Street Ministry

You may have read that I (Krista) am now part of a brothel ministry once a week—but Buddy and I are both involved in a ‘street ministry’ that takes place once a week in an area of the city called St. Georg. This is an area where women are working, but it is a more ‘down and out’ area than the Reeperbahn, and most are working illegally.

I took part in this street ministry for the first time about a month and 1/2 ago, and afterward I felt like THIS IS LIVING for me. I’ll tell you why toward the end of this post.

So what is this street ministry? Well, it’s been going on for about 13 years, and for the last 6 years it’s been led by this very sweet man, most likely in his 60’s, and Rachel and I have nicknamed him Papa Bear because he’s like a big, safe, lovable father figure type of Godly man. He has such a pure heart for these women. Once after praying for one of the women we know, as she went back to ‘work,’ we found Papa Bear a few feet away from us, holding onto a pole as he was sobbing (for her). It was so touching to see a grown man weep for one of these precious women. I will never forget it.

Anyway, so Papa Bear heads it up. And each week anyone is welcome to join him—the first time I went there were 5 of us…last night there were about 20 of us. So we meet, we pray, we all have to wear these baseball caps that say Street Ministries on them (so the women and men that work in the area ‘know’ who we are—which I think is a great idea), we are broken up into teams, and then we go. And we talk with the women and men, and pray with them…really, however God leads. Every week it is different and every week it is powerful.

So the first time I went I was on a team with a guy who's done this for a long time (Buddy didn’t go that first time) and as we walked by a certain woman I felt like I should talk to her. But we kept walking. And as we kept walking, I kept having this “Turn around” tugging at my heart. Turn around. Turn around. Turn around. So finally half way down the block I told the guy that I felt we should turn around and that I should talk to this woman. So we did.

I went up to her, and in German

I said, “Sprechen Sie Deutsch?”
And she said, “Nein,”

in a way to not only say “No,"

but also to infer,

“Go away from me;

I don't want to talk to you.”
But, I was compelled to talk with her.

So I said in English,
“Do you speak English?”

Surprised, her eyes lit up and

she said, “Yes, I do.”

So that was my in. We talked for about 10 minutes, and it was great. Just small talk. But I had something burning on my heart to tell her, so I did. I said something like,

“I just want you to know that God LOVES you. I mean, He LOVES you. He is CRAZY about you. Like when a man is in love with a woman and he brings her flowers and he just can’t get enough of her, this is how God feels about you. He absolutely LOVES you.”

What is awesome is that I think she heard me. She took it in, and her eyes got teary. And I said it with such a passion that I think she really took what I said seriously. (I hope so!)

That night I also got to pray with two others, and it was so beautiful. I came home on the bus that night around 12 midnight and I was so stirred…so encouraged by our night. I felt so alive. I thought, for me, THIS IS LIVING.

Since that first night I went, I have had such a heart for this one woman I met—and I will refer to her as Treasure. The next week when I saw her it was almost like my heart took off running to go and talk to her again. All of our interchanges have been pretty short—but sweet—until last night.

Last night it was cold and rainy. There were about 20 of us, and this time we weren’t split into teams but were all together as a group standing in this certain area, and a lot of them were talking to some very broken men. Good things were happening. But I kept looking over to the spot where Treasure always stands, and I didn’t see her for a long time. I was sad, wondering where she was. My toes felt like they were frozen and then all of the sudden--I saw her. I bee-lined it right to her, and I had come bearing gifts (ha ha—chocolate), and she was thankful. What was different about this interaction was that she began talking to me like we were friends. It wasn’t small talk this time—it was more—and she initiated it. You can tell she felt comfortable with me and that somehow, in someway, she had come to trust me. She shared with me and it was such a honor. She told me her name. I said I will surely be praying for her and that I look forward to seeing her again. Treasure.

For me, this is what it’s all about. God going after the one lost sheep. God using us to speak His truth to her...to share His love with her…to be able to pray for and with her…to encourage her and to offer her hope, that “No, this is NOT what He created you to do and YES, He has a greater plan for your life.” She agreed. She wants out. And God will be faithful to His Treasure.

Please join us in praying for her if you are so inclined.

THIS IS LIVING.