Women line the streets. Wait, no. Girls line the streets. Girls. 16-17 year old girls. Teenagers. God’s children line the streets in mini-skirts, dresses, tube-tops, barely any clothing at all.
God’s beloved daughters standing on the street 5-10 feet apart for a few blocks on either side. Girls selling themselves. Men peruse the streets looking for just the right one. Girls are bid on and auctioned off.
100 pesos here. 250 pesos there.
They see themselves as worthless. Pieces of meat being sold by the hour.
God’s children; being sold.
For some, this is their first night. Others have been in this for over 10 years. They know no other life. This is their life: being priced and abused by men every night. Finding their self-worth in how much a man will pay for them for an hour of abuse.
They are stuck. They are trapped. They see no way out. Some are there to take care of their own children: products of the prostitution. Others are there because their families need the money. For some, this is the only way they see to survive.
Walking up and down the streets, you see the desperation in the girl’s eyes. You see the pain, the hurt, the lies, the abuse.
The electricity goes out. All lights go out for blocks on both sides. Screams. People running around. Confusion. Violence. Darkness. You can feel the presence of Satan on the streets.
We look at each other, with the same expression on our faces. Confidence. Not fear, but confidence in the Lord. We continue on. We talk to the girls.
I step off to the side as the others talk to a few girls. I stand there in complete awe of what I am witnessing.
I pray.
A man comes up to me. At first I am still praying, so I don’t fully notice him. He approaches me and makes a proposition to me. I didn’t fully understand all that he said, but I know that I heard “Cuanto cuesta para el sexo?” (“How much for sex?”). Stunned, I quickly said no, shook my head, and gave the shake of the finger. Still completely stunned, I quickly joined the others.
We continue walking down the streets and we eventually turn back.
God has truly opened up my heart through this experience.
God’s children are out there, all over the world: lost, hurting, searching for love.
It is my prayer that God’s love would shine through us. That these girls would not see us a judging them, or thinking of ourselves as better than them, but as broken women as well. I pray that God would give us the words to say to these girls to show them His love.
I also pray that God would continue to give us confidence and boldness in the Holy Spirit to go out into the darkness and that He would protect us amidst all of the spiritual warfare.
