A prayer realized

I don’t even know where to start with this blog.  So much has happened in the past few days and my heart is so full.  A few weeks ago I posted a blog about a little girl that I have completely fallen in love with.  Her name is Rosa and her mom, Genet was working as a prostitute.  Since November, I have had a heavy heart for Genet and Rosa.  I have prayed and cried and yelled over this situation.  I have literally felt like my heart would break because I knew Rosa was living in a brothel.  As I mentioned before, I would lay there some nights and worry about Rosa.  One night I cried out to God and asked why He would let a little girl live in a brothel.  I asked why He would let a woman feel like she has no other options but to sell her body in order to feed herself and her baby.  

God answered me and what He told me is that the world is a broken place but Christians are to be the light and Christians are called to help the least of these.  That is when I asked Genet if she wanted to leave this lifestyle and move to a new house and I told her if she did then I would help her.  I was worried about how I would do this but I shouldn’t have worried because of course God came through.  Two people have come forward that said they wanted to help.  So not only is Genet’s rent covered but now she will have extra money for food and clothes.

Michelle Tiatia is a BCI intern from New Zealand and together we started a Bible study for some of our BCI moms.  Genet has faithfully come to these studies even though she wasn’t a Christian.  I have noticed in the past two months that she sits at these studies with tears in her eyes.  I have been praying relentlessly about her salvation.  I had faith that God would use something to push Genet’s faith over the edge but I didn’t know what that would be.  

This past Thursday a group of missionaries from Illinios was to lead the women’s Bible study.  I asked one of the women to give her testimony.  I had heard her testimony before and I really wanted Genet to hear it.  This women’s journey was not the same as Genet’s but there were similar threads and I prayed and prayed that God would use her to reach Genet.

The Bible study was due to start and Genet still wasn’t there.  I sat there and prayed that God would force Genet to come to the Bible study.  She didn’t show up so we started the study with singing.  And finally Genet and Rosa came in!!!  I locked eyes with the woman that was to share her testimony, because she had never met Genet and Rosa, and nodded my head that yes, this is Genet.  

During the woman’s testimony I just continued to pray that God would give her the words to say that would touch Genet.  I don’t want to share all of her testimony here without asking her permission but the part that I wanted Genet to hear is that her pastor asked her if she was ready to accept Jesus as her personal savior and she said no because she wasn’t good enough, clean enough.  Her pastor told her that there is no such thing as cleaning up your life to come to Jesus.  He explained to her that you come as you are.  Dirty, wounded, with baggage and Jesus takes you in and cleans you, heals you, makes you whole.  At this point, everyone in the room was crying.

Nigist, BCI social worker, turned to Genet and spoke to her and asked her if she was ready to accept Jesus as her savior and to allow God to heal and clean her.  Genet said yes!!!!!!!  I was so excited I couldn’t hardly stand it.  This is what I had been praying for and it was happening.  God was doing it!

Rosa was asleep in Genet’s lap so I took her and while everyone else gathered around and prayed while Genet was accepting Christ as her savior I got the honor of holding that precious baby while her mom was changing not only her own life, but was changing Rosa’s as well.  At this point I was ‘ugly girl crying’.  You  know the kind of crying where you have tears and snot running down your face?  The kind of crying where you can barely breath so you are making hideous sobbing sounds?  Yeah, that kind of crying.  At one point I looked down at Rosa while she was sleeping peacefully and realized that I had comepletley drenched one side of her face with my tears.  I wish Rosa could have watched her mom accept Jesus but I’m sure it would have scared her to have 10 women circled around her mother crying.

After we prayed Genet went around the room and hugged everyone and when she came to me we just clutched each other, with her baby between us, and just sobbed.  It was so amazing to be able to witness her salvation.  But the more I sat there, the sadder I got.  Here we were, celebrating her new life and all I could think of is that in about 30 minutes she was going to have to go back to her house (which is a brothel) and possibly have to “work”.  

I handed Rosa to Michelle and I went outside to call Mussie.  Remember, he had no idea any of this had happened, when he answered the phone I instantly started ugly girl crying again and I was trying to explain to him what just happened.  I was begging him to help me find a place for Rosa and Genet to stay that night.  Genet had told me a few months earlier that she couldn’t be a Christian because she was a prostitute so I didn’t want her to have to go home and be forced to have sex for money.  I was worried that she would then think that because she did that, that God wouldn’t want her anymore.

