Correspondencia con K. D.-Junio 10, 2009

Dear K.,
I want to thank you again for writing. I have copied on to this email my friends. We're all in this together. We were also so grateful to read your note last night. It was very encouraging. We've been doing some of the things you mentioned, so that was a relief. It even helped us to realize further that these past few months have not been a waste of time. At times it does feel that way. Sometimes we feel we've made headway in our relationships with them and then something happens and we wonder, "where did the level of trust go?"

But your email made SO much sense to us. We're slowly building that trust. They do experience betrayal--constantly. So, why would they trust us? It helps us to be patient to understand their minds and hearts a bit more.

I hope the email I sent you last night enlightened you in what we're doing and how it all started.

I will try to answer some of your questions. We first started visiting them in the place where they work (which I described in my previous email). First we'd go and make small talk, find out more about their lives, their children. We'd ask how we could pray for them. We'd share Scriptures with them briefly. There were some visits when they opened their hearts to us about difficult situations: health, financial, family related. A few of them invited themselves to church, so we would go pick them up in their homes and then drive them back. We also took one of them to the hospital who'd been complaining of a pain in her lungs. She's a crack addict so we really wanted to see how it had affected her. One of the girls' come to church 4 times. She's brought her son every time. We started an effort to teach them how to read and write, but they haven't gone yet (the partner of one of them, though, has--twice).

After several conversations where we sought advice from others more experienced than us, we have changed our strategy a bit. We will still visit them (but not in a way that they can trace a pattern). We'd go every Friday night initially but we realize now that it exposes us to be predictable.

We are not sure if they have a pimp or not. They have said they don't (we did ask them, though--now I realize we shouldnt' have). We suspect they might have someone behind them--if not for the sex, then for drug dealing. We think (we're almost sure) they sell drugs while at work. So they may not always sell their bodies, but do earn money selling drugs. We know for sure that they are consumers. They have told us it would be impossible for them to do what they do without drugs. They smoke pot and crack (at least those two, maybe other kind as well).

So back to our strategy. What we're praying for is for opportunities to build relationships with them individually. There are several of them which we see the Lord moving us into their lives and so we want to grow closer to them. But that takes time--- and it is difficult to know how to narrow it down. How can we be effective in reaching out to them individually when there are several which we'd love to reach out to at the same time? We're not working on this full time (although we're praying about God's will in that regard.. but that's another story.... :-)). So it is difficult to know where to focus our attention.

The girls are not homeless. They do live very poorly. I will copy something I wrote on another email:

While waiting for the girls, I saw another one of them, L., who lives in the same guest house where 4 or 5 of them live. Oh brothers and sisters. I wish I could describe what I saw there. The guest house is a small building with many rooms. In those rooms, families of 3 and 4 people live. The rooms are SUPER tiny. One bed, a small electric stove, a dresser.... and that's it. L. lives in her small "house" with her partner and 1 year old daughter. No bathroom. There's one bathroom that all of them share. No running water in their rooms. So to do dishes, for example, she needs to go downstairs fill a bucket up, come up and wash the dishes right there. There's no fridge nor place to store food.... and the whole guest house is filthy and stinks!!! She asked me to come in, I sat down with her on her bed. She wanted me to pray for her, for "deliverance." I asked what deliverance she was talking about: deliverance from everything that is evil inside that room, and that all that is good would come in. I prayed with her and as we talked she asked so many other needs came up that I wasn't aware of.

My heart just ached to leave that place... I once again experienced that feeling I shared once, feelings of repulsion. I am so thankful for Jesus' example and grace. He dwelt among us, he took on our flesh. I think I am understanding a tiny bit more what Jesus must have felt when He lived among us. Sometimes we dream with having a home for these girls; usually the thought of having a home for them, a clean place, a place where they can focus on learning different trades and learn how to read and write and hear the gospel, is a sweet thought. But as I spent those minutes with L., the implications of such a ministry came in full force. We have often said we would love to live with them... but after seeing a bit more of the misery in their lives, of the pathetic consequences of sin, of their habits and lifestyles, I am also realizing what it would mean to live with them. It would not always be sweet; there are serious risks in living with them, and a life with them I am sure would be quite challenging. But then, if my Master did it, then there's grace sufficient.

K., we have many questions for you. First, with what we' ve already shared, what advice would you give us?
Second, we are dreaming about having a home where we could take these girls in. Our desire is that they would have a place where they could focus on learning a trade, on being evangelized and discipled. We're every day more convinced that to remain in their current homes and situations is a trap. They are trapped: trapped in a cycle. They are illiterate, many don't even have a birth certificate (so in legal terms--they don't exist); they have no trade; they grew up with moms who were also prostitutes; they grew up in abusive home situations. Now they live with a man who lives off of them. And so they live each day to survive. They work to earn a meager amount (sometimes not so meager) that will be enough for them to buy food for their babies, for themselves, fund their drugs....and that's how they live day by day by day. No light at the end of the tunnel. It just makes us SO sad and SO angry to see how the devil has them trapped and deceived and blind. BUT GOD--YES... God is SOO good!! And He's awaken us to this reality, to these girls, and K., we pray for grace so that we don't turn our backs on them.

So, about the home. What would be initial steps to think about? What kind of training and equipping would people working with them need? What would be a realistic goal to think about in terms of the near future? What are resources we can look into?
We're working on a blog that we hope to make public soon. The idea is to share in spanish what things we have learned, what resources we have found. MOre than anything, though what we're hoping for is networking. We're wondering if there are Hispanic people out there that could help us, that are equipped for this kind of work. We're doing this with our pastors' approval and blessing. This is not OUR ministry. This is our church's ministry. We long for our church to be deeply involved in this outreach.

OK.... Hopefully this helps. Girls, am I missing something on this?? Please add or clarify anything you might think is not clear.

K., THANK YOU. We're so thankful for you.

Blessings!!!
A., for V., C. and R. :)