Blog / Education, Human Trafficking, News, Team Updates, Uncategorized / Hope for the Darkness (Part IV of IV)
Hope for the Darkness (Part IV of IV)
Posted on October 16th, 2009.
by Christie Weehunt, 23
-India Office Liaison for Sower of Seeds International Ministries
Hope for the Darkness
He will help the oppressed, who have none to defend them…
“73.7% of all girls trapped inside the brothel system must be rescued if they are to ever reach the outside world again.” –Kamala Sarup, Nepal correspondent with Lys Anzia, Women News Network
If the story were to end when we walked out of the district, I would be hopeless. I don’t want to see a need just to be better informed. I don’t want God to break my heart just for the sake of breaking it. I believe that there is a bigger purpose–that God allows us to see things not only for awareness, but because He invites us to be the solution.
God is moving in the red light district. He is rescuing, saving, healing and transforming. He will redeem the helpless. One way or another, His justice will cover them. He is already raising an army:
Former prostitutes.
Former madams.
Former pimps.
And you.
Vast darkness may seem overwhelming, but He is a very Big God. When His beloved is a shield for the powerless, even nations will quake with His glory.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. –Romans 8:38-39 (NASB)
[To learn more about Red Light Rescue visit www.sowerofseeds.org/rescue.]
Friday, October 16, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Born Into Darkness by Christie Weehunt SOS Ministries
Born Into Darkness (Part III of IV)
October 15th, 2009
In another brothel, a woman sat next to me on the floor, wearing a beautiful blue-flowered sari. This woman had sent her daughter to a home for children because she didn’t want her to grow up as a prostitute. When we prayed for her, one of our team (a mother too) hugged her and began wailing as the woman cried. They grieved together for her deep loss, one mother to another.
October 15th, 2009
In another brothel, a woman sat next to me on the floor, wearing a beautiful blue-flowered sari. This woman had sent her daughter to a home for children because she didn’t want her to grow up as a prostitute. When we prayed for her, one of our team (a mother too) hugged her and began wailing as the woman cried. They grieved together for her deep loss, one mother to another.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Trapped in the Darkness: Christie Weehunt SOS Ministries
Trapped in the darkness (Part II of IV)
Posted on October 14th, 2009.
by Christie Weehunt, 23
-India Office Liaison for Sower of Seeds International Ministries
The Victims
Trapped in the darkness…
In Asia’s largest red light district, three square kilometers are home to an estimated 40,000 women working its 24 lanes, earning at least $200 million a year in revenue for their traffickers. They service up to 25 clients a day and make around $1.50 per client.
Although young, the women carried ancient heaviness. As we prayed, each face expressed something different.
The girl to my left was dressed in the classic skirt and tank top that many of the young prostitutes wear. She was from east India, maybe Nagaland or Shilong and looked to be around twenty-two. She cried the entire time we were there, but when we prayed for her, she sobbed. Looking into her eyes I could see both desperation and hope.
I thought about some of the stories I heard before we came—a girl with a large scar on her forearm where a client had paid to cut the skin off with a razor. Another whose pimp sent man after man to rape her until she gave in to his demand of walking the street for him. Girls kept in secret cages, beaten, starved, abandoned. The poverty in India is horrendous. Most of these women were from the poorest, most desolate slums where their families could not imagine a worse fate for them than the one they were born into. And yet, here they were…
One woman really caught my attention. She was about nineteen and had a black scarf with brightly colored stripes pinned tightly along her hairline, covering her hair. As she gazed, her eyes, lined with thick black cagel (coal eyeliner), revealed years of abuse and neglect. There was openness about her, but also the oppression of a seductive spirit. I could feel the spiritual battle going on for her soul.
I thought of the woman with the Alabaster jar–how overcome she must have felt when Jesus looked at her with love. In the midst of this brothel, with its curtained “rooms” and hollow inhabitants, I have never before felt a more real, tangible presence of Jesus. Even in the dark-stained eyes of this forgotten daughter, He was with her, like a warm, bright light. It was like He was physically standing next to her saying “This is my daughter. The world has forgotten about her, but I haven’t forgotten. I’m right here with her, right here as everyday she is mistreated. I see it all and I don’t leave for one second.”