One of the other women in the Bible study was also outside and she must have realized that I was trying to find a new home for Genet so she told Nigist that she had a room that Genet could rent from her.  I was so happy!  Nigist and I spoke to Genet and she said that she wanted to move to that room but she couldn’t that night because she had to settle accounts or something with the owner of the bar/brothel that she lived in.  I made her promise that she would not work that night and she agreed.  The next day, Genet and Rosa moved to the new room.

Unfortunately, Genet didn’t feel comfortable with the new room.  Mainly because there was nowhere for Rosa to play and it was on a busy road so Genet was worried about Rosa’s safey.  Genet found a different house through another one of BCI’s moms (who also used to work as a prostitute before getting saved and just so happened to have lived/worked in the same brothel that Genet just left).  Seriously, I love how God brings things full circle!  

Today we moved Genet and Rosa to their new house and it is a much better, safer place for Rosa to live.  I can’t wait to see how God uses Genet.  When she was moving out of her house/brothel her friends (most also prostitutes) came out and were crying over Genet and they were happy for her, that she was able to leave this lifestyle.  I know that some of these women want to change their situations and I know that they received hope that day.  Hope in Someone bigger than themselves.  

Please continue to pray for Rosa and Genet.  I know that this is a huge change for Genet and while we may not understand it, it will be a challenge for her not to slip back into her old lifestyle.  Please pray that God strengthens her and lifts her up.

A good day

Yesterday was a good day.  There is a little girl here that I have just really been hurting for.  I won’t mention names but I have really become attached to her and now her mother.  Her mom works as a prostitute.  In America, when we think prostitute we think of a woman standing on a street corner waiting for “clients” to come by.  Here, a lot of prostitutes work in bars.  The “clients” come in order a drink and then order sex.  The women lives in a room behind the bar and she just takes him back there to her one-room house.  

The little girl’s mom lives in a place like this.  She sells beer and herself.  As I mentioned earlier, the mom lives behind the bar-so that means the little girl lives behind the bar where the men go and she sleeps in the same bed that her mom uses with these men.  I have literally lost sleep thinking about the little girl living in a place like this.  A lot of the children I encounter here live in tough situations but this is the worst for me to accept.  

I know that the mom has chosen this job because at some point she had no other way to support her daughter but it makes me sick to think of the little girl living there.  I have horrible thoughts about some disgusting man turning on the little girl.  This is why I lose sleep.

The mother has absolutely no education.  In fact, just a month ago she started kindergarten.  That’s right, kindergarten.  It is next to impossible for her to find a job here because she can not read or write.

I don’t know how to solve all of their problems, all I know is I have to get the little girl out of this environment.  Two weeks ago, I spoke to the mother and asked her if she was able, would she like to move out and she said yes.  She said she used to be a Christian but she can’t know because she is a prostitute.  

I told her that if she was willing, I would find her a new home and I would pay the rent for her.  She is worried about how she will afford food for her daughter.  I told her that we would try to find a job for her, somehow.  But she wanted time to think about it.  I didn’t know what there was to think about but I agreed to give her time.

Yesterday, she told me that she would like my help.  She said she still doesn’t know how she will make a living but she wants to get out of that environment.  I told her I didn’t have all of the answers right now but that with God’s help we will figure it out.

I don’t know how this is going to all work out.  But I know I have to try.  This typically isn’t my way of helping.  I realize that throwing money at a problem doesn’t always fix it.  And agreeing to pay someone’s living costs until who knows when may actually make them more reliant on help instead of giving them a new chance.  And who knows, she may turn back to prostitution but I have to take a chance.  After all, Jesus took a chance on me.

"It's culture"

“It’s culture”.  For the most part, this statement annoys and frustrates me.  I think too many cultures in this world use this reasoning as an excuse to continue to do vile, hideous, and ungodly things to their people.  Sometimes the “it’s culture” statement is used in matters that in the grand scheme of the world don’t actually mean anything.  For example, Ethiopians primarily use “squatty potties”.  I, of course, prefer “western” toilets.  But is it really my place to tell people that they need to install “western” toilets in their homes, offices, or schools?  No.  Because after all “it’s culture” but more importantly, it isn’t hurting anyone (other than me, perhaps!).

