This past January i had something happen to me that i had never experienced before but anticipate will occur more and more in the future. It both breaks my heart and induces a bit of a holy rage within me. As many of you know, much of the work we do in Nepal is with many of the young girls who are at risk of being trafficked into the brothels both in Nepal as well as places like India. Many of these girls come from poor families and are working to help the family make enough money to pay house rent, buy food, and maybe someday have enough to enroll in school. One one of the last nights in Kathmandu, i had been spending some significant time with two young girls aged 13 and 14 who were selling small purses to tourists in the Thamel district. Earlier in the evening, one of them asked me if i could buy them some break to take home for their families. i said i would come back that evening before they went home and get them what they needed.
At about 9:30 pm i headed back into the busy streets of Thamel to take these girls to the bakery. On my way to the main intersection, where the girls would stand selling their bags, i was approached by a young boy in his late teens. assuming he was about to offer me "hashish" which is a very common occurrence in this area, i simply ignored him. As i walked, he matched my pace and whispered into my ear, "Would you like a nice Nepali girl?". Expecting something totally different, i was entirely caught off guard by the words he had uttered into my ear. i had been offered a lot of things during my time in Nepal, but no one had ever been so bold as to offer me this. i simply ignored the boy and kept walking. He continued walking beside me, and kept rephrasing his questions in hopes that i would accept his offer. The anger rose inside me as i thought of the girls on the streets who we work so hard to save from this very thing. Finally, i stopped, turned to face him, looked him in the eyes and told him i plain and simple language that i was not interested and that he needed to "go away". i then turned and continued walking. To my surprise, my "warning" was unheeded and he continued to hassle me. i stopped three times telling him i was not interested and that he needed to go away. Finally, on my last attempt to put an end to his badgering, he got close to my face and said to me, "...but they are very young, very beautiful, and very good Nepali girls.".
i have often imagined what Jesus was thinking after He left the temple courts enraged at what He saw. i have imagined what was going through the mind of our Lord when in John chapter 2 it tells us that He went and made a whip of cords, which takes a bit of time i would think, and went and "cleared the temple". Moved by a righteous anger, He responded with actions that sent a clear message that this was not the way His Father intended things to be, and that this would not be tolerated.
Now, i am not Jesus, and do not claim that my actions always line up exactly with how Jesus would do things, but i do know that the anger and rage in my heart over the fact that statistics now say that in the small tourist area of Kathmandu, knows simply as Thamel, now house more than 30,000 young women who work in brothels as prostitutes was and is a righteous anger. i know that the anger of knowing that one young lady we got off the streets a year ago and into school has now resorted to working in such a place in order to "help feed the family" is a holy anger. i know that as i was on my way to pour into the lives of 2 young lady's in an attempt to show them the love of Jesus and the hope of a different life that the anger i now felt rising up within me was both a holy anger and a righteous rage. Now whether the actions that came where like those of Jesus might be up for debate, but there was a clear message sent to this young boy that this was not the way things were supposed to be, nor will this type of activity be tolerated at least by this particular "tourist".
Over the course of the next 3 days not only did i have opportunity to talk with the girls about this situation, but also several shop owners who witnessed the "interaction". i also had a couple exchanges with that young boy and hope to have an ongoing conversation with him when i go back in a few months. What this did do is increase my awareness of how desperate this has become, and remind me of how very important the work is that we are doing on the streets of Nepal. Over the next few weeks i will share with you some specific stories of young women who are at risk. i will tell you their stories, their circumstances, and how you can be praying specifically for the work we are doing. In some cases there are very specific things you can do to help get them off the streets, into schools, and provide a better life for them and their families. But please know that your support and prayers are such a huge and much needed blessing to continue the work that we are doing.
With an "impressionable" memory left on the "minds" of all those involved in this unfortunate situation, lets remember to pray for both the boys and the girls that are being lured into this devastating and destructive stuff happening all over Nepal. If you want to know more regarding the trafficking taking place in Nepal, please visit our partnership in Nepal, www.peacerehab.org
God Bless, and thanks so much for your involvement in this ministry!
Thanks,
Your sometimes imperfect (or not) representation of Jesus
Monday, January 25, 2010
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