Friday night we had the opportunity to do some ministry work in the red light district of Puerto Barrios…..about a 10 to 15 min drive from our house. We didn’t head out until closer to dinner time so spent the day preparing for our time there. We spent a lot of time in prayer as a team and then individually. We also spent a lot time making gifts for the women that we would meet. Some of the squad worked on baking cookies while a group of us worked on bundling up flowers. We wrote scripture verses in Spanish on some little cards we made and attached them to the flowers.
During our team time we talked about any feelings of anxiety, fears, nervousness, etc…and brought them to the Lord together. Another HUGE thing we talked about was how this was going to be a ministry time specifically for us girls. The men on our team would not be allowed to talk to the women, as this would not be appropriate, but instead were to be there praying for the women we would meet and looking out for us. During our team time I realized that I was pretty dang nervous and wondered if my fears and weaknesses would show with these women instead of the boldness and strength I wanted them to see. I just didn’t know if seeing all that we could possibly see if I would be able to hold it together. It was an intense team time full of prayer and tears (ok, well I cried 😉 ). When we were done praying I felt such a peace and I believe we all felt very well prepared for the ministry we were about to do. We were going with no expectations…..just the desire for God to use us in some way to touch the hearts of the women (and men) we would encounter…..
Initially when arriving it was a bit intimidating. We divided into smaller groups and started walking the streets…..so many bars with women sitting outside of them just waiting for a man to offer a price for the night….little kids running around in the middle of the chaos…men shouting and starring at us as we walked (little shout out to our guys – Will and Matt – I feel so blessed to have such amazing brothers on my team! They definitely do a good job at looking out for us ladies. Thanks guys, we love you!). After a few minutes of walking around though, I could definitely feel a courage and strength that I knew was only from the Lord. Kelly K. and I got to talk with a woman named Jacqueline. She actually spoke pretty good English which was helpful J. We gave her a little bundle of flowers after making some casual conversation with her. When she read the verse her eyes began to tear. She asked if we were Christians and we started to talk with her about how much God loves her. I’ll never forget the look on her face when we told her that…such a look of disbelieve as she spoke the words, “you think God loves ME?” We both wrapped our arms around her and assured her that YES he does and that he thinks she is absolutely beautiful! As the conversation continued she opened up to us and told us things about herself and what she has done with her life. We asked her if she would like us to pray with her….with tears falling down her face she told us, “yes, please”……
There were many other women we got to hand out the flowers to and have conversations with as the night progressed…..at one point some of us girls went into a bar and handed out the flowers to every woman in there and got to have some conversations with them.
The whole evening might seem pretty simple to some….but I know that we made an impact on those women. Even if it’s just a small seed that was planted…it’s still a seed J and I’m praying that each and every one of them we encountered was able to see and feel God’s love through us! That God will continue to work in their hearts and that they will see that NO MAN can put a price on what they think their worth is….that they are PRICELESS jewels and daughters of God and that He loves them JUST AS THEY ARE….unconditionally!
After our night of ministry
