Month two of the Race I was working very closely with women in prostitution. While I was walking the streets I was so aware of the fact that if I had chosen the path of becoming a police officer right out of college I would have been arresting these women for the work they were doing. But here I was on a completely different path, showing the women I encountered what a life with Christ was like.
The question I had to constantly ask was: How do I see them as people instead of criminals?
As most of you know Colombia has a huge drug problem. It got better for a while but within the past 5 years the amount of cocaine produced and exported has gradually increased. The drug trafficker’s formed roots in Medellín during the 1980s and still have strong roots with the local cartels.
For month 10 my team and I will be living and working with an organization called Ciudad Refugio in Medellín. This organization takes a close look at the city and finds ways to meet the needs of the locals. They have a shelter where sober homeless men can sleep at night, a program for men and one for women who are coming off of drugs and looking for a better life, a church, and even a few programs for children to participate in.
Once a week they go to a popular part of town known for buying and selling drugs, The Bronx.
I want you to close your eyes and try picturing this after reading the next paragraph.
Every night there is one block in town that the police corral all of the drug addicts to. One block covered with HUNDREDS of addicts. These are people so high they cannot form a complete sentence or walk straight. They sit in circles with their friends and pass a joint, syringe, or pipe around like its a bottle of Coke. They take up every inch of the sidewalk and most of the street making it almost impossible to walk through. A lot of them have tarps hanging up as makeshift homes. And the men have complete control of the women. They can make one sideways glance and the women will completely change their attitudes.
Now close your eyes for a minute and think about how you would feel walking through this area. Would you be scared? Excited? Nervous?
If you are having a hard time picturing this go watch one episode of The Walking Dead and imagine yourself as one of the characters. That is the best way to bring you into this world.
Make sure that the world you imagine has some people walking by you really quickly. Some people walking up to you speaking Spanish and wanting to shake your hand. People who have needles that get a little too close to you. Or a woman hitting you in the back and you can’t react. Oh, and make sure there are plently of people cussing you out.
Add the smell of those who haven’t showered in days, maybe even weeks. Dog feces, trash, and whatever else the street collects.
Now comes sound. There are plenty of people yelling, some crying. A few laughing without a care in the world. A lot of talking (keep in mind it is all in Spanish) and whispers.
If I had to guess you have never been in a situation like this before so your heart is racing and you are begging God to protect you. This surge of adrenaline runs through you and you want to run away as fast as you can but you can’t.
Now you have it.
These are the places we are asked to go to. These are the people God wants us to minister to. He wants us to meet them where they are at and bring them to Him. He doesn’t want us to be afraid to shake their hands or to share a meal with them. He wants us to invite them over for coffee and offer them a place to shower.
God has really been changing my heart and showing me what it is like to love a person for who they are and not what they do.
That man is NOT a drug addict. That man is a son of God.
That woman is NOT a prostitute. She is a precious jewel.
That mom who brings her two young boys to that environment is NOT a horrible mother. She is a mother who is longing to be found.
That young adult is NOT hopeless. He just doesn’t know what it is like to be loved.
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We live in a 5 story tall building this month that over looks the city. Each night I look out and see the city lights that cover the surrounding mountains. After our night in The Bronx I see each light as a symbol God is using to show us all the lost souls in the city. The number is so vast but each light and each soul has so much value. Our job for the next few weeks is to capture and cherish as many of those lights as we can. To give them another option and to show them the way out.
