He said it was just going to be a prayer walk in the red light district. I should have known it would be more than just a walk.
The moment we spotted the park that surrounds the Buddhist temple, I was shocked by how beautiful and crowded it was.
This place was where so much darkness resides? Where women, men, and kids are sold to strangers for $2-5 for an hour.
How can that be? It was the greenest place I had seen yet in Phnom Penh. Full of trees, flowers, and paths to walk around.
There were people everywhere. Taking pictures of the temple. Buying cokes from the vendor. Chatting happily, seemingly unaware of the things that were happening to the people right around them.
As we stepped out of our tuk tuk, I felt weight in my heart. This place was heavy and dark. And immediately tears sprang to my eyes. God was allowing me to FEEL what these people felt everyday they worked here.
Darkness. Loneliness. Pain. Desperation.
It was more than I could take in that moment. So I prayed. Asking for strength and words to say as we started to walk around the circle path that leads all around the temple.
I noticed immediately how many children were in the park. Babies and kids no older than 5 or 6. They are kids of the prostitutes, our contact told us.
And my heart ached for them. Their innocence stolen at such a young age. The pain and desperation the mothers must feel having them there. I couldn't imagine having to leave my kids in the park by themselves while I went and tried to make enough money to feed them.
So we walked. And we prayed. And cried out to God that he would be present in this place. That his spirit would stir hearts and create questions that only he could answer. That his love would be poured out on his people and that his voice of truth would be louder than all the lies.
We spoke hope and light over the people. We prayed for the holy spirits conviction to be thick in the park. And for freedom to come quickly.
We talked with a monk who was desperately seeking for truth and provision in his life that he was not getting from Buddha. My team was able to share the truth of the gospel with him and make plans to talk with him again. And we praised God for his faithfulness and celebrated the amazing work that he is doing there.
And I felt hope.
But then the sledge hammer came. Two locals that came with us explained what happens when a prostitute has a baby. The women either keep the baby and bring them to work with them, or they sell the babies to pimps or people in the human trafficking industry to raise and then sell them out when they are old enough.
My heart was officially broken.
Bringing their children to the park and having them watch as they sold themselves to strangers was the BEST option these women had. It was their way of protecting their children.
The bible says that Jesus wept. And in that moment, I wept with him. For his precious sons and daughters in that park who were trying to survive. And for his other sons and daughters who came to that place looking for an instant something to make them feel good.
This is why I came on the race. For these moments of insane brokenness. So I can see and feel the injustice of the world. So I can pray with everything in me to change it.
