Greece :: Real Stories from Rescued Women

We went to the transition house in Thessaloniki one night and met six women who had been rescued from sex slavery.  Some had been out for months while others had been out for only day,.  Each girl was from a different country and had her own story.  Russia, Ukraine, Africa (not sure which country), Romania, Uzbekistan and Bulgaria were all represented by these women.  The Bulgarian lady had only been in the care of The A21 Campaign for a week.  Just two weeks before that she was at home wit her twelve year old son living a normal life.  In the two weeks between being with her son and in the shelter, someone had tricked her into a job opportunity which resulted in her being prostituted by a man and his wife.  Her rescuers founder her while with a client.  She didn't talk much, but one thing she did say that she can't wait to get home to her son.

The African girl is A21's first victim to go all the way through the process.  She was befriended by one of the A21 volunteers who would covertly sit in the clinic where she had to go to be tested.  These women have to present papers showing they are clean of diseases to their clients.  Over time, this girl began to trust the volunteer and confided in her as to where she was and other details need to give the police in order to raid the brothel.  She had been in slavery for over seven years.  Since her rescue, she testified against her trafficker who was convicted in court, and she has been in the shelter receiving counseling.  She has given her life to the Lord and has been set free not just physically but emotionally and mentally also.  She plans to back to school to be a nurse and work with Watoto (an organization that rescues child soldiers among other things) in Uganda, Africa.

 The girl from Uzbekistan is 21 years old and was raised in a Muslim home.  A few months ago, she was in a client's house and saw a picture of Jesus on their wall.  She looked at the picture and said, "How could You allow this to happen to me?  If You are who I hear that You are, how could You have given me this kind of life?  If You are real then get me out of here."  She was rescued within a few short days.  God answered her cry.

The Russian girl's story is far different from the other mentioned.  She was promised a better life and a wonderful job.  She got all of her paperwork ready to come to Greece for what seemed like an amazing opportunity.  Once she arrived at the airport in Greece, she realized what was going on and started to scream and run.  Someone helped her and got her to the shelter.  This is an answer to prayer; that she would recognized what is going on before she is trapped by fear and manipulation and forced to serve more than 40 men a day. 

“Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he rescued them from their distress.  He led them straight to safety, to a city where they could live.  Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.

-Psalm 107:6-8

The legal office for A21

Strip club in Sofia, Bulgaria.  There is reason to believe that there is a brothel in the back.

A casino in Sofia.  The mafia runs this country and is a supply for many of the girls. 

Jan (right) was one of the leaders on the trip, and Tony (left) is a missionary along with his family in Thessaloniki.  He volunteers for A21.  They are hanging posters at the University to raise awareness about what is going on in the city.  The poster says, "She came to Greece to live a dream, but now she is living in a nightmare.  1 in 7 sex workers are victims of human trafficking."

One night we drove around to get a good look at some of the places these girls are kept and sold.  White lights as well as red lights are used in Greece.  They have also started using lights that look like flames.

We saw numerous men coming and going out of each of these places as we drove by.  It was only about 11 pm at night so it wasn't even "prime time". As we drove through the streets, the driver hid his face by pulling down the visor and the other A21 staff member slouched down into her seat.  Their jobs are dangerous!  I'm so thankful that the Lord has raised up people who are willing to risk their lives for the hurting and lost. 

Greece :: Beautiful Country, Full of History

I went on the most amazing trip to Greece.  The focus was to explore the spiritual climate of the country, the issue of sex slavery (Greece is a huge hub for this) and to serve at a groundbreaking women's conference.

This trip knocked my socks off in so many ways.  We had three main phases of the trip, one being touring.  We went to Athens, Thessaloniki, Corinth, Mt. Olympus and a cute little seaside town in Greece as well as a village, town and the capital in Bulgaria.  This was my first time to Europe, and I absolutely loved it!  I definitely could have stayed longer if Andrew had been there with me of course.   :)


Little tidbit I learned while in Corinth:

Historically, the Greeks are very immoral people.  The generational iniquity is so obvious.

I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected - even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. - Deuteronomy 5:9

The culture of Greece is very sexual.  While we were there the mayor of Thessaloniki was elected on two main principals, one of them being that pornography would be free on television.  Seventy percent of men in Greece pay for sex.  Parents or grandparents take boys 12 and 13 years old to brothels to introduce them into manhood.  Their culture oozes immorality.  We learned that the Corinthians in Biblical times were the most immoral of the immoral.  Their level of sin was so revolting that other Greeks were appalled by them.  Our tour guide even said to be called a "Corinthian" was like a slap in the face to a Greek.  This has sparked an interest in studying 1st and 2nd Corinthians with different eyes now that I understand the context in which it was written.

We'll talk more about all of that later, but for now here are a few pictures from some of the places we visited.

Ancient Corinth where Paul walked and told people about Jesus

Beautiful little seaside town

Many people buy vacation homes in this little town... I can't imagine why!

The Acropolis in Athens.  If you look closely you can see two people way down there.  Paul preached here.

The Parthenon in Athens

Homes in a very poor village in Bulgaria.  Thousands of sex slaves come from villages like these. 

We saw many elderly people but no young people in the small village.  I guess they move to the bigger towns for a better future...?

This is the capital of Bulgaria, Sofia.  Bulgaria is one of the poorest countries in Easter Europe.  To them Greeks are wealthy.

A church in Sofia

Mount Olympus in Greece.  It was absolutely breathtaking. 

Mount Olympus

Vacation homes on Mount Olympus

Check out that view!

Thessaloniki, Greece at night

A statue of Alexander the Great in Thessaloniki.  Check out the sky!  We were right on the water of the Aegean Sea.

City in Focus :: Hong Kong

Oh September, how I love you.  You're the month when the temperature attempts to calm down a bit, college football starts (pro is overrated), school supplies are at the front of stores, fall clothes make their debut and you're the month before October, the hands down most amazing month ever, a.k.a my birthday month.

I have a calendar created by Exodus Cry, a prayer movement to end slavery, that highlights a new city each month... September brings our attention to Hong Kong.  This city/country thing is thriving and growing at an incredible speed and is even called a "global city" due to their level of influence.  The Philippines is not too far away geographically and is incredibly impoverished.  So much so that people spend all of their money to get to Hong Kong in hopes of finding a job and sending money back home.  This is a prime environment for trafficking.

Women take jobs as "cleaning ladies" but end up in brothels instead.  The trafficker pays their way to Hong Kong or gets them a "promising job" once in the city and then convinces them that they a huge debt to pay.  So the victim works and works to pay them back so they can be free.  I was reading the article on the Exodus Cry website about Hong Kong and found something that is far too common among nations struggling to survive.

...the money sent home by these workers amounts to billions of dollars in the Philippines economy. The funds these women earn from prostitution are playing a key role in rescuing the Philippines from financial collapse. To Hong Kong, Filipino women are a willing work force; to human rights organizations, they are victims of the highest order; but to the Philippine government, they are heroes.

 It makes me wonder... all the stories you hear about Mexicans coming into our country, in particular Texas, hoping for the same thing... a better life, money to send back home to families, etc.  I heard of a border city in Mexico where the crime rate is so high that approximately 90% of all young women are kidnapped and sold into sex slavery.  How many do you think are here working to pay off a debt?

Not all slavery is about sex.  In Dallas/Fort Worth alone, I wonder how many ladies are cleaning houses and barely making it to pay back their traffickers, or how many Vietnamese women are painting nails hoping to someday return home to their families but probably never will.

So what can we learn from all of this?

I'm glad you asked.  Bondage is not just a physical reality but a spiritual one as well.  God is not some mean guy who is going to send you to hell if you don't do everything just right.  He's not hovering over you watching your every move just waiting for you to screw up like a trafficker would be.  He is patient, kind and gracious.  He loves you no matter what you do and wants you to run into His safe and inviting arms.  The pressure that so many feel to perform and be perfect was created by Satan not God.  The debt or cost of any sin we have or will ever commit was paid for by Jesus.  He paid our debt once and will never do it again.  It was enough the first time.  Our freedom has been purchased.  Are you choosing to stay in spiritual slavery?

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor (in spirit).  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the (spiritually) blind, to release the oppressed (in spirit)..."
 - Jesus, Luke 4:18-19 (emphasis mine)

Sadly, church people have gotten this one all wrong.  They stand on their soap boxes and condemn believers and non-believers for every sin committed.  So many of those "Christians" who turn up their noses don't even know the true God they claim to believe in.  How can they?  To be a Christian is to be a Christ-follower... Christ was compassionate and gentle.  He spent time with the so-called "bad guys" and spit truth at the "good guys", also known as the "religious people".  The Bible says that when we accept God's gift of salvation that we are made righteous not because of anything that we did or who we are, but because of what Jesus did and who He is.  We are saved by His grace.

"God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.  Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it." 
- Ephesians 2:8-9

If you find that you are like the "good guys", it's okay.  Ask God to show you what lie(s) you believe about yourself and about Him.  Then ask Him what the truth is.  If you're not ready to have your world flipped upside down - don't ask, but if you are ready to be set free of criticism and anger and transformed by love - take the plunge.  I did.


If you want to hear more on grace watch this.