Daegu Journal Entry: Volume 1
Issue 2
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Today was the
second time I went into the Red Light District in Daegu, South Korea. The team consisted of 4 members that went
inside and 3 who stayed outside the RLD, praying in their car while we handed
out the gifts. We handed out mittens and
QT sheets to the madams. The verse on the gift today was Psalm 20:4, which
reads, “May he grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans!” We prayed that God would give them the desire
to come out. We prayed that God will
provide all their needs and that when they do come out, they will be thankful
and not want to return.
This is what we
prayed for them however, the next verse, verse 5, is what really stood out to
me. It says, “May we shout for joy over
your salvation and in the name of our God set up our banners! May the LORD fulfill all your petitions!” This is why I go in to the RLD, to bring
salvation to these precious ladies. God
loves them so much but they don’t see their value or worth because the voice of
the world is louder than the voice of their Creator. I can tell this by their empty, blank, stares
that they don’t feel valued. They look
out the glass windows, into the streets, but it’s like they are staring into an
empty abyss, sitting like Manikins in a shopping window. They may be alive physically but there is not
life inside of them. Only one thing can
bring them life and that is the salvation of Jesus Christ. I want God’s voice to be louder than the
Worlds and so I go.
As we walked
around I could see the girls in the windows applying makeup, doing their hair,
and getting ready for another night of work.
There were many spots that had the shades pulled down still, unlike last
time when everything was open and ready for business. As always, I try to make eye contact with
the girls in the windows who are already sitting and waiting for
customers. Usually when we make eye
contact I will smile and bow to show respect.
I don’t like just giving things to the Madams and then walking away,
ignoring the girls. This time most of
the girls ignored me or just stared blankly at me. One girl smiled and waved. She was really happy for me to acknowledge
her. I recognized a few that were there
last time but most of the girls were different to me.
We handed out
gloves with the verse and QT sheets from the daily bread, written in
Korean. The madams were extra smiley
tonight and so happy to see us. When Pastor
Choi asked the madams about sharing the QTs with the girls, they said they would
give them to the girls for sure!!!
Praise God!!! Normally they tell
us no or say yes with some hesitation.
Today they said yes, and a full on one at that! Pastor Choi’s hard work and dedication is
finally making its way into the girls. Before
we left Seoul we prayed that God would open the Madam’s hearts to be open and cooperate
with us, sharing what we bring with the girls.
We gave so many that we ran out of QTs this time!!! This is such an improvement from when Pastor
Choi first came, even from when we came 2 weeks ago!
A lot of the
madams felt they didn’t deserve to receive these gifts we brought them. They recognized we are doing such a good
thing and expressed their guilt to us.
One madam shared a little of her story with us. She said she grew up going to a Christian
church. When she was young she received
Satan while experiencing some sort of witchery meeting with friends. She said she hates going to church but would
accept our gifts. Pastor Choi invited
her to church and said she could still visit even though she hates the
church. She said, “When the right time
comes I will go.”
I have a new
friend. She calls me American
Friend. She lights up the minute she
sees me and tries talking to me in Korean.
(I gotta work harder on my Korean).
A lot of the madams wanted to hold my hands tonight. Pastor Choi says it is because they cannot
believe an American is coming all the way here to visit them regularly. I’m
happy to know my presence is appreciated.
I was a little worried about how they would accept me at first.
There were many
men walking around tonight and many cars driving through. The madams are pretty aggressive, going up to
moving cars, knocking on the windows, and pulling on the men’s arms to get them
in the doors to see the girls. I didn’t
see any go in this time. I wonder what
they are doing walking through that place. They have to know what it is! Maybe they have
intentions to visit the women but are detoured by our presence. Maybe they just want to look. I don’t really know. One thing I can say is that I pray for every
man that I pass, that God will convict them of their lust. That the conviction would burn so badly
inside of them they repent and then fight for justice. These men are driving the sex industry and
keeping women in bondage to this sort of life style.
As I mentioned at
the beginning of my note, there was a group sitting in a car outside the RLD
praying while one of their members joined us in the RLD. This is a group from Masan. They have expressed a desire to serve with
Pastor Choi. One of the girls in the
group heard about him when he spoke at her church and she told her
friends. They want to be trained by
Pastor Choi so they can go and do these same things on their own. They will join us the third week of every
month, praying outside and sending one team member in with us. Hopefully they can prepare the gifts for the
third week to help alleviate some of the cost Pastor Choi’s mission uses toward
purchasing the gifts.
Prayer Request:
Pray for the girls and the madams
to escape this line of business and never have a desire to return.
Pray for the Masan team’s training
and involvement with Pastor Choi over the next year.
Pray for the Korean church to be
more involved and speak out more about justice issues.
Pray for laws to be established in
Korea that would make prostitution and human trafficking more difficult. There are laws in place but police don’t
enforce them the way they should be enforced.
In fact, they frequently visit these places.
Pray for God to protect the team
from the spiritual warfare that we may encounter because of this ministry. Already I have been attacked at work. It got so bad that I actually looked into
booking a flight back to America because I was so frustrated. Then I remembered what I was doing in Korea
and why I was here and I prayed for strength.
Also, another member that will be joining us after his application
process, fell down 2 flights of stairs a month a go, cracking his skull,
breaking his nose, and having some minor brain damage. Please pray for his healing so he can join us
as soon as the application process is complete.
Pray for Pastor Choi’s ministry,
that God would continue to provide finances, man- power, and continue to bless
it.
(Below is a picture of Vanesa, Pastor Choi, and Me decorating his office for Christmas.
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