the prostitute outreach

we had the chance to meet with a few ladies that are in the prostitution business at our office in benin. it was a small group of four and we were meeting to talk about a new project we were implementing that would help them get off of the street. the next day we planned a bible study with them, they all four came and brought 2 more girls with them. jace and andrew decorated the office with balloons and streamers while mary, marc, and myself gathered all the items for the gift bags. thanks to many people we were able to put together awesome gift bags that the ladies loved. we put in lip gloss, lotion, shampoo, feminine products, underwear, and candy in them. so once the ladies arrived, i did a bible study with them on the woman at the well, we talked more about the project and answered any of their questions, we gave them their bags, and then had snacks and sodas for them. they had to fill out a form for the program talking about any trade they had, their goals, dreams, why they were wanting to be a part of the project. all six brought their form back the following day and while we were there three more girls joined the project, bringing us to nine women. as we read through them over the next few days i was amazed, not in a good way, but in my heart became so heavy kind of way. one of the questions asked what they were proud of and none of them had anything they had done in their lives they were proud of, except one. the one thing she was proud of...bringing other girls to our program. several had dreams, but several did not even have dreams or goals. as i have thought about this program, i find it very overwhelming. they are looking to us to help change their lives around because they want out, but feel so trapped and beaten down. they know they can not do it on their own. most of them have children or a child, so it is not just them we are impacting, but the development and opportunities of their children. right now, we are looking over their forms and trying to develop individual plans for each woman and we will begin to implement them. for example, two or three of them want to work in hair boutiques, so we will work on finding an apprentice program with an existing shop to get them training and then into a shop to work. For those who need training on a trade we will begin to place them in training programs and work from there. all of these programs cost money to register for, so we begin gathering funding for them. the hope that those ladies left the office with was an awesome thing to see, one in particular wanted to know how soon we could get the program going and when we were going to meet again. that is the hard thing about being there and leaving, knowing that we wont be there on the day to day, spending time with those we are helping. please keep these ladies in your prayers because everything else is weighing against them.