Part 2: Inside the Dark Walls of Jericho

Night Two: We entered.

So different from what I expected it would be like. The atmosphere and feeling was different from Thailand. It still felt heavy and dark, but what I saw was different. As we walked through the doors I saw a majority of young people (between ages 19-40) dancing and standing around. There were flashy lights, a bar, a dance floor, casino to the right, a pool to the left, and hotel rooms. Around the perimeter of the bar were women standing on the outskirts waiting and ready to grab their next customer. Mads, Meg, Janele, Melanie, and I were the only women not working.

Before deciding to go in, because it could be heavy, I had time with the Lord. I heard the Lord say, “Read the book of Hosea”. It’s a book about a prostitute and Israel’s unfaithfulness to God. As I was reading, these words stood out,

And I will betroth (old word for ‘promise to marry’) you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the LORD.

– Hosea 2:19-20

I loved reading these words because it’s all about the Lord saying, “I will _____.” These are promises. Promises that I too can’t hold on to. With the promises given to us I see again the Lord’s heart for us and fight for us. As much as the Lord hates sin and our unfaithfulness He still chooses to love and want us.

So, with these words and thoughts in mind I went into tonight (8/11) with the mindset of not wanting to change anyone because the Lord will do that. I went in with wanting to be a friend. A friend who is not wanting anything, but to know them and hear their story. With some of the women, we talked about their children and their life. With others, we had difficult conversations where the Lord told us to be quiet and listen.

 

Here’s how one interaction went.

As we were walking outside to get fresh air, Maria followed us out and came up and said, “You girls are Christians, right?”’ We were shocked and said, “Yes!” Maria was a lady Mads met a year ago and she still remembered Mads face. Later in our conversation she said, “We live in an effed up world and you can’t change the world we live in”. We responded with respectful voices and said, “We aren’t trying to change the world, but are genuinely trying to show love and care to what matters to us”. She asked us other questions and with some statements she was trying to justify why her and others do the work they do. During that time the Lord silenced us and with that she was honest with us and she shared her feelings.

 

Crazy that the woman remembered Mads face even after a year ago and also crazy that she walked up and talked to us. Even though Maria rejects God, I see Him calling out her name and wanting her to be with Him and know Him. I see this as a victory because Maria could have walked away, but instead she followed us outside to ask if we were Christians.

With all the women we met we invited them to a hangout at the beach with food, music, and good conversation.

We left that night with hopes of seeing the women we met the next day.

Stay tuned for Part 3