thrown in head first

- written May 1st -

I have lived in Pune, India for a week now - and it’s had an incredible power of getting under my skin. Instead of coming as an outsider looking in, I’ve been thrown into the midst of all that is real, the brokenness and the redemption of this city. I want to illustrate a picture that God has been walking me through, and how the people here are changing me.

We climbed the dark, narrow stairs to the top floor. I took each step slowly round the twisting wooden staircase, stomach turning from the stagnant air and mind racing as dark eyes in doorway shadows met mine with an empty stare. I shouldn’t be here, I thought. Nothing in my spirit was settled. But I knew it wasn’t enough just to hear the stories. Just to read the statistics. I sat down in a small room, furnished with thin mats, dirty pans and suitcases stacked high against the wall. The girls woke from resting through the afternoon and welcomed us into their home. It was an afternoon I will never forget, my first visit to a brothel.

The girls at the brothel are so much more than the label they wear. They are kind, with compassionate eyes, and heart warming laughter. Many of them are teenagers, small framed and dangling with bracelets, left alone or sold into this life without hope of a better future. As I held the hand of an 18 year old girl with a bright smile and painted lips, I prayed that God would show her exactly how he sees her. That her value not come from the words or dollars of men, but from a Father that knows her true beauty, and all that he has created inside of her. These girls are becoming my friends, my sisters. We drank sugarcane juice together, while hiding from the cops underground, all the while laughing and singing and bridging the gap between us and them. I am starting to cherish time spent at the brothel, but always walk away with a pain that slices into my chest. I come home to the safety and security of my apartment, and these girls begin their work. But my real joy comes from the redemption I see every night.

There is a little girl named Monica who was born in the brothels. Her mother was a prostitute and died of AIDS when Monica was just a baby. The owner of the brother, Ma’am, decided to raise her in the business to take her mothers place. Workers from the Hope of Glory Foundation (HOGF) would come and ask to care for this child, but Ma’am refused. This beautiful little girl was her guaranteed retirement plan.

After years of visits, relationships developed in the brothel, and the workers pleaded again to let them take Monica to their children’s home to care for her. In a moment of tenderness, Ma’am agreed. She said that it was the one good thing she has done with her life, to let Monica go.

Every day I get to hold this incredible, nine year old girl in my arms. My team is working in direct contact with HOGF, and do everything from go swimming and take trips to the zoo with the children, and eat meals together every day in the children’s home. There are 32 kids living there now (separated into a boys and girls home - but eat, worship and play all together). Each one has an unbelievable story of redemption from the streets or brothels of Pune. As I hold Monica and sing worship songs with her, I can’t control my emotions when I think that her little body could be working on that top floor of the gray cement building. She has seen so much in her few years.

But her innocence is being restored. HOGF is giving Monica her childhood back, along with dozens of other children who would never of had the chance to play sports, eat healthy food, or get an education. In one week these children have changed me, and I fight the thought of saying goodbye to them in a few short weeks. Please pray for these kids. They are saved from the street, but still battling a lot of emotional scars and memories. Also, only a few of the 32 kids have sponsorship for food and education, so funding for the home is very limited.

I feel like I have been thrown headfirst into the unbearably hard.
And with that I’ve been flooded with overwhelming good.
Through all of which I’m learning what life really is.
It’s love.