no.339 140404 Thank you for the opportunity to watch a documentary

Mommy and her baby, 2011

I got to watch a documentary called "Nefarious: Merchant of Souls." My church was showing this documentary about a month ago, but I wasn't able to make it because of other plans. However, I got a chance to see it today through another gathering hosted by my church.

I didn't know what to expect. I was just thrown off today. There were many parts that made me think "is this really happening?", but one of the most shocking things was to discover what the mothers and the families of these prostitutes were doing and saying. In East Asia such as Thailand or Cambodia, when a daughter is born, the mothers are considered as if they just won a jackpot. The reason for this is because they can now sell their daughter for prostitution, and get the money to support the family from the poverty. What's more crazy is that, they are not as "poor" as they say. What they mean "poor" is with a flat screen TV, a cell phone, and packs of cigarettes to smoke all day long. I was shocked to see fathers and other men smoking and drinking day and night when they could be working and earn money for the family. Do they not realize what their daughters are doing to provide her parents' "leisure life"? What was even more shocking to me was the mothers. The Christian organization who tries to help theses girls free from the red light district was able to release three girls. All they needed was to get the approval from the mothers to finally set them free from the life of hell. What did the mothers do? They didn't approve their daughter's freedom, so the girls were sent back to sell their bodies. What kind of mother is she? I'm not married and I don't have children, but just by imagining that I have a daughter, I don't think I can even think about doing a such thing. Even if they are that desperate for money to buy food, was selling your daughter really considered even an option? I don't think so.

Another thing was the pain and the heartache that these women go through. Up until I watched this film, I thought of prostitutes as girls who are out of their minds, just selling their bodies because they are desperate for money… as if it was by choice. I found out that human trafficking in many of the countries is an organized crime. I hate how they aim for orphans because they know that no one really "cares" when they go missing. Many of the girls are orphans who are abducted or they were mislead by people who offered them a "job", which turned out to be a prostitution. It is very scary and disturbing, but this is still happening around the world, especially in Eastern Europe.

It seems that there are many organizations who help these young women to get out of prostitution and to live a new life. However, it seems like getting them out is one thing, and having them stay is another.  It's hard to believe that some girls still chooses go back even after undergoing a restoration program. They are used to that kind of living - despite the fear and hatred of what they did, those girls still went back. On the other hand, there are girls who have changed completely. They have moved on from their past into a whole new world. They have met Jesus, and they are forgiven. They now choose to live a different lifestyle from before. They were broken, felt worthless, hurt, hopeless and lost. They are now found and loved by God, who is love and who shows you the greatest love of all through Jesus. It was amazing to see how God works in these girls' lives. Although some chose to go back to prostitution, those who've met and experienced Jesus were born again to live a new life.

I guess the important question is, where do I go from here? What can I do to help these women who are chained to sex slavery? It was heartbreaking to see this documentary, but I'm thankful for the opportunity. It was definitely eye-opening, and it has given me how bad prostitution is around the world, and what the prostitutes really feel. I never imagined that I'll be praying for prostitutes, but God is moving me to pray for them tonight. I pray that God will continue to use the organizations to help those women not only escape prostitution, but to heal them physically, mentally and spiritually. I pray that above all, that God will reach out to them to make their sins known to them. I pray that they will confess before God and come to know Him, receive forgiveness and to experience His overflowing love for them.

no.38 130607 Thank you for prayer night at my church

Too busy not to pray by Bill Hybels.

In my life group, we are starting a book called 'Too busy not to pray' by Bill Hybels. I read this book more than five years ago, so I can't really recall much. Plus, my prayer life recently hasn't been that great, so I'd say the time is right to read this book again.

I have life group this evening and afterwards, all of us are heading to the church for prayer night. This is something new to our church which started in April for the first time. It happens once every two months, so tonight's event is the second time. When I went a couple of months ago, I remember feeling guilty at the end of the night. I think it's important for every Christian to think about this. Why do you go to prayer meetings? Who do you pray for and what do you pray about?

The reason I went to an event as such was because I wanted to pray for myself. I like to pray for my life, my family, my career, my future husband, and everything else about me. Praying for myself is definitely important too, but I never considered praying for something that's outside my boundaries. For instance, I hardly ever pray for my church leaders, or the missionaries that my church sends, or even the new Christians at my church. I only prayed for my own goods when I pray at home, and I was seeking for more opportunities to pray for myself. During the event, there was no time to pray for myself. That's why I felt guilty and selfish after the event.

But I'm thankful that I attended the prayer night. God taught me that I was being selfish, and helped me learn that I should be praying for others. I'm thankful to attend tonight's prayer night, where I will be praying for the short term mission teams. Yes, I'm in it too, but I pray that God will open my heart to pray for other teams and not just mine!

Oh, and one more thing! Congrats Sunny for getting the internship! I'm thankful for the internship offer she got for the summer. Yay!!!