Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
Isaiah 58:6
Prayer breaks chains and gives favor that is supernatural. It enables rescue and puts people in the right place at the right time.
Greetings! We have been talking about labor trafficking for a while, and I hope you feel equipped with some new tools to help direct your purchasing power. This month I would like to talk about sex trafficking and tell you about my time spent in Amsterdam with the European English Aglow in the Netherlands.
Amsterdam
The capital city of the Netherlands, Amsterdam proper, is home to over 800,000 people. Popular attractions in the city include the home of Van Gogh, home of Anne Frank, beautiful windmills, the famous Holland tulips, and breathtaking canals. But in April of this year Generations Director, Anna Hammer, and I traveled to Amsterdam to see what some of the 3.6 million other tourists travel to see in Amsterdam – the Red Light District.
Miriam Rotman, our National Prayer Coordinator - European English Aglow, had spoken with me at our Worldwide Conference in Orlando, FL last fall. She told me about the outreach she had done in the Red Light District, and extended the offer to come along. So Anna and I did.
When I walked out of the train station in Amsterdam I was taken by all the new sights around me. One sight in particular was an entire wall designed as a vending machine – you simply put in your Euros when you see a sandwich/wrap/snack that you like. It was very convenient. Yet, I had no idea that women we would see would be treated the exact same way.
The Red Light District: The Women Behind The Windows
Anna, Miriam, and I stayed in a hostel in the heart of the Red Light District. We got a good rest on Thursday night in preparation for our outreach that would take place the following morning. On Friday, we met two other Aglow team members and began to walk and pray (discreetly) as we made our way into the first area where we would witness – the Latin/African area.
Miriam suggested we start in the Latin/African area since a lot of the women there had been raised Christian or Catholic and were more open to prayer. The team would function with three people sitting on a bench to pray while two people went and spoke with the girls. Miriam and I went first. We carried a bag of beautiful crocheted rose pins that had a lovely pearl in the middle, made by the European English Aglow Eindhoven Chapter. On the back of the pins was written, “You are precious and Jesus loves you.” Thank God for our local Aglow Intercessors, who gathered and prayed for us at the same time, during the outreach.
I did outreach in San Francisco some time ago, but this was entirely different. Because prostitution is recognized as a legal profession in Amsterdam, these taxpaying citizens are doing this job supposedly by choice, and can leave freely. It’s somewhat safer for the women, and safer for an outreach. The women can leave, but we also know that not all chains are physical.
As we walked into this area, we saw “the girls behind the windows.” And that’s exactly what it was. Every narrow alleyway had five or six narrow doors with glass windows, and women standing provocatively dressed in the doorway. A door with a red curtain drawn meant it was occupied. The girls were all sizes, shapes, and ages. One of the dear women we prayed with, Maria, was in her 50’s. Another girl we prayed with had braces – she can’t have been older than 17. Most of the women that I met seemed to be between 20 and 30.
Few, if any, of the women spoke English, so Miriam led the way. Knocking on the windows, she would ask in Spanish if she could give the woman a rose. When the woman opened the door to receive it, Miriam would ask if we could come inside to pray. When the woman said yes, we would go directly inside and stand in a hallway just big enough for two people (and part of the reason our outreach team is so small). She would close the curtain and we would begin to talk with her.
Miriam would translate periodically for me. “What’s your name?” we would ask. She would say a name - “Destiny.” “Pleasure.” And then Miriam would ask again, and she would give us her real name. One by one, we visited the women and ask to pray with them. Many told us their real names and told us a small part of their story. Several cried. Several told us how they didn’t want to work there and wanted out, but didn’t know how to make ends meet or didn’t see any hope for a different life.
Elena and Esmerald
Here is the story of two specific women we prayed with: Elena and Esmerald. Elena is a hairdresser. She was punky and edgy and looked very tough. So when we asked what we could pray for and she started to cry, it was hard not to do the same. Elena owns a hair salon but isn’t getting enough business to keep it – working in the district was her answer to keeping her business. We prayed with Elena. We told her about Jesus. And Elena prayed to accept Jesus!
Esmerald let us in to pray but looked angry. We prayed anyway, and as we prayed Esmerald began to break down. She told us how lonely and hurt she is – she lost both her parents within the last year. She has an 18 year old daughter who was raised by Esmerald’s mom, and won’t have anything to do with her. Esmerald sobbed, she has no hope, just sorrow. We told Esmerald about Jesus. Esmerald prayed to accept Jesus!!
We were let in to pray at almost EVERY door we knocked on while Miriam and I walked around the Latin/African area. There was so much favor surrounding us, and that favor was incredible. After we ministered in that area, Miriam went with another team member into the European area, where the girls are more difficult to speak to. I stayed and prayed with the team. When they came back, they had a wonderful report of great favor with the girls! In all, almost all of our 39 roses had been given out!
Ingrid - Full of Love for Jesus
That night Miriam, Anna, and I had the privilege of going to a Bible Study hosted by YWAM that caters to ex-prostitutes. YWAM is doing an incredible work in Amsterdam and is on the ground, building relationships with the women working behind the windows. While at the Bible Study we got to talk to Ingrid, who told us how she used to work as a prostitute.
The YWAM girls would come by on outreach and speak with her, praying with her, encouraging her - for months. She would pray with them. She would say she is leaving, and then one day Jesus woke her up and that was the day to finally leave. Ingrid has been out of that line of work for a year and a half now and is full of passion for Jesus. Her Bible looked worn out!
It is a process for these women to leave prostitution, especially since they are working a job recognized by the government as a legitimate profession – they have taxes taken out, bosses they answer to, a payroll. But while the process can take time to leave, they can leave. Ingrid left. And she is just one amazing example of how God can deliver, redeem, restore and make a way where there seems no way.
Join in Prayer
So this month, will you join in prayer for some of the specific women we prayed with? Pray for their freedom – physically, spiritually, emotionally, and in every way. Pray for their salvation. Pray for their needs to be met, and their family’s needs to be met. While I couldn’t write down everyone’s name, here are some to call out in prayer:
- Elena
- Esmerald
- Jenni
- Juliana
- Maria
- Patty
- Monica
- Veronique
Pray for English Speaking Aglow Amsterdam. Pray for open doors to do the work God is calling them to in their city. Pray for Miriam Rotman, the European English Aglow Prayer Coordinator, as she prays, intercedes, and leads outreach. Pray for YWAM Amsterdam as they continue their outreach in the Red Light District. And pray for revival in Europe.
Standing in the gap with you,
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Anti-Trafficking Specialist
Aglow International
