Sometimes a Hug is Enough

You know those moments when you know, that you know, that you know, you are in the exact place at the exact time, doing the exact thing that you are meant to be doing, and nothing in the world could take its place? The other day I had one of those moments…

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Stepping out of the train station, the atmosphere was immediately different, it was dark and eerie. Some of my housemates and I gathered to cover ourselves and the area in prayer, then separated with colorful flowers in hand, homemade cookies, and muffins to go talk to women on the streets selling themselves. The streets were staggered with women, and only men were scanning the pavement in their cars, rolling down their windows and looking over their selection. The area was dead, with rundown warehouses and lonely streets that seemed to be going nowhere. My friend and I began to walk, not knowing exactly what this time was going to look like; not having an agenda, prayerfully we walked, waiting on God to show up in this place of prostitution. (Spain, along with Italy, are the top two destination countries in Europe for sex trafficked women, and during my time here I am working on doing something about it)

In between talking to women on the streets, men would slow down their cars to see if they could buy time with us…I can’t begin to explain what that felt like…while being disgusted and angry, I had a deep sense of compassion and heartbreak for these men who are looking for something in all the wrong places.

I met young women from Romania who hate what they are doing, and have dreams of being hairdressers and manicurists, one of the girls was 19 years old, she’s been doing this for 4 years…

My friend and I exhausted all of our flowers except the one I had in my hand.

We approached a woman and asked how she was doing and asked if she wanted a flower, she accepted it. With my limited Spanish, this is a small part of her story:

She told us her name was *Patricia* She’s Brazilian and has been working the streets for over 14 years. She hates what she does, she would rather do anything, but her lack of education makes finding other work impossible. She has two children and a husband, who she met three years ago, a client of hers. Her dream is to do something in law. As she talked I felt her hunger for something more, something deeper.

After about 30 minutes of conversation, my friend asked if she could pray for her, she said yes and so my friend prayed. I felt I was just suppose to look into her eyes and tell her she is beautiful over and over again…

Eres bonita

Eres bonita

Eres bonita…

It came time for us to catch our train back to Mijas. I hugged her and in that moment tears began to stream down her face and she covered me with kisses. With every breath I let out, her hold grew stronger and stronger, and my embrace grew the same. This went on for several minutes and I realized what was happening, I began to let out long, smooth breaths of peace. God showed up. I felt my spirit, and the Christ Spirit in me releasing, I felt something in my gut, in the inside of me turning and going out into her. I knew I was right where I was suppose to be, doing just what I was meant to do. I know it sounds funny, but that’s the best way I can explain what happened.

So we hugged. We kissed countless kisses, and then we hugged again, and again and again, with intensity and strength. Neither of us could say goodbye. She cried, I cried, we cried. Our time was so…holy.

With tears running down her face she picked at her flowers and smiled down at them, she talked of the abusive men who paid for her body, she talked of how nice it was to just embrace. And as she held on to me and to my friend, I could feel her deep hunger for affection. She was holding on to me for deeper life.

But it came time that we finally had to leave. And as my friend and I were walking away, we were about 50 feet from her when she called out to us and beckoned us back as she began to run toward us.  With hope and joy in her eyes she said, “My real name is …”

We told her we would be back, and she said she will be looking forward to it, anxiously waiting for next time…

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If you would like to help me continue to go to the streets, total transportation costs to get to the area of prostitution for the remaining of my time here is $150. If you would like to contribute to enable me to continue going to the streets and ministering to women in prostitution, you can send a check to:

Martha Lemke

14095 Ohio Avenue

Cologne, MN 55322

I am still in need of financial support to stay here at G42, so far I am funded through the end of February, however this is a 6 month school and I still need funds to say here through June. To support me and help me stay as I prepare for a lifetime of missions you can donate online by clicking here or if you prefer to pay by check, you can make checks payable to G42 and send to:

G42

P.O. Box 130611
Houston, TX 77219-0611