God Bless the Child

Catez Stevens at Allthings2all shares with us some of her experiences in street ministry. Very powerful.

Makes me wonder what I am waiting on when it comes to loving the unloved. I don't need a big budget or staff to do what she is doing, all I need is a vehicle and a little time. Why aren't I doing it?

Good Question.

Here is a bit of the article...

"Later, in the heart of the city we stop in a dark side street. We know this street now. It's where a group of child prostitues congregate and get picked up. There's just two of them there when we arrive. I sit on a low concrete wall and share a drink and some converstion with one, while another woman from our team does the same with her friend. I ask how old she is and she says 24. I can tell she's about 15-16. "I've got a knife for protection", she tells me. She's small, slim, and obviously wouldn't get far against an adult man if she was attacked.

I ask her why she is prostituting. "For the money", she says. "I like clothes". Across the road on another corner are two young men sitting watching - waiting for us to go so they can muscle the girls money away from them. The girls know they are there and why they are being watched. We talk for a long time. I gain an understanding of why money is so important to this kid who is trying to be sophisticated. "I can only handle one night a week of this", she says. What can I say to a girl whose parents think she is just having fun in the city and don't know she is selling herself on a street corner? What is my answer to a girl who was introduced to prostituion by an older relative - who promised it would be a means of independence and extra money to buy self-esteem? I listen, and she is open to things I have to say."

Read the rest here...