The red-light district

One Wednesday I came to the red-light district for the first time. There were the ladies, standing on the sides of the road, waiting for their customers. Most of them were older and not attractive anymore. They were formed by years of living and working in darkness. Some of the woman wanted to talk, to share their pain.

Others said directly, “ok, bye!” so they could continue their job. Men looked at me as if to say, “Why is she here?” And that was the same question I had: “Why am I here?”

Who are they?

In July 2009 we began to go out onto the streets of Georgetown to build relationships with the sex workers there. We mainly meet women and transvestites. These ladies live in dark areas. They sell their bodies for 25 RM if you want a room, 10 RM if you want to have sex in the alley ways. They don’t have any hope for a better life. Most of them are addicted to drugs and/or alcohol. They are infected with HIV/Aids. They have low self-esteem, don’t trust anyone anymore, and they hate men.

Many women have a husband and children, but their children are raised by others and their husbands send them out to sell their bodies. As one of the ladies said, “we all have a problem, that’s why we are here.”

What do we do?

One night a week we walk through the streets to build relationships with the ladies right where they work. Often we have good conversations and we can pray with them. One afternoon a week we invite them to a community center in the neighborhood, where we have tea together and a more extended time to talk and build relationships.

We would like to develop this, so we can use this time also to teach skills to the woman, so they will be able to earn their living in a different way. We also offer other help, like taking them to a hospital and finding a place in a Christian rehabilitation center for the woman who are ready to get off drugs.

Why do we do this?

Although they are outcasts and the society doesn’t want to have anything to do with the sex workers, we know that God loves them. They are made in His image, no different than you and me. Jesus spoke with sex workers… and we want to follow Him, right? Our desire is to see these ladies find true love, true acceptance and true freedom. The only way out of their darkness is Jesus Christ.

He is the one who can heal their brokenness and who can renew their mind. He died for them, so they can live! That’s why we help them and share the Good News. We want them to receive the greatest gift that was ever given, the gift of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.

Although you are welcome to come to Penang to join us in this ministry, it is not necessary to go that far. You probably can find sex workers on your doorstep.

The only question is: “Are you ready to embrace them?”