Our last night of ministry in the bars came so fast. All that was running through our minds was that this was our last chance to impact these women's lives and all we could bank on was that God had victories in store that night. We had developed relationships with these women for 2 months and we were trusting that God would produce fruit from it. And oh how he did. That night quickly became one of the most impacting nights of not only several women in the bars but my own. With each victory that God blessed us with seeing we responded in praise and worship of song that filled the dark streets of Puerto Barrios. Here are a few stories of the victories that we saw, one after another.
First I want to tell you Nina's* story. Nina is a christian that was trapped in the slavery of sex trafficking. A few weeks prior some of my teammates had a conversation with her about how she could leave the bar and trust that God would provide for her. Easier said that done, and we left that bar heartbroken knowing that she, our sister in christ was stuck in the bar. Fast forward to our last night in the bars. We bought friendship bracelets to give a last reminder to these women that we loved them, and more importantly God did. We searched for Nina in the bar she normally worked at, but she was nowhere to be seen. my teammate went to the bar owner and asked where Nina was and said that she had something for her. The bar owner replied saying that she was not there. To be sure of what my teammate had just heard she asked again "where is nina?" And the bar owner replied once again, "She is not here, she quit and went back to family." You can most likely guess how we reacted when my teammate got back into the van and shared the news. We praised God for the fruit we were able to see, and the freedom that God gave Nina.
This next victory is a continuation of Ingrid's* story. See below. As God was breaking my heart for Ingrid I had no idea that he was working in hers. Our last night of ministry we were able to hear a little bit more of the story that God is writing for her life. From what was translated for us, Ingrid told us that she used to pray to a wooden idol of a saint. She was literally praying daily to a wooden block to get her out of this situation. As I listened to Ingrid weeks earlier, loved on her, spoke truth into her, and prayed over her God was doing something greater. He was changing her heart. Ingrid told us on our last night that she now prayed to our God, the one and true true God and that maybe tomorrow God would get her out of that bar. Once again God showed us fruit and a victory. I'm not sure where Ingrid is right now, but I know that God has started a good work in her, and He will bring it to completion.
That night God taught much more than I could explain with words. I found that once again, God is in complete control all the time. When we were investing in those women week after week and not seeing any change, God was watching and saying "Just wait for what I have in store, its far more than anything you could pray or ask for." And it was.