Check back to read Part III tomorrow… “Born into Darkness”
Take a pledge to end this horrible form of slavery…
Posted on October 14th, 2009.
by Christie Weehunt, 23
-India Office Liaison for Sower of Seeds International Ministries
The Victims
Trapped in the darkness…
In Asia’s largest red light district, three square kilometers are home to an estimated 40,000 women working its 24 lanes, earning at least $200 million a year in revenue for their traffickers. They service up to 25 clients a day and make around $1.50 per client.
Although young, the women carried ancient heaviness. As we prayed, each face expressed something different.
The girl to my left was dressed in the classic skirt and tank top that many of the young prostitutes wear. She was from east India, maybe Nagaland or Shilong and looked to be around twenty-two. She cried the entire time we were there, but when we prayed for her, she sobbed. Looking into her eyes I could see both desperation and hope.
I thought about some of the stories I heard before we came—a girl with a large scar on her forearm where a client had paid to cut the skin off with a razor. Another whose pimp sent man after man to rape her until she gave in to his demand of walking the street for him. Girls kept in secret cages, beaten, starved, abandoned. The poverty in India is horrendous. Most of these women were from the poorest, most desolate slums where their families could not imagine a worse fate for them than the one they were born into. And yet, here they were…
One woman really caught my attention. She was about nineteen and had a black scarf with brightly colored stripes pinned tightly along her hairline, covering her hair. As she gazed, her eyes, lined with thick black cagel (coal eyeliner), revealed years of abuse and neglect. There was openness about her, but also the oppression of a seductive spirit. I could feel the spiritual battle going on for her soul.
I thought of the woman with the Alabaster jar–how overcome she must have felt when Jesus looked at her with love. In the midst of this brothel, with its curtained “rooms” and hollow inhabitants, I have never before felt a more real, tangible presence of Jesus. Even in the dark-stained eyes of this forgotten daughter, He was with her, like a warm, bright light. It was like He was physically standing next to her saying “This is my daughter. The world has forgotten about her, but I haven’t forgotten. I’m right here with her, right here as everyday she is mistreated. I see it all and I don’t leave for one second.”
Check back to read Part III tomorrow… “Born into Darkness”
Take a pledge to end this horrible form of slavery…
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Into the Heart of Darkness by Christie Weehunt SOS International
These are Daughters of the King. He hasn't forgotten them and we can't either! There is a link at the bottom so you can get involved!
Into The Heart of Darkness
by Christie Weehunt, 23
India Office Liaison for Sower of Seeds International
In the summer of 2009, a group from SOS dressed in Indian attire and entered Asia’s largest red light district to pray for the prostitutes working inside. Guiding us were several Indian women who minister daily to these forgotten daughters. What we saw on the streets and in the brothels was dark and horrible, but deeper still were the seeds of Christ, shining like lamps of hope.
His eyes are on His precious ones, and He is hungry for their redemption.
The Darkness
A few facts…
• Human trafficking: The act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receipt of persons by use of force, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or vulnerability, or giving of payments to a person in control of the victim. Victims are purposed for sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, or removal of organs.
• In India, there are over 3 million sex trafficking victims, 1.2 million of them are children. Girls between 10 and 12 fetch the highest price. They are thrown in cages for up to 3 years while they are repeatedly raped, beaten, and tortured until they lose all of their will. Then they are sent out on the streets as prostitutes, making money for their captors.
I was told we were dressing up in Indian outfits to minister in the darkest, dirtiest corner of Asia: the largest red light district. I had no idea what it would be like, but I knew I would never forget the day.
As we walked down the crowded, narrow lanes, we had to step carefully over the heaping piles of trash and sewage at our feet. Rats scurried everywhere. It was late morning and the district was slowly waking up after a night’s work. Women were playing with their children and doing each other’s hair. Street vendors were making breakfast and selling tea. Tables full of pimps were out playing cards and relaxing.
Walking into that first brothel was like walking into a slum house. There were probably twelve women my age crowded around our team as we entered. We squeezed into the front room–as many women as could fit. A curtain blocked the entrance to their “rooms.” Small children mingled all around. An occasional customer came by, but the madam turned them away at the door. Her girls had special visitors.
