Another Friday Night in Seoul’s Red Light District

Sometimes, just knowing there is somebody out there who cares, is enough to inspire the will to live another day.

This past Friday, I was blessed to be part of another outreach with my church to Seoul’s Red Light District. This time, we delivered roses to over 400 girls trapped in sexual enslavement. Our goal was to show these girls that even though society has discarded them, God still pursues them with a Relentless Love.

It was absolutely heartbreaking to see these young (12-22 year old), beautiful, innocent girls in these elaborate “show rooms”, dressed up in sparkly princess gowns, sitting there waiting… to be sold, bought, used, and discarded, over and over and over again. Make no mistake, these girls have not CHOSEN this lifestyle, they were forced into it; they are slaves, raped repeatedly each day for profit. These girls have absolutely NO worth to those who enslave them, other than the income they generate through the forced sale of their bodies.

You may be wondering: What will a rose do for these girls? Don’t they need more than flowers? The answer is yes. They need much more than flowers. What they NEED is the knowledge of God’s Unfailing Love for them. What they NEED is people who won’t give up fighting for their freedom and their honour.

The flowers that we gave out were meant to be a representation of God’s Love for them. And of the fact that somebody out there cares. We prayed over each flower… that just by looking at them, holding them and smelling them, the girls would have a Divine revelation of Jesus’ Relentless Love.

The Bible records miracles of people being healed just by stepping into the shadows of the apostles and by touching the handkerchiefs of God’s servants. We believe in faith that we have access to the same Power of God today. For it is written, “Anyone who has faith in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works than these will he do…” (John 14:12).

Many of the young girls who are enslaved have no family whatsoever; nobody who cares about their well being. They are continually abused and mistreated. These girls never receive presents. For some of them, the flower we gave them may have been the first they have ever received. The simple rose was so much more than fragrant pink petals on a green stem. It represented HOPE. It represented the fact that there is SOMEBODY out there who knows they’re alive. There is somebody out there who knows where they are being held captive. There is somebody out there who actually CARES about them.

It doesn’t end with the flower. There is MUCH to be done for these victims of sexual enslavement. God is clear in the Bible about our mandate, “Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow” – Isaiah 1:17

How can YOU help?

1. You can pray for these red light districts and the ones in YOUR home town to be shut down permanently.

2. You can pray for the full physical, spiritual and psychological restoration of these young girls who have been enslaved for so many years.

3. You can pray that the pimps and madams repent and turn from oppressors into abolitionists.

4. You can volunteer your time, energy, finances and resources in some capacity to help girls who are enslaved as well as those who have been rescued from sexual enslavement.

We must use our freedom to fight for the freedom of those who are enslaved and oppressed. We must be a Light in the darkness. We must be the hands and feet of Jesus. We must never give up.

Because, sometimes, just knowing there is somebody out there who cares, is enough to inspire the will to live another day.