Back From Greece

Last week I had the privilege of going to Athens, Greece to study counseling techniques for one of my graduate school classes. For those of you who don't know, I'm about half way through getting my Masters of Arts in Professional Counseling from Liberty University. I've been learning a lot! Evidently each year they choose 36 graduate students via application process to go to Athens, Greece to take one of their courses at the Greek Bible Institute. Praise God I got selected and had a wonderful time learning! All that to say, God taught me even more than I expected.

While we were there, a small group of us took part in a prayer walk for the human trafficking victims in Athens, Greece. This was part of a ministry known as "Nea Zoi" or "New Life" in Greek (www.newzoi.org), which is committed to rescuing women from human trafficking in Greece. It is an amazing ministry completely devoted to being used by God and seeking Him in all decisions they make, it was a blessing to pray with them! Below is what I wrote after I spent a day down in the "red light" district of Athens, Greece roaming around the brothels:

Today we went down to the brothels of Athens, Greece. I've never seen anything like this before. You can tell which ones are brothels because the porch light is on outside the doors. You look down one street and you see a few, then turn the corner and you just see scores of lights on above doorways. Immediately when I saw that, I felt nausea. I literally felt sick to my stomach with the amount of evil in the area. It felt like a war zone - and in many ways, it was, a spiritual war zone. We stood outside one brothel area, praying with our eyes open because of any suspicious activity occurring we had to be aware. During my time standing there, seeking a Holy and righteous God on behalf of this city, the girls, the men going inside.... I saw one man, an old tan American looking man walk out one of the brothel doors zipping up the front of his blue jeans. I saw that, and nearly fell to my knees weeping for the pain I saw all around me. Satan not only had a grip on that man, the girl inside, but all around that place. Also, during the my time standing there, I saw 3-4 men walk in and out of one girl's door in a period of 30 minutes. I found myself wondering, "is she a new girl? is that why so many visit her? is it because of some perversion? is it because she is more beautiful than the other girls? is it because she is cheaper? .....what would Christ say to this girl behind the door?" I literally felt my heartbreaking for what breaks God's heart. I felt God's anger, I felt His sorrow, I felt His grieving, I felt His deep desire for ALL of them to be set free from the lies and bondage. As I walked down these dirty allies full of lights on above the doors and seeing men and women come and go, I found myself asking under my breath about each person, "what is your story? how did YOU get here? what little girl dreams of doing this for a living? ...and what man dreams of paying for a woman to make him feel masculine for a mere 10 minutes? ...how much pain must they be in to hit these levels of despair?" I mourn for the women as they are someone's daughter, someone's sister, someone's cousin, someone's friend somewhere..... and I mourn for the men just as much, as they are someone's father, someone's brother, someone's son, someone's husband maybe, or even someone we know who has too much shame to discuss their problem. I noticed a lot of the men walking out of these places didn't want to look anyone in the eye, and some of them just seemed proud about it. On one alley, I saw about 40 people completely stoned and doped out on IV drugs, just laying, sitting, standing if they could all in a small patio area in the alleyway. Who do these people belong to? WHO is going to pray for them? Will you? What I realized is, hurt people indeed hurt people, and they are simply hurting.... badly hurting, hurting so much they can stand to face reality so they dull reality with a false reality that "feels" better with drugs and/or sex. Who can heal their hurts? It's the same man who has healed mine, and His name is Jesus. Will you pray for these people?

"But if a wicked man turns away from all the sins he has committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die. None of the offenses he has committed will be remembered against him. Because of the righteous things he has done, he will live. Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live? - Ezekiel 18:21-23, NIV

Some facts:
- 1/3 men in Greece has been to a prostitute
- it is not uncommon for Greek parents to take their teenage son to a prostitute to "celebrate" him becoming a man for his first time
- over 30,000 women have been trafficked through Athens, Greece
- Human Trafficking is the 2nd largest organized crime (drug trafficking is the 3rd)
- The average woman in Athens, Greece is sold for 15 Euros (or approximately $20 US dollars)

Now that I'm back in the USA, comfortable in my room writing this entry and the images of young girls walking to and from "work" are still embedded in my mind. Most of all, my heart broke for the men. The war on human trafficking is not a war that can be won with weapons or government legislation, its a war won by the changing of hearts towards a Holy and Merciful God. Who will tell these people about Jesus? As God's word says above, when a wicked man turns from sin, NONE of his offenses are remembered. All sin is the same in God's eyes, we cannot choose or say "this sin is worse than that sin" or "that sin is worse than this sin." To God, sin is sin. And your sin and my sin is no "worse" than the wicked man who chooses to use these precious daughters of God for their own pleasure. So I ask you, please pray for them. I know often times prayer for a ministry in a distant land may seem fruitless before your eyes or in your immediate world, but I'm praying at this very moment for God to move your heart to pray. You may not see the man begin to feel conviction as he makes his walk to the brothel and decides to turn around, you may not see the young girl's heartbreak after her last customer and she calls up Nea Zoi ministry to ask them to get her out of this wretched lifestyle, you may not see the pimp or human trafficking dealer begin to wrestle with his own conscious, but God sees. And these are YOUR prayers at work. The power is not in the one who prays the prayer, but it is in the One who hears the prayer. So please pray, not one breath you breathe isn't heard by our Loving and Holy God. Make it count.