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The daughters of Riga- choices.

It’s been such a full day. You know those days where you get to the end and feel so packed with impressions and thoughts. Today was such a day.

This morning I took a walk to a little tea house on the edge of the park. As I sat drinking my wee pot of Earl Grey, while sat on the bench lined with cushions on the terrace, I was watching these little birds on a patch of grass with flower interspersed nearby. The birds were so tiny and energetic and darted in and out of the space, and the sun rays made the white flowers shine. And I remembered Jesus’ words to not worry. That if God cares so much about flowers and birds, how much more for us, the ones He loves so dearly.

Back at the apartment we gathered together with the Freedom61 team to pray as they were going to visit “Tina”, a woman who left prostitution very recently. As we prayed, my heart was filled with hope for her. Hope that she will make it. That her choice to leave would remain and that her needs wouldn’t lead her back to the streets. Like anyone who has ended up deciding to sell her body, it’s not going to be easy, but she is on a good path. The team shared the challenges of work and provision for her, and as we prayed we asked that God would truly be Provider for her. And again I was reminded of what Jesus said: not to worry! He cares more about her than birds and flowers.

In the evening we got into the car, headed to one of the areas where women sell their bodies along the highway. It was with a quiet excitement that we drove there. I remembered 2 years ago when I was here for the first time and we did the same thing, only then it was one of the first times they had gone there. Now it was part of a regular outreach, and I was so thankful for all God has done in just two short years in this ministry and this place. We drove around for a while without seeing any girls. Good in the sense that they chose not to sell their bodies today. But on the other hand, no opportunities to build relationships that could present them with an alternative option to walking the streets. As we drove and watched for the girls I kept thinking about their reality, and wondering what their stories were. What was it that caused them to choose this as a solution to their needs? And what were the dreams they had chosen to let die to be able to cope with the reality they are living in. And I was reminded that even the weight of their lives and situations, Jesus is able to carry.

Back at the cafĂ© (where the girls in another area come in for a coffee or soup, and a chat), as we came in, we were met by a bustle of quiet activity. A couple of women were drinking coffee and chatting to some of the Freedom61 team, and there was such a sense of peace and life in the atmosphere. I walked through smiling, and was reminded, that although those women hadn’t chosen to completely leave prostitution yet, the choice to come in was a good choice they had made that evening (even if they would soon head out to work again). And I prayed that they would continue to make good choices that would lead them also onto a path of life.

Midnight has come and gone and as I write this, as always it’s mostly for myself. It’s good to be able to put down in words some of the processes in my mind and heart.

As we were ending the outreach, one of the team shared that the English translation of the Latvian national anthem reads:

“God, bless Latvia,
Our dearest fatherland,
Do bless Latvia,
Oh, do bless it!

Where Latvian daughters bloom,
Where Latvian sons sing,
Let us dance in happiness there,
In our Latvia!

And that is my heart’s desire for these women that touched my heart today. That they would become “daughters that bloom”; and that their lives would be full of hope and joy, and that they too would dance in happiness.

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