I walked into a brothel last night. the light was dim, the music bouncing. hard porn covered the walls. urinals lined the entryway. the place reeked of urine, beer, & smoke.
I see women lining the doorways just waiting to be chosen & my heart begins to break as reality sets in. I don’t even want to think about what is happening behind the closed doors. men walk up, whisper about pricing, & either go in & shut the door or keep on walking. time after time, I see men whisper & carry on, rejecting woman after woman, as if their asking price of $2 is simply too much to ask. what is this broken world we live in, where monetary value is placed on sex as if it’s a commodity to be bought & sold? this isn’t God’s design.
The majority of these women are selling their bodies to put food on the table for their children. I can’t imagine a mother reaching the end of her rope where her child is in danger of literal starvation. what a mother wouldn’t do for her child. many of these women wear masks or go by false names to cover up their identities, hey unable to cover up their fear or hide their shame.
Just as my heart is hardening with anger towards these men, Jesus speaks to my heart, “my grace covers them.” COME AGAIN JESUS?? well, it does. you see, the perpetrators are just as depraved, just as in need of the saving grace of Jesus. & so while it was a very difficult thing to do, I began to pray for these men. for a holy conviction. a heart of repentance. a collision with Jesus. & for the women? to know the love of the father. to find freedom from the chains that bind them.
When we live our lives fixated on gratifying the desires of our flesh, this is the depravity that comes of it. what a picture of a world without Jesus. let us not set our minds on earthly things. my prayer is that we would pursue Jesus wholeheartedly. chase after him & never look back. this world needs your light so shine it & shine it bright!”
I wrote this two years ago when I traveled to Bolivia to work alongside a ministry rescuing women from trafficking & prostitution. I remember their faces & their stories, but mostly I remember the redemption. I live for redemption stories.
Reflection by: Jessica Catalano, Visitor