I was mesmerized by the place, the faces. I looked at each of the women present, captured by what I saw in their eyes. Some blankly stared outside, others cried. I wanted to know each woman’s story, where she was from, how she ended up here.
But for a little geography, it could have been me.
Vast darkness may seem overwhelming, but He is a very Big God. When His beloved shields the powerless, even nations quake with His glory.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. –Romans 8:38-39 (NASB)
To learn more about Red Light Rescue visit www.sowerofseeds.org/rescue.
Sign a pledge to help the forgotten daughters here: http://sowerofseeds.org/project.php?id=25&tab=16
Into The Heart of Darkness
by Christie Weehunt, 23
India Office Liaison for Sower of Seeds International
In the summer of 2009, a group from SOS dressed in Indian attire and entered Asia’s largest red light district to pray for the prostitutes working inside. Guiding us were several Indian women who minister daily to these forgotten daughters. What we saw on the streets and in the brothels was dark and horrible, but deeper still were the seeds of Christ, shining like lamps of hope.
His eyes are on His precious ones, and He is hungry for their redemption.
The Darkness
A few facts…
• Human trafficking: The act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receipt of persons by use of force, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or vulnerability, or giving of payments to a person in control of the victim. Victims are purposed for sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, or removal of organs.
• In India, there are over 3 million sex trafficking victims, 1.2 million of them are children. Girls between 10 and 12 fetch the highest price. They are thrown in cages for up to 3 years while they are repeatedly raped, beaten, and tortured until they lose all of their will. Then they are sent out on the streets as prostitutes, making money for their captors.
I was told we were dressing up in Indian outfits to minister in the darkest, dirtiest corner of Asia: the largest red light district. I had no idea what it would be like, but I knew I would never forget the day.
As we walked down the crowded, narrow lanes, we had to step carefully over the heaping piles of trash and sewage at our feet. Rats scurried everywhere. It was late morning and the district was slowly waking up after a night’s work. Women were playing with their children and doing each other’s hair. Street vendors were making breakfast and selling tea. Tables full of pimps were out playing cards and relaxing.
Walking into that first brothel was like walking into a slum house. There were probably twelve women my age crowded around our team as we entered. We squeezed into the front room–as many women as could fit. A curtain blocked the entrance to their “rooms.” Small children mingled all around. An occasional customer came by, but the madam turned them away at the door. Her girls had special visitors.
I was mesmerized by the place, the faces. I looked at each of the women present, captured by what I saw in their eyes. Some blankly stared outside, others cried. I wanted to know each woman’s story, where she was from, how she ended up here.
But for a little geography, it could have been me.
Vast darkness may seem overwhelming, but He is a very Big God. When His beloved shields the powerless, even nations quake with His glory.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. –Romans 8:38-39 (NASB)
To learn more about Red Light Rescue visit www.sowerofseeds.org/rescue.
Sign a pledge to help the forgotten daughters here: http://sowerofseeds.org/project.php?id=25&tab=16
Monday, October 12, 2009
Ch. 1 'The Heart of a Woman'
Well friends, this is it! FINALLY! The first official post of our group together. Thank you SO much for having the courage to join us here. I am so thankful for you.
Before we begin I'd like to take the cue from Stasi, one of our authors, and pray together to invite God to our group and into our hearts. Even though it's a bit different while online I hope that you will pray with me. :)
Lord,
You alone know these women to their souls. You created in them, the desires they feel stirring in their hearts. You created in them an astounding beauty that is the uniquely perfect image of You that they were each created to bring to the earth. I thank You for each and every one of them. I thank You for the amazing gift of being a servant leader to these beautiful creations of Yours. I ask that You move into this group. Do a supernatural work in this unique method of study and move into each of these women's time here in an overwhelming way. Surround them in Your love and begin unveiling their hearts to them wherever they are in this moment. Pour out Your blessing on us all and amaze us with Your beauty within us! We ask You to lead us and have Your way with our thoughts and our hearts. We know we are safe with You, our sweet Father. We thank You and praise Your Name.
Amen!
Now, let's embark on this adventure with God!
First, What did you think? How do you feel after reading this first chapter? Were you surprised? Relieved? Annoyed? Share it with us!
