You make beautiful things out of the dust [[Guatemala]]

 As our feet hit the pavement I knew the next hour and a half was going to be a difficult journey. The question that ran through my mind over and over was 'How do we show God's love to women who are so broken and feel like they are trapped in this lifestyle?' I didn't know if they would reject us or accept the love we had to offer them from God. I was then reminded by God that we were sent here to bind up the brokenhearted and to proclaim the Lord's favor. 
   "He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengence of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for all those who grieve, to BESTOW ON THEM A CROWN OF BEAUTY INSTEAD OF ASHES, the oil of gladness instead of mourning and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devestated" Isaiah 61:1-4

    Walking into the first nightclub(discoteca)  was tough. One woman was center stage performing for different men and several woman were sitting on in the back waiting for their next "customer" My heart sank when I saw this and a feeling of hopelessness fell over me for these women. As we handed each of the women in the back a flower and began praying for them God began to show me that although this was very difficult this was where we needed to be, loving on these women, telling them that they have worth in Christ and being the change that needs to happen. Even though in my mind I've known that this goes on, it didn't truly become a reality until I stepped into that discoteca and saw it with my own eyes. We tend to take these issues we know are real and sweep them under the rug. If we can't see them, they don't effect us, but in real life this is the way these women live and they don't even see that they can be free anymore. As we asked one of the women in the bar "Te gusta aquí?"( Do you like it here?), she respnded No but it is necessary because she had to provide for her suffering family somehow.  A lot of these women can't see that is not necessary and that God can provide freedom for them. Many of the girls we prayed for were underage and trafficked into prostitution. Here, many families rely on their young daughters to provide for their families because their bodies are "desirable" and they are guarenteed money. 
    It broke my heart to see this one girl in a packed bar.(no more than 14 years old) As I prayed for her (she reluctantly agreed) she nervously looked around the room, which probably meant she had a boss watching her to make sure she "worked." As we left I watched the girl I had just prayed for walk away with a man and my heart sank inside. As I began to protest to God in my head of why he would let this happen he gently reminded me that this was not my battle to fight and my part was just to show her God's love even if for a moment that night.  This ministry is one of the most difficult that we have done so far but God has made it clear to me that we are supposed to be his hands and feet even if  a situation looks hopeless, because we can be the change instead of just sweeping this issue under the rug. God does make beautiful things out of the dust, and I am sure that he is working on making these girls lives beautiful despite it looking like empty dust right now.