Thursday we started ministry and my team had ladies of the afternoon and prayer at night. Being with those girls was such an eye opener and just sad! They are so open to talk about it. They know its ruining there lives but they can't get out of it because the pimps hook them on to drugs. Almost all of them aren't from Pretoria and are basically tricked into coming and leaving their children at home. The first lady I talked to is 25 and has 5 children, her oldest is 10 years old. When she shared this with me she jumped up and ran inside her flat crying. It's just such a sad situation! After that we went into a brothel and talked to some girls in there. The whole situation is just so sad and shocking!
Friday we had kids ministry and ladies of the night. We all dressed up as clowns and went to a park. Sadly it wasn't a children's park so there were only 8 kids but it was still a lot of fun. We just played games, did a drama, and painted their faces.That night was harder talking to the girls. The police kept coming by so they were running inside a lot and always on the look out for cops and clients and their pimps where close by so they didn't open up. To start the conversations we would give them a candy with a bible verse on it so even if we couldn't talk to them they had that seed planted. To end that night off a street boy stole all of our candy after I gave him 3 pieces. So that was really frustrating. Friday we had Coffee House ministry where we fed the homeless had a service and just had conversations! Saturday we went to the boys shelter and cleaned then we had a free night. The leaders gave us R10 (that is about $1.50) to go buy dinner and experience what a lot of people have to eat on. We actually got pretty good food from the grocery store. Sunday we went to church and had a free day and me and my roomies went out to dinner! It was so much fun!
Monday we had street evangelism and boys shelter. For the street we painted something on our eyes and wore black and white and did a mime in parks and then just started conversations. It was a good experience but it's definitely not my kind of ministry! Boys Shelter was a lot of fun! We had game night so we just played games and hung out with them.
Tuesday was Ladies of the afternoon and prayer again. That afternoon was pretty quiet. The cops were everywhere again! I talked to one lady who was 7 months pregnant. It's just so hard to see them so lost. They want out but don't know how to. While us girls talked to the ladies the boys were in the park building relationships with the pimps and drug dealers player soccer and just talking. It was really cool and a lot of the guys ended up coming to the Coffee House! There is no doubt God planted a seed in their hearts from the message and worship those nights. Prayer night was really great! We did a prayer walk to the Union building. It was gorgeous at night and you could see the whole city.
Wednesday was kids and ladies of the night. We went to a kids park this time and it was a lot of fun! The kids were so open and we really enjoyed playing with them. When we were with the ladies that night it was a very eventful! The girls were recognizing us and some would just walk away while others were pretty open. It might be that they just wanted candy but it was a good opportunity! I had the chance to pray with 2 girls which was just amazing! We met a girl who was only in the business for 4 days. She was homeless in Durban and a pimp picked her up and told her there were jobs in Pretoria. She was not on drugs yet which is great and easier to get her out! She said she wanted to come back with us but had to pack her bag first. While she was in the flat we were praying for her and talking to a few other girls. It had been over 15 minutes when the police came by and we explained the situation to them and that we thought she was being held in the room by her pimp. They took us up in the flats and the door was locked. When they finally opened it there were like 3 guys in the room and she was sitting on a bed with a bag packed on the other side. She said she wasn't going to come with us tonight that she would when she was ready. Leaving her in that room with those men was the hardest thing. My heart was so heavy. Thankfully i got to see her again on Friday night! She was so happy ran up and gave me a big hug! She was with her sister and another girl and we were all going to pray when she asked if she could! It was so powerful! They said they were going to come on Monday so I pray they did! Her name is Vuyo please pray for her and all of these girls who are in this situation!
Thursday was Coffee House again and it was really great. Jeanne shared her testimony about how she was an alcoholic for over 20 years. It really encouraged the men and opened them up for great conversation! When one of the other teams were with the ladies that night they found a baby living in the flat. The mother had gone and left the 18 month baby girl to be taken care of by the pimps and other prostitutes. They got the cops who took the baby out and she is now at Doors of Hope!! They took her to the hospital and she is a healthy baby girl! Praise God for that! I will get to meet her soon!
Friday we had street and boys shelter. We just talked to people in the park instead of doing a drama and that was pretty good! At the boys shelter we just hung out and played games! Two of the guys lead worship and it was so great. Later that night we got to do a late night ministry and that is when I saw Vuyo again. All the girls were so open that night! The first one I saw pulled me aside and shared how she wanted to get out and she would come to the Coffee House on Saturday. We waited and sadly she didn't but God is definitely working on those streets. Then we slept on the streets! It was a really great time! I didn't get the best sleep of my life but it was a great experience.
Saturday we had an all game day with the boys shelter. We went to a park and had different games set up. It was so much fun to play with them. After that they played soccer against MDT boys. It was a amazing outreach!
I'm sorry this blog is much longer than the others but I just wanted to share my stories with you! The Coffee House is an amazing ministry! They have a 48 hour room for the girls that get off the streets and they try to find rehab centers for them. It's hard because they don't have all the money that's required to help them. They do so many amazing things for God's kingdom! If your looking for an organization to sponsor look into it! alharvest.co.za
Graduation is on Wednesday! We are all so sad today that we have to bring everything to a close and have to clean tomorrow! On the 20th I am going with a group to Cape Town for a 10 day holiday before we start our ministry! I'm so excited for this but really dreading the goodbyes!
Thanking you so much for all your prayers for me during this training! God has worked in my life here in more ways than I have realized!
