Marianella & Isabella: It's strange how God works
"(Written on Nov. 23) We have an amazing testimony of God's grace over the Red Light District. Today we met a woman named Marinella behind one of the windows. She let us in as we offered her tea and snacks and shared with us about how hard business was. She had been there for 3 months, and was tired of standing in the windows without making any profit. We listened to her story as she continued to share her financial burdens and how she was working so hard for the three children she has been separated from. As a young mother at the age of 27, she had her first child at 13 when her parents had set her up for an arranged marriage. Her father was an alcoholic, and her mother refuses to help her, but continues to receive her daughters financial support without knowing that she is a prostitute. Her face began to cringe in pain, as she told us that she had a bad sinus and headache. We prayed healing over her, and tears began to stream down her face. We decided to get her some food, because she had not eaten anything all day, and came back with some Chinese food and orange juice. When we returned, her window was empty, and we prayed that she wasn't with a "client". After knocking on the door for a few minutes, she opened the door and looked surprised to see that we had actually come back. The next thing that happened came completely unexpected. After another brief conversation, we followed her to the bedroom as she began to put on her clothes and pack her bags, and asked us to guide her out into a "normal" job. She said a final goodbye to the girl standing next to her booth, as we walked her right out of the window!!!
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| Red Light District Amsterdam |
We brought her back to the Lighthouse, and I sat with her in a room while she finally got a chance to eat. I shared my testimony with her about how I came to the Lord, and continued to ask her if she wanted to accept Jesus into her heart. She was so focused on expressing her burdens, that it was hard to lead her into that conversation. I felt as if the Lord was telling me to just listen, and she told me that today she was thinking about killing herself. She had prayed to God and cried out to Him in anger, asking him where He was in her life. Kim and I responded that the Lord had answered her prayers, and she agreed by saying, "Yes, He sent me two angels today!!" For three months she had been desperate for work, and closed herself to sharing anything from her heart, until she met us. Kim was able to find some options for her (including an interview for a cleaning position at the Christian hostel the next morning) and Marinella's face immediately lit up when she heard the news. I asked her what she had been doing previously, and she had been working at a factory assembling packaging for designer perfume!! (I work as a packaging designer for fragrances) I felt the Lord's hand all over this "coincidence". We were able to walk her to the hostel and get a room for the night. We sat on the bed and talked more, as Kim began sharing her testimony. I felt one more tug at asking if she wanted to receive the Lord today, after seeing that she had identified with her story. This time, she was able to respond, and somehow I found myself leading her into a salvation prayer. This was truly an amazing moment we were able to witness, for many have prayed for years for the women to walk out of the windows and into salvation, but have seen little of it actually happen.
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| Chase, Elizabeth, Rebecca, and Isabella at Thanksgiving |
The next morning, we left for the Hostel to meet Marinella as we had planned, but found that she had taken her bag out of the locker and left without staying. We came to the conclusion that she had decided to stay with her boyfriend in the caravan, as that was the last place we had left her so that she could receive the rest of her belongings. We decided to wait at the Hostel in case she came in for the interview at 11, and while sitting in the cafe, a girl came and sat down with us. We had a casual talk with her, and found that she had been traveling throughout Europe for the past year, and was coming towards the end of her journey back to Australia. She seemed curious about us, and asked us many questions about our faith. After sharing our testimonies and giving her an opportunity to receive the Lord, she came to receive Jesus into her heart and was baptized in the Holy Spirit!The funny thing about it was that she had mentioned a few times that she had to think about it, read about it more, and confessed that at the beginning of the conversation she had not planned to be a part of it at all. But the Lord was moving, and she was able to tangibly feel the presence of the Holy Spirit as it came upon her. We invited her to Thanksgiving dinner and met her again that evening as Chase and Eli was able to move into discipleship and Eli gave her personal Bible as a gift. We prayed for her again that evening before she left for her bus, and we were all impressed by her boldness and faith as she joined us in prayer!"
More to come in the next post about a girl named Clara :)
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