Next, our questions this week are directly from the 'Guided Journal' written by John and Stasi Eldredge. I will pick a few from there to post. You chose which you would feel comfortable posting your thoughts and answers to.
"As you flip back over chapter one in Captivating and skim the pages did you highlight anything? What strikes you? what did it evoke in your heart?"
What if anything in this chapter are you having a hard time believing?
"I know I am not alone in this nagging sense of failing to measure up, a feeling of not being good enough as a woman. Every woman I've ever met feels it--something deeper than just the sense of failing at what she does. An underlying, gut feeling of failing at who she is. I am not enough, and, I am too much, at the same time.
"Have you ever felt that way? Are you feeling it these days? In what ways?
Do you feel that if you were 'better' life wouldn't be so hard? 'Better' in what ways?"
Lastly, "What would it feel like to know that Jesus, your King, is enthralled by your beauty?"
There you go sweet ladies! Please know that you are dear and precious to Him and that wherever He leads you is exactly where you need to be. If you feel comfortable posting WONDERFUL! If you don't feel comfortable posting that is also WONDERFUL! I'm just so glad you are on this journey with us. I'll be checking back every day to keep the conversation going.
I am really looking forward to hearing from you all.
Be Blessed,
Daughters of the King!
Before we begin I'd like to take the cue from Stasi, one of our authors, and pray together to invite God to our group and into our hearts. Even though it's a bit different while online I hope that you will pray with me. :)
Lord,
You alone know these women to their souls. You created in them, the desires they feel stirring in their hearts. You created in them an astounding beauty that is the uniquely perfect image of You that they were each created to bring to the earth. I thank You for each and every one of them. I thank You for the amazing gift of being a servant leader to these beautiful creations of Yours. I ask that You move into this group. Do a supernatural work in this unique method of study and move into each of these women's time here in an overwhelming way. Surround them in Your love and begin unveiling their hearts to them wherever they are in this moment. Pour out Your blessing on us all and amaze us with Your beauty within us! We ask You to lead us and have Your way with our thoughts and our hearts. We know we are safe with You, our sweet Father. We thank You and praise Your Name.
Amen!
Now, let's embark on this adventure with God!
First, What did you think? How do you feel after reading this first chapter? Were you surprised? Relieved? Annoyed? Share it with us!
Next, our questions this week are directly from the 'Guided Journal' written by John and Stasi Eldredge. I will pick a few from there to post. You chose which you would feel comfortable posting your thoughts and answers to.
"As you flip back over chapter one in Captivating and skim the pages did you highlight anything? What strikes you? what did it evoke in your heart?"
What if anything in this chapter are you having a hard time believing?
"I know I am not alone in this nagging sense of failing to measure up, a feeling of not being good enough as a woman. Every woman I've ever met feels it--something deeper than just the sense of failing at what she does. An underlying, gut feeling of failing at who she is. I am not enough, and, I am too much, at the same time.
"Have you ever felt that way? Are you feeling it these days? In what ways?
Do you feel that if you were 'better' life wouldn't be so hard? 'Better' in what ways?"
Lastly, "What would it feel like to know that Jesus, your King, is enthralled by your beauty?"
There you go sweet ladies! Please know that you are dear and precious to Him and that wherever He leads you is exactly where you need to be. If you feel comfortable posting WONDERFUL! If you don't feel comfortable posting that is also WONDERFUL! I'm just so glad you are on this journey with us. I'll be checking back every day to keep the conversation going.
I am really looking forward to hearing from you all.
Be Blessed,
Daughters of the King!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Let's Begin!
Welcome!!
First I want to tell each of you joining me here how excited I am to do this and to have you with me in the journey. I am privileged to have this opportunity to get to know each of you better and for all of us to know God in a more intimate way through this study.
Next, I'd like to give you an idea of how I see it working. Captivating has a 'Guided Journal' to use for study so rather than reinvent the wheel I will be using this to facilitate our journey. You ladies can read the chapters in your book then come back to blog when it fits your schedule. I will post new questions from the work book and possibly some of my own every Wednesday and I will be moderating daily so that it can be as conversational as possible.
This study is one of the heart so feel free to delve as deeply as the Father leads you; then share as much or as little as you feel comfortable.
Because this forum is a bit more public than usual (think public coffee house in town square... that's putting it lightly) as opposed to best girlfriend's kitchen table; keep that in mind as you determine how much to share.
That being said, if you feel led to share I know that you will be blessed for taking a risk and that you will bless other women here and some you may never meet. Let God lead you and know that you are safe among your sisters in Christ. If the need arises you can always reach me @ my email address pennykandyprincess@gmail.com
Lastly, I can think of no better way to take the first steps of our walk together than to let the words of Stasi Eldredge set the tone.
(From the Guided Journal)
"All of us are on a journey whether we know it or not. A journey of becoming. Henri Nouwen writes in The Life of the Beloved that, 'the spiritual life is not simply a way of being but also a way of becoming.' May God use this book in your life to aid you in becoming the woman you truly are. May He draw near to you as you draw near to Him. Ask Him to come. And rest assured that He will for, indeed, He has promised to do so; He delights in coming."
He delights in you and so do I... Let's walk together!! :)
P.S. I will be posting some 'ice breakers' on the way to the official start date just to get us going so check back with us and chime in!
Blessings!
kp
First I want to tell each of you joining me here how excited I am to do this and to have you with me in the journey. I am privileged to have this opportunity to get to know each of you better and for all of us to know God in a more intimate way through this study.
Next, I'd like to give you an idea of how I see it working. Captivating has a 'Guided Journal' to use for study so rather than reinvent the wheel I will be using this to facilitate our journey. You ladies can read the chapters in your book then come back to blog when it fits your schedule. I will post new questions from the work book and possibly some of my own every Wednesday and I will be moderating daily so that it can be as conversational as possible.
This study is one of the heart so feel free to delve as deeply as the Father leads you; then share as much or as little as you feel comfortable.
Because this forum is a bit more public than usual (think public coffee house in town square... that's putting it lightly) as opposed to best girlfriend's kitchen table; keep that in mind as you determine how much to share.
That being said, if you feel led to share I know that you will be blessed for taking a risk and that you will bless other women here and some you may never meet. Let God lead you and know that you are safe among your sisters in Christ. If the need arises you can always reach me @ my email address pennykandyprincess@gmail.com
Lastly, I can think of no better way to take the first steps of our walk together than to let the words of Stasi Eldredge set the tone.
(From the Guided Journal)
"All of us are on a journey whether we know it or not. A journey of becoming. Henri Nouwen writes in The Life of the Beloved that, 'the spiritual life is not simply a way of being but also a way of becoming.' May God use this book in your life to aid you in becoming the woman you truly are. May He draw near to you as you draw near to Him. Ask Him to come. And rest assured that He will for, indeed, He has promised to do so; He delights in coming."
He delights in you and so do I... Let's walk together!! :)
P.S. I will be posting some 'ice breakers' on the way to the official start date just to get us going so check back with us and chime in!
Blessings!
kp
Ice Breakers :)
OK.. Here is our first installment ladies! Choose as many or as few as you like. This only works if you post so dive in!
1. What's the kindest thing you have ever seen done either by you or someone else?
2. What is your favorite way to waste time at work without getting caught?
3. What is the one thing you would have liked to have been told as a teenager but weren't?
4. If you could have one starring role in a film that has already been made which one would you pick?
5. What's the most outragous thing you've ever done for God?
6. It's said that "everyone has 15 minutes of fame" What happened in your fifteen minutes.
7. What woman in the Bible do you most closely identify with and why?
8. What or who makes you feel most secure and why?
9. If you were a smurf what would your name be?
10. Something interesting about me you might know is.... what?
For more icebreakers go to http://jimhough.com/cf/ibquestions.html
1. What's the kindest thing you have ever seen done either by you or someone else?
2. What is your favorite way to waste time at work without getting caught?
3. What is the one thing you would have liked to have been told as a teenager but weren't?
4. If you could have one starring role in a film that has already been made which one would you pick?
5. What's the most outragous thing you've ever done for God?
6. It's said that "everyone has 15 minutes of fame" What happened in your fifteen minutes.
7. What woman in the Bible do you most closely identify with and why?
8. What or who makes you feel most secure and why?
9. If you were a smurf what would your name be?
10. Something interesting about me you might know is.... what?
For more icebreakers go to http://jimhough.com/cf/ibquestions.html
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