Skip to main content

White snow in the red light district.

I can’t believe it’s Wednesday already. The past few days have been so busy it feels like I’m only stopping to sleep and then it’s morning again. But it’s been good, and hopefully I’ll get into a bit of a flow (and then suddenly the course will be over).

The course...it’s been a fantastic week. All about prophetic justice and focus and foundation having to be in God. A lot stuff I’ve believed and am passionate about, but also some tweaks that have been really good. God is a God of justice and true justice can only come from Him. The speaker was brilliant in what and how she shared and I have lots to process and go deeper in, and it’s only Wednesday!!! Apart from the teaching, there are work duties to do, coffee breaks to be had, small group, walking, bonding with people...it’s busy. But good, but I need to pace myself and use wisdom as well (note to self to not forget this point).

This afternoon I went out to visit the women behind the windows in the Red Light District with the women’s ministry. We go out in pairs and bring coffee and tea for the ladies and men, and if some want to chat we chat with them. It’s very powerful, yet so respectful of their boundaries. These people have had their boundaries broken and distorted so much we want to show so much respect to them. Today was my first time and I really could feel God’s heart for the women and men we interacted with. What they do and where they are does not define who they are. They are real people with real stories and are just going on this journey called life the best way they know how. I am still processing this afternoon...but I think that even from the small glimpse I got today, I know a little bit more of what God feels when He looks at the Red Light District, not just as a place of darkness, but as a place of people who are really broken and really lost who He loves so much.

As we were leaving the Red Light District it was snowing, and I just thought of how the red blood of Jesus washes all our sins white as snow.

Then this evening a group of us went to a cafe next to where we’re living for one of the girl’s birthday and I’ve just gotten back from hanging out and laughing a lot. I love that I don’t have to carry what I saw this afternoon, but that Jesus carries the burden of the brokenness and darkness in the Red Light District. And I love that God is also a God of joy and even created laughter.

I love how diverse God is and that today I have lived experiencing different facets of who He is.

It’s been a good day.

Popular posts from this blog

Packing...again.

I just folded the last load of laundry and I’m almost packed. Off to the airport at 5am tomorrow morning, heading off to Amsterdam. I’m excited, a bit nervous, and wondering what it’ll be like. It’s been a good week at home with lots of quality time with family, especially the little nieces and nephew. I’m glad I’ll see them in April again. Well, not much to write and packing to be done and a bit of sleep would probably be a good idea too. Next time I write it’ll be from Amsterdam....
Read more

Single-tasking September: The art of single-tasking.

To change habits and ways of life, the motivation for change has to be strong, and the benefits outweigh the effort it takes to make the change.  For so long it’s seemed like the ability to multitask has been regarded as a great skill, but is it really a good thing? Recovering from burn-out, one of the effects I noticed was that it was harder to concentrate, and especially tricky trying to focus on many things at once. I’d try to multitask, only to realise that all tasks suffered from lack of capacity to complete any one of them. The challenge is that the habit of always doing many things at once goes deep, and when I tried to focus on just one thing, I found that it was actually really difficult.  As I did a little google search on the matter, I found it seems like multitasking isn’t as healthy as once thought, and that it doesn’t help productivity. Some even referred to it as “switch tasking”, in the sense that the brain isn’t doing many things at once, but shifting rapidly...
Read more

Walking through December: overcoming the challenge of language.

I just got done leading a Bible study in Spanish without a translation back-up, and it went really well. I am amazed at what we are actually able to do when we have no other option. It wasn’t a flawless flow of communication (that would have been a miracle), but together we figured out what I wanted to say. And I think it was good. I was blessed and they seemed blessed as well. The girls just left and I am sat here in my living room with the candles lit. It’s windy and rainy outside, and I am smiling. Happy. Not because I overcame the language challenge, but happy because of yet another beautiful time of bringing more of Jesus to the girls in our Bible study. I am thankful for the privilege of knowing them and standing with them in their journeys of knowing Jesus. And thankful that even when language is shaky, love is stronger and is communicated beyond mere words.
Read more