Part 1: Marching Around the Walls of Jericho

As we were walking, we passed by an older white-haired man and a beautiful young Latino woman. They were in a car buckling themselves in, ready to drive off.

He had purchased her for the night.

Right away we knew we entered into the battlefield.

“Oh Lord give that women back her innocence and purity. Reveal to her the value and treasure she is. Set her free from bondage. May she cry out to you and would you answer her. Be with that man, Lord. Show him true, selfless, unconditional love. May he value women who are created in your image. Soften his heart so that he may seek after you. You are Good and you are God. In your beautiful name amen.”

Night One: Prayer

During my time on the race the Lord has placed women specifically on my heart and it’s been amazing to see where the Lord has led me. Tonight (8/10) my friend Janele, Mads, Meg and I prayed for the women and men who regularly work and attend a brothel in Jaco. Jaco is a well known place for its nightlife, partying, and surfing.

My friend Mads had previously come to Jaco for missions and what an opportunity it is to come alongside her and her friend Meg in this passion of becoming love for women in bondage. Mads returned to Jaco for a few days for vacation and to reach the women in prostitution. She has a heart to make those women feel seen, loved, and valued.

As Mads and Meg went inside to talk with the women in the brothel, Janele and I prayed outside, in front, behind, and all around the hotel and casino where the brothel is held. It felt as if we were marching around the walls of Jericho waiting for the walls to crumble.

There is so much prayer that goes into a night like this. We prayed for ourselves to have the Armor of God in place. We prayed for the many women, men, and, children we saw and didn’t see. We prayed for hearts, minds, bodies, souls, and spirits. We prayed for freedom and other jobs for these women and men. Gosh whatever came to our mind we prayed it out loud or in our head to the Lord we know is listening.

From time to time as Janele and I would walk pass the back entrance we would see Mads and Meg talking to someone. Janele and I would pray again for good conversation.

During our half time session, Mads and Meg came out and told us they met all the women they talked with the night before and some even ran up to them because they were excited to see them again.

These women just want to be seen, loved, and accepted.

Right when we were all about to leave, a group of girls called Mads and Meg over. It was a large group of women who attended a retreat led by Mads and her team last year. God is a God of purpose and meaning.

That night I was constantly reminded about a verse in Romans,

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
??Romans? ?8:37-39? ?NIV??

How amazing is it that we are loved so much that nothing, I mean nothing, can possibly separate us from the love of God. I pray these women and men would know and believe that Christ is after them and miraculously they would be set free from the bondage they are in.

As I said before, we stepped into a battlefield, but with Christ we have victory that we choose to step into everyday.

Stay Tuned for Part 2 as we continue to step into victory and walk into the dark walls.