Whether they are walking on 82nd Ave, or sitting in a window in Amsterdam, we want women across the globe to know that they are valuable. They are loved. They are worth it.

These Too Are Our Sisters

“The caged bird sings

with a fearful trill

of things unknown,

but longed for still,

and his tune is heard

on the distant hill

for the caged bird

sings of freedom.”

-Maya Angelou

 

It is estimated that there are over 25,000 women working in prostitution in the Netherlands. Many of them are victims of human trafficking. Many of them can be found in the Red Light District of Amsterdam.

When I think of these beautiful women, sitting behind the windows while gawking tourists stroll past, it’s hard not to see the image of a caged bird in my mind. Something so beautiful, which normally represents an image of freedom and flight, is suddenly…trapped. Whether or not this woman is there by “choice,” I remember what one advocate asked me: “If this was her choice, then what were her options?” No woman grows up dreaming of a life like this.

It was the stories of these women who first captured my heart several years ago. Stories of women who had come for a better life, had been promised everything, and were then forced to sell their bodies on the streets. Stories of women who felt that this was their deserved place in society–after all, it was all they knew how to do. Stories of women so hopeless that, when given the chance to escape, they simply…stay.

It was these stories that prompted my husband and I to apply for a three-month internship with YWAM’s Lighthouse Ministry, located in the heart of the Red Light District.

Why Amsterdam? we sometimes get asked. We are all too well aware that sex trafficking and other forms of sexual injustice occur all over the globe. Here in Portland there are hundreds of women just like the women in Amsterdam–without freedom and without hope. So why fly halfway across the world to find more?

The best answer we can give is simply to say, these too are our sisters. Whether they are walking on 82nd Ave, or sitting in a window in Amsterdam, we want women across the globe to know that they are valuable. They are loved. They are worth it. The beauty of the gospel is that it transcends all barriers, cultures, borders, and languages. There is nowhere its power cannot be felt, or its message cannot transform.

We believe strongly that in partnering with the global church, by caring for the worldwide problem, and by following the specific desires God has laid on our hearts, we will not come back the same. We pray that we will be an encouragement to the amazing full-time staff whose lives and cultures we are invading, that we will better understand what it means to be the worldwide body of Christ, and that in some way we can be a part of bringing the light of Christ to a darkness that spreads across the whole globe.

“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.”

Will you join us? Here are some things you can do from right where you are:

Pray. The city of Amsterdam, the prostituted women, the tourists and other buyers who keep them in business, the local church, and the many ministries working hard to end injustice all need the fervent prayer of their brothers and sisters in Christ.

Give. My husband and I will not be fundraising for our trip, so we have asked people instead to donate directly to the Lighthouse. They have many needs, including ongoing staff salaries, gifts and meals for the women they serve, seminar fees, worship equipment, and building remodels. If you are interested in partnering with them, you can donate on their website here.

Get Involved Here. There are men, women, and children in your own community desperate for the hope and healing that can only be found in Christ. There are vulnerable people being exploited for another person’s gain right down your street. What are you going to do about it?

My dream is for cages to be broken open for women across the globe as we continue to see the power of God transforming and redeeming lives. As one overcomer from the Lighthouse ministry put it, “From complete darkness when I had nothing, He turned me 180° and I feel so overwhelmed with His goodness.” Can it get any better than that??