higher. He’s calling us to open our eyes.
He’s calling us to see oppression and think about why people are living in fear.
He’s asking us to see people for who He created them to be because we were all made in His image.
He calls us to love the oppressed and the marginalized. This is what Jesus’ ministry is ALL about.
People criticize what they don’t understand… I’ve been seeing that a lot on Facebook now a days. All this political banter is getting in the way of seeing people.
All I will say is that people are upset for a reason.
People are afraid.
People do not feel safe.
And if there’s one thing I know, it’s that no one deserves to not feel safe.
Tonight, the Lord gave me a new revelation to the picture He gave me last week.
I believe His message was for my friends who are part of the LGBTQ community, my friends of color, my friends who are females, my friends who are immigrants and refugees, my friends who are undocumented, and my friends with disabilities. You have been betrayed and burned. There is deep pain you are experiencing, and the Lord sees you. He weeps with you. He yearns to hold you close. He doesn’t like to see His children in pain. He sees you. He calls you strong. He calls you resilient. All He wants is for you to run to Him. He will be your Protector. He will give you refuge. He loves you deeply.
At the end of the day, people will fail you. This country will fail you. This world will fail you. God’s people will fail you. Liberals will fail you. Republicans will fail you. Everyone will fail everyone.
But there is one thing that will never fail you, and that is the Lord. He will never leave you, nor forsake you.
His love isn’t temporary, it’s eternal, steadfast, and forever.
Instead of making assumptions, try taking the time to ponder why people are upset.
Ask yourself why people are living in fear… why they are feeling unsafe.
Come alongside them, and maybe offer them some cookies and coffee.
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Thanks for reading! I hope you were encouraged by it! If you liked it, be sure to comment in the comments below.
P.S. I’ve fundraised $13,520 out of $16,561 of my total fundraising goal.
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Peace & Grace,
Kels