Before I start in on my tirade let me just say: I love different cultures.  I love that different cultures have huge customs that are celebrated.  I love the different dress, colors, music, dances, food, and celebrations that each culture has to offer.  I wish I could travel all over the world (actually, Africa would be just fine. . .I would even start with just Ethiopia) and see how they all live.  I have heard of some pretty crazy (by my standards) things that different cultures in Ethiopia do but I would like to go and experience it.  

It makes me sad when countries lose their culture because another country (and it is usually somewhere from the Western world) moves in and takes over.  I love that Ethiopia has fought to keep their culture.  I have been to some other countries that try to look and act like America or whoever.  I think that you can learn things from different cultures and you can take something from them to enhance your own country but it just makes me sad when another country strives to become westernized and they lose themselves in the process.  This isn’t good for anyone.  It isn’t good for these particular countries and it isn’t good for the world.  

The amazing thing about this World is that there is so many different ways of doing things.  We can learn from each other.  Just because America or Canada or England does something a certain way doesn’t mean it is the right way.  Perhaps we are just the loudest?  I know America is guilty of pushing our culture on the rest of the world.  Seriously, how many big companies and aid organizations have to fail (sometimes at a huge embarrassment level) because an American shows up in some third-world country and tries to push “America” on them?  Maybe we need to take a step back and see why these countries are doing these things before we knock ‘em and try to push ourselves on them. 

Okay, I got off on a tangent.  Anyway, there are times when “it’s culture” doesn’t bother me, actually it makes me happy when different people groups fight for their culture.  However, it annoys and frustrates me when people use the “it’s culture” excuse to do things that are against God.

Beating your children, beating your wives, feeding your sons but not your daughters, not tithing, female genital mutilation, living in your posh life and ignoring the horrors of the rest of the world, “honor” killings, polygamy, and keeping up with the Joneses are a few examples of attitudes and actions around the world that people love to use the “it’s culture” statement to excuse their behavior.  I believe that it is culture but I believe it is culture of the devil-not necessarily culture of specific countries or tribes.  Sounds harsh, I know, but that is my opinion.

Let’s look at female genital mutilation (fgm): how did this start?  It doesn’t say to do it in the Bible, in the Torah, or in the Koran.  So we can hardly argue that it is religious.  From research I have read about it the sole purpose of fgm is to prevent women from enjoying sex and to prevent them from cheating on their husbands.  That sounds like a lie from the devil to me.  “If you mutilate little girls they will be good wives”.  Really?  The Bible says a good wife is to honor her husband.  Do you really think your wife will honor you if every time you have sex with her it is sheer torture for her?  Granted, the men are not the ones that are actually doing the mutilation but in these tribes the men will not marry women who have not been “cut”.  

Lest we as Americans are thinking right now “that is horrible, we don’t do anything that disgusting”.  Let’s take a look at our American culture of “more is better” or “we can never have enough”.  The Bible says in Colossians 3:5 “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.”  Greed is in the same list as sexual immorality and evil desires.  How many of us have thought “well, I am not perfect but at least I haven’t cheated on my husband like Suzy Q”?  We, as Christians, like to compare our sins to others.  But on judgement day we are not going to be compared to the person in front or behind us-we are going to be compared to Jesus.  

  

In Colossians 3:5 we also see that God considers greed as idolatry.  This greed could be in relation to money, food, or possessions just as an example.  Exodus 20:3 states “you shall have no other gods before me”.  We can see clearly in Colossians that greed is considered a god before God.  Some people may think “I may be sinning because of my greed but I am not hurting anyone”.  Actually yes you are.  Because if you live in a perpetual state of greed then you can not fulfill James 1:27.  It says:  “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world”.  If you are living in constant greed are you really helping orphans and widows?

We should not be so concerned about our own culture-we should be concerned about Kingdom Culture.  If something in our culture (or another) goes against Kingdom Culture then we should fight it.  After all, when you are standing in front of God accounting for your sins are you going to say “well that is the way we have always done it”?

What things in your culture do you need to stand up against?  I have a list of my own that I am working on.