"The Least of These"

I have been blessed to be able to volunteer in a number of places around the world, providing dental care for the poor in the Name of Christ. The world has no shortage of destitute people in need of both health care and a touch from the Lord Jesus.By His grace, I was able to travel to Mumbai annually for the past four years to provide volunteer dental services with Bombay Teen Challenge (BTC), both in the Red Light District of Kamithapura as well as at their rescue homes, the Jubilee Homes and Ashagram, a couple of hours drive outside the city.What a study of contrasts! Seeing the women in the Red Light District who are seemingly trapped in the complex snares of human trafficking at one end of the spectrum, and then spending time at BTC's Jubilee Homes and at Ashagram where men and women, boys and girls live in a loving, nurturing, healing community.On my first trip to Mumbai in November 2009, I treated one victim of sex slavery whom I will call "Lady". Lady was my dental patient earlier in my visit there. We cleaned her teeth. I gathered from the BTC staff that she was 22 years of age. Her father lost his vision six years prior and then he and her step-mother sold Lady into sex slavery to provide for the family.On my last night sleeping in Mumbai I woke up in the middle of the night. My mind raced with many thoughts. I began to pray. In my prayers I sensed God that gave me a clear command, "Tell Lady that faith precedes understanding."I was shocked. This was certainly no ordinary occurrence for me. But seeing the horrors of the Red Light District in Mumbai was far outside my definition of normal.I told God that I would obey, but that He would have to make a way. I had no idea how this was to take place or even how I would adequately communicate such a concept to this young woman.The next day was a very busy one. After attending BTC's staff prayer meeting, I rather casually mentioned to BTC's employee, Stella, that if it were possible I would like to talk with Lady before I left for the airport … that I thought I had a message from the Lord for her. I then headed off to evaluate another of BTC's facilities in the area. On returning Stella and another female staff person were waiting for me. "Follow me," Stella said as she walked toward the brothel doorway Lady usually stood alongside.Frankly, I had not given much more thought to the whole idea and was surprised to see Stella chatting with Lady at the doorway a moment later. Suddenly, Lady ran up the stairs and Stella waved for me to follow them up into the brothel.I was shocked and a bit fearful also. Would this be safe? Was I endangering this young woman? Had God really directed me to share with her or in my emotional and physical exhaustion did I unwittingly fabricate this?I stood in the middle of the narrow lane for a few seconds. Then I decided to follow Stella and Lady, just do my best, and trust God.By the time I reached the top floor of the brothel, I was out of breath. Stella closed the narrow door to Lady's squalid room and said abruptly "Tell her what you need to say."I held up my hand and said, "Give me a minute please." I closed my eyes and told God that I was desperate for His help. I had no idea what to say. As I was trying to think and discern, I heard Stella and Lady chattering away.I opened my eyes and looked up to see Lady talking with great enthusiasm to Stella. A broad smile was gracing Lady's face. I thought how wrong this all seemed. This beautiful 22 year old young woman lived in a hot, humid, dirty place where the rats come out at night. She is forced to have sex with countless men each day, most of the time without even the modest protection of a condom. Yet as I watched her talk with animation and excitement, it reminded me of my own 22 year old daughter back home. She and several college girlfriends would spend a long weekend at our home each year. Those young ladies, in tremendously different life circumstances, would also talk with similar excitement.It seemed so very wrong. I thought to myself, "You should be crying, begging to get out of this pit of Hell! How can you stand to be here even one more minute?"Stella looked over at me, as I was observing them converse. I suspected that Stella saw a look of utter confusion on my face. She asked calmly, "Do you want to know what Lady just told me?""Of course," I replied. I had no idea what else to say.Stella responded, "Lady just told me that she is so happy that you wanted to talk with her. She knows that you are leaving to go back to the US today. She knew that she had to talk with you one more time before you left Mumbai. And yesterday she waited for the dental clinic to open up. But all day it stayed locked up. It never opened. She was so sad as she wanted to talk to you again."I was amazed. Lady wanted to talk to me! "Praise the Lord." I thought to myself. "Maybe I am not making this whole thing up after all!".I then asked Stella, "Ask Lady what she wanted to talk to me about?" I thought this might be really easy after all!Lady answered that she had no idea. She just knew that she had to talk to me again.With that confirmation and encouragement from the Lord, and with Stella's excellent assistance, we shared with Lady the good news about Jesus, how He loved her, how He had a plan for her life. We probably spent a half hour in that little room with the door closed. I could see in Lady's eyes that she was tracking with us.Lady asked if she could become a follower of Jesus that afternoon in the top floor of the brothel. After a thorough explanation (Romans 1-8 in summary form), Lady acknowledged her sin before God and her need for a Savior.That was in November of 2009. In October of 2010 Lady was working in Calcutta's brothels. In October of 2011 and 2012, Lady was working out of the same brothel in the Red Light District of Kamithapura again.The story does not yet have a happy ending. But the story is not yet over.Many people are praying for Lady and those like her across the globe. The BTC staff has been diligent and wise in their dealings with Lady. She was even taken to the BTC's rescue home, a veritable oasis, but Lady insisted on returning to the Red Light District. She is still on the street.This breaks my heart. I am crying as I type these words.Yet I know that it breaks the heart of God more than I can ever imagine.We live in a fallen, sin-sick world. A world with much darkness and depravity.Yet BTC is a light in a very dark corner of the globe. BTC has experienced many successes. I have met and count as friends many of these trophies of God's grace.Yet there is still much work to be done. When I think of BTC, the Scripture passage that most often comes to my mind is Colossians 1:13-14, which reads this way:He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (ESV)That is what I see BTC and their supporters doing, plucking victims out of the domain of darkness and transferring them into the kingdom of God.Much progress has been made. Lives have been saved, both mortally and eternally. But there is much work to be done. I close with these words from Galatians 6:9:[articlequote]"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." (ESV)[/articlequote]by Michael O'Callaghan D.D.